We are thinking of traveling to and staying in Qatar in the future, has anyone stayed there and can make recommendations for hotels, location of hotel and sites to see? Thank you in anticipation!
Is this more of a business type of trip or to visit family? I haven't be to Qatar, but spent a few months in nearby Bahrain and visited a few of the Emirates. From everything I've heard, however, there isn't much (nothing?) to see in either place. Mostly modern city in the middle of endless desert. There will be plenty of 4 and 5 star hotels from major chains. I've been to that area of the world and have absolutely no desire to go back. If I had known back then what I know now and had the option, I would have never gone there.
There is actually a lot to see, wonderful buildings and museums, I followed a great blogger a couple of years ago, a very well traveled person with great photos. Tauck is starting to go to the region, so there must be interest.
British: I remember that Tauck had a land tour to that area of the world about 6-7 years ago, perhaps it was longer? The itinerary looked fabulous and I really wanted to travel there but I remember the price being quite expensive and out of reach for me financially at the time. I wish I had kept the brochure. I do remember that the tour went to the UAE cities of Dubai and Abu-Dhabi and Oman. I think it also went to Qatar. I guess they discontinued it due to instability in the region. I also seem to remember that Tauck had a small ship cruise to that region not that long ago , but I think it was only available for one year and then disappeared. I regret not finding a way to take that land tour as I, like you, find that Region to be quite interesting.
Yes. I tried to do a search on the internet for the original land tour, however, no luck. I did find a link to the Ship Tour. It was called Portrait of Arabia: The Emirates, Qatar and Oman. The itinerary is still listed for the ship tour if you need to get ideas, however, the tour was discontinued. They did visit Doha, Qatar for one day only. The land tour Portrait of Arabia had a very extensive itinerary that sounded fabulous. I wish they could bring it back.
For those interested in that part of the world I strongly recommend a book by Levison Wood. He is British, a travel maven and ex British Special Forces. He literally walks everywhere. The book is called "An Arabian Journey" and he does a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula. All the countries you discuss above and more are included in the book as he walks thru all of them. He even walked thru parts of Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Oman and the Emirates seemed very interesting. Might want to check out the book on amazon.
I agree with Alan. I spent two years flying out of Saudi Arabia, and one year flying out of India. Many stops and layovers in Bahrain, and I landed in Dubai for fuel many times. During that time I was arrested twice in Saudi Arabia. Once (the day I arrived) the taxi driver (my employee) did something wrong. They got tired of yelling at me in Arabic and turned me loose in the middle of Jeddah. I had no idea where I was. The next time I was arrested in Riyadh for having a banned book in my luggage .... “Lawrence of Arabia”. They arrested me, detained the entire crew, and impounded the airplane. Once again they got tired of yelling and turned us loose ... after confiscating the book. No ... I will not be going back to that part of the world.
I haven't been to Qatar but a few years ago we stopped off in Dubai for two nights on our trip to Africa. Our first day we went on a day tour from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque which was absolutely beautiful but all the ladies on the tour had to wear the burka and keep our hair covered. It was very uncomfortable as the weather was extremely hot and I live in Tucson so I know hot! We also visited the Emirates Palace which was unbelievable even it was a little tacky. The following day we stayed in Dubai and went on a river boat tour which included lunch. Later in the evening we had a tour of Burj Khalifa and went to the 125th floor for a spectacular view of the city. Also, went to the bar and had a glass of wine for $18.00 which was one the least expensive wines on their list. We also went to upscale shopping mall and it was fun watching the people. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel very close to the airport as we had an early morning flight. I've no desire to return as it was surreal and over the top but this is just my opinion.
As British knows, I very much enjoyed my visits to the UAE -- especially the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which includes not only the city of Abu Dhabi, but the Liwa Desert and the city of Al Ain. I've been to Dubai twice, and acknowledge that you can't go to the UAE without visiting Dubai and doing what Noreen did, but I much prefer Abu Dhabi. It was not an inconvenience to cover my head to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which I did during the daytime on one visit and the nighttime on another visit, which were totally different experiences. If you are not wearing the appropriate clothing (male or female), the mosque will provide appropriate clothing at no charge.
On a people note, the population of the Emirates is only about 15% citizens. The percentage is even lower in Qatar (12%). The vast majority are expats who work in finance, construction, oil industry, retail, and in service. The retail and service group, and laborers in the construction and oil industries are relatively low income wage earners mainly from the Phillippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc.
Alan, that's certainly true of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (where my son was one of those expats working in finance) and probably the Emirate of Dubai. In both of those places, English is the language in which most business is conducted. The northern Emirates seem to be less multi-national, and less multi-lingual, except for hotels and the few tourist attractions. In Abu Dhabi, most of the construction workers and service workers, such as taxi drivers, were from south Asia. My son was living there when the earthquake in Nepal occurred, and the people in his apartment complex took up a collection to finance the "buy out" of the contract of a Nepalese worker to enable him to return to his family in Nepal.
travel maven, I remember that Tauck tour, have been waiting for its return. Meanwhile, if I'm allowed to post this, A&K has an unusual itinerary with a bit more time in Oman, in addition to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 18 guests max. Offered November and February, so they've taken temps into consideration, something I've been asking Tauck to do for years. I'm always told clientele don't like cool weather. Global warming may force the travel industry to rethink this one.
Comments
Is this more of a business type of trip or to visit family? I haven't be to Qatar, but spent a few months in nearby Bahrain and visited a few of the Emirates. From everything I've heard, however, there isn't much (nothing?) to see in either place. Mostly modern city in the middle of endless desert. There will be plenty of 4 and 5 star hotels from major chains. I've been to that area of the world and have absolutely no desire to go back. If I had known back then what I know now and had the option, I would have never gone there.
There is actually a lot to see, wonderful buildings and museums, I followed a great blogger a couple of years ago, a very well traveled person with great photos. Tauck is starting to go to the region, so there must be interest.
British: I remember that Tauck had a land tour to that area of the world about 6-7 years ago, perhaps it was longer? The itinerary looked fabulous and I really wanted to travel there but I remember the price being quite expensive and out of reach for me financially at the time. I wish I had kept the brochure. I do remember that the tour went to the UAE cities of Dubai and Abu-Dhabi and Oman. I think it also went to Qatar. I guess they discontinued it due to instability in the region. I also seem to remember that Tauck had a small ship cruise to that region not that long ago , but I think it was only available for one year and then disappeared. I regret not finding a way to take that land tour as I, like you, find that Region to be quite interesting.
Thanks for your input. There was a ship tour advertised and then came the pandemic.
Yes. I tried to do a search on the internet for the original land tour, however, no luck. I did find a link to the Ship Tour. It was called Portrait of Arabia: The Emirates, Qatar and Oman. The itinerary is still listed for the ship tour if you need to get ideas, however, the tour was discontinued. They did visit Doha, Qatar for one day only. The land tour Portrait of Arabia had a very extensive itinerary that sounded fabulous. I wish they could bring it back.
For those interested in that part of the world I strongly recommend a book by Levison Wood. He is British, a travel maven and ex British Special Forces. He literally walks everywhere. The book is called "An Arabian Journey" and he does a circumnavigation of the Arabian Peninsula. All the countries you discuss above and more are included in the book as he walks thru all of them. He even walked thru parts of Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Oman and the Emirates seemed very interesting. Might want to check out the book on amazon.
I agree with Alan. I spent two years flying out of Saudi Arabia, and one year flying out of India. Many stops and layovers in Bahrain, and I landed in Dubai for fuel many times. During that time I was arrested twice in Saudi Arabia. Once (the day I arrived) the taxi driver (my employee) did something wrong. They got tired of yelling at me in Arabic and turned me loose in the middle of Jeddah. I had no idea where I was. The next time I was arrested in Riyadh for having a banned book in my luggage .... “Lawrence of Arabia”. They arrested me, detained the entire crew, and impounded the airplane. Once again they got tired of yelling and turned us loose ... after confiscating the book. No ... I will not be going back to that part of the world.
I haven't been to Qatar but a few years ago we stopped off in Dubai for two nights on our trip to Africa. Our first day we went on a day tour from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to visit the Sheikh Zayed Mosque which was absolutely beautiful but all the ladies on the tour had to wear the burka and keep our hair covered. It was very uncomfortable as the weather was extremely hot and I live in Tucson so I know hot! We also visited the Emirates Palace which was unbelievable even it was a little tacky. The following day we stayed in Dubai and went on a river boat tour which included lunch. Later in the evening we had a tour of Burj Khalifa and went to the 125th floor for a spectacular view of the city. Also, went to the bar and had a glass of wine for $18.00 which was one the least expensive wines on their list. We also went to upscale shopping mall and it was fun watching the people. We stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel very close to the airport as we had an early morning flight. I've no desire to return as it was surreal and over the top but this is just my opinion.
As British knows, I very much enjoyed my visits to the UAE -- especially the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which includes not only the city of Abu Dhabi, but the Liwa Desert and the city of Al Ain. I've been to Dubai twice, and acknowledge that you can't go to the UAE without visiting Dubai and doing what Noreen did, but I much prefer Abu Dhabi. It was not an inconvenience to cover my head to visit the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, which I did during the daytime on one visit and the nighttime on another visit, which were totally different experiences. If you are not wearing the appropriate clothing (male or female), the mosque will provide appropriate clothing at no charge.
On a people note, the population of the Emirates is only about 15% citizens. The percentage is even lower in Qatar (12%). The vast majority are expats who work in finance, construction, oil industry, retail, and in service. The retail and service group, and laborers in the construction and oil industries are relatively low income wage earners mainly from the Phillippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, etc.
Alan, that's certainly true of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (where my son was one of those expats working in finance) and probably the Emirate of Dubai. In both of those places, English is the language in which most business is conducted. The northern Emirates seem to be less multi-national, and less multi-lingual, except for hotels and the few tourist attractions. In Abu Dhabi, most of the construction workers and service workers, such as taxi drivers, were from south Asia. My son was living there when the earthquake in Nepal occurred, and the people in his apartment complex took up a collection to finance the "buy out" of the contract of a Nepalese worker to enable him to return to his family in Nepal.
Thank you for all the input. I’d still like to see Qatar, if nothing else ,it has an amazing airport and wonderful business air seats on Qatar air.
Ah, the truth comes out!
travel maven, I remember that Tauck tour, have been waiting for its return. Meanwhile, if I'm allowed to post this, A&K has an unusual itinerary with a bit more time in Oman, in addition to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, 18 guests max. Offered November and February, so they've taken temps into consideration, something I've been asking Tauck to do for years. I'm always told clientele don't like cool weather. Global warming may force the travel industry to rethink this one.