The dunes start forty minutes from the Corniche.
Every operator sells the same four activities. What changes is who reaches Khor Al Adaid and what the pickup adds. Reviews of every tour bookable in Qatar.
The dunes, the souq and the north: four days that cover Qatar.
What each one costs, how long it takes, and what travellers say once they are back in the lobby.
01The classic half dayATV, Quad/Buggy Dune Bashing, Camel Ride, SandboardingDune bashing down to the camp, a camel, a sandboard, and back before the heat peaks.
02The one with the seaQatar Gold Dune Safari, Dune Bashing,Camel Ride,Sand Boarding,Inland Sea DesertCarries on south to the Inland Sea instead of turning round at the first camp.
03The evening in townDoha City Tour And Dhow Boat Cruise (Private/Sharing)Souq Waqif and the Corniche, then a dhow out into the bay with the towers lit.
04The day up northNorth Qatar Half-Day Tour: Al Zubarah, Purple Island & MangrovesAl Zubarah fort, the mangroves at Purple Island and the emptied village at Al Jumail.
Four kinds of desert day out of Doha.
They all run on the same dunes south of Mesaieed. What separates them is how far south you get, what time you leave, and whether somebody else is driving.
★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · Desert safari, Dune bashing, sandboarding, camel, ATV Option
The half dayDune bashing, a camel, a sandboard, hotel pickup either end.
Out to the Inland SeaAll the way south to where the dunes drop into the water.
After darkSunset over the ridge, dinner at the camp, stars once the generator goes off.
Behind the wheelQuad bikes and buggies on the Sealine dunes, instructor for the first run.
All 298 desert days in Qatar →
The six things almost everyone books in Qatar.
Nearly every desert tour is a mix of these, sold in a different order. Pick the one you actually came for and start there.
The tours Qatar sells out first.
Every review in Qatar →Almost all of these are the same four hours in the sand. The price, the pickup and the camp are what actually differ.
1
Desert safari, Dune bashing, sandboarding, camel, ATV Option
Review of Doha’s 4.5-hour desert safari with dune bashing, sandboarding, camel rides, Inland Sea views, and optional ATV fun.
From · $46
Read our review →
2
Half Day Desert Safari | Camel Riding | ATV | Sand Surfing
from $58
3
ATV,Quad or Buggy Dune Bashing,CamelRide & Sandboarding
from $63
4
Private Half Day Desert Safari
from $192
5
Doha City Tour | Souq Waqif | Courniche | The Pearl | Katara etc
from $58
6
Doha Desert Safari Dune Bashing Camel Ride Sandboarding
from $60
7
ATV/Desert Safari with Activities and Inland Sea Stop
from $19
8
Desert Safari, QuadBike,Dune buggy, Sandboarding & CamelRide
from $59
Doha does its best work between five and midnight.
The Corniche walk, the falcon souq, a museum out on its own spit of land, a dhow into the bay after dark. Half of it costs nothing; the rest is a driver and somebody who knows which gate is open.
- 1Doha City Tour | Souq Waqif | Courniche | The Pearl | Katara etcfrom $58
- 2Dune Bashing Safari, Falcon, Camel, ATV, Sandboardingfrom $27
- 3Doha Private Night City Tour – With or Without Local Mealfrom $83
The one Qatari desert that runs straight into the sea.
A UNESCO reserve on the Saudi border, two hours south of Doha and reachable only by 4x4 over the dunes. The tide moves the shoreline through the day and the drivers read it. Go with one who has made the crossing before.
Shared jeep or private Land Cruiser: that is the Qatari price gap.
Every tour on the site, grouped by what it costs. The activities barely change between the bands. The group size, the vehicle and the pickup do.
Shared 4x4s, morning safaris, museum entry and the short runs down to Sealine.
The full menu with hotel pickup: dune bashing, camel, sandboard and the Inland Sea.
Private vehicles, overnight camps and the full days out to the north and the west coast.
- 1Private Half Day Desert Safarifrom $192
- 2Desert Safari & Keshta | (Private)from $178
- 3Desert Safari Adventure 4 hours from Doha with Pickupfrom $128
Three Qatars that are not Doha.
The peninsula is a hundred and sixty kilometres end to end, so the north forts, the west coast and the mangroves are all day trips from the same hotel.
Al Zubarah Fort
The fort dates from 1938. The town buried in the sand beside it is three centuries older, and it is one of the best preserved pearling and pearl-trading settlements left on the Gulf, which is why UNESCO listed the whole site in 2013. Most tours pair it with Al Jumail up the coast, where the mosque and the roofless houses are still standing on the shore.
- 1North Qatar Half-Day Tour: Al Zubarah, Purple Island & Mangroves★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 337 reviews
- 2North Qatar Tour | Zubara Fort | Purple Island | Mangros Colony★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 323 reviews
- 3Doha North Qatar Tour Zubara Fort, Mangroves, Jumail Village★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 267 reviews
Serra’s steel plates at Zekreet
Four plates of steel, fourteen metres tall, stand in a gypsum valley ninety minutes west of Doha. East-West/West-East runs a kilometre between two low escarpments and lines up with nothing but the horizon. The mushroom rocks at Zekreet and the film-set village sit on the same track, and all of it needs a 4x4 to reach.
- 1Day Trip to North And West Qatar With Pickup★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 336 reviews
- 2Qatar West Coast tour to Richard Serra Sculpture and Mushroom Rock Formation★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 153 reviews
- 3Qatar West Coast tour, Zekreet, Richard Serra Sculpture, Mushroom Rock Formation★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 150 reviews
The mangroves at Purple Island
Al Khor sits on a shallow tidal creek where the mangroves grow thick enough to paddle into. The island takes its name from a Bronze Age dye works found there, so Qatar was exporting purple long before it exported gas. Kayaks go at high water. At low tide it is a mudflat walk instead, and the flamingos come in close.
- 1North Qatar Half-Day Tour: Al Zubarah, Purple Island & Mangroves★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 337 reviews
- 2North Qatar Tour | Zubara Fort | Purple Island | Mangros Colony★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 323 reviews
- 3Doha North Qatar Tour Zubara Fort, Mangroves, Jumail Village★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 267 reviews
When Doha hits forty-five, the desert waits for dark.
Through the summer the middle of the day is unusable. The sand is too hot to stand on barefoot and the camps shut. Safaris move to a six in the morning pickup or a sunset departure, and the city half of the trip goes under a roof: the museums, the souq after evening prayers, a dhow once the sun is off the water.
Out of Doha
Just reviewed in Qatar.
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Desert safari +Dune Bashing, Camel ride & Quad bikes
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Doha Layover or Doha Stopover Tour with Desert & City Tour
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Private Wakesurfing or Wakeboarding along Doha’s skyline
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Desert Buggy Ride, Camel Ride, Dune Bashing, Sandboard
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Private Desert Safari, Sand Dunes Bashing and Inland Sea Visit
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Guided Doha Sightseen Tour By Certified Tour Guide (Private Tour)
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Private Tour to Zubara Fort Purple Island and Olafur Eliasson
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Doha Sunset or Sunrise Desert Safari, Camel Ride, Inland Sea
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