ACTIVITIES
From a leisurely round of golf to wet and wild days on the sea, as well as unforgettable daytrips to exotic and historical sights, and chilling out in the world’s best spas, there’s plenty to do in Qatar.
GOLF
The Doha Golf Club enjoys an championship course designed by Peter Harradine. A beautiful though challenging course, it is home to the PGA Qatar Master Golf Tournament.
SHOPPING malls
Qatar has seven gleaming Western-style malls which offer not only a wide range of goods and services but also a host of well known international brands at competitive prices —
City Center-Doha, Centrepoint,
Royal Plaza,
Villaggio,
Hyatt Plaza,
Landmark, and
The Mall. They are generally open from Saturday to Thursday from 10.00 am to 10.00 pm and on Friday from 3.00 pm to 10.00 pm.
MOTOR SPORTS
Qatar plays host to two major international motor sports events every year at the world class Losail International Circuit – the floodlit Qatar MotorGP, which is the first event of the annual MOTOGP calendar, and the Superbike World Championships. For car rally fans, Qatar’s desert terrain is the setting for the annual Qatar International Rally, which is round four of the FIA Middle East car rally championships.
www.circuitlosail.com
RACING & EQUESTRIAN CLUB
Horse racing is an extremely popular sport in Doha, and each season offers an exciting programme of more than 40 race meetings. Tour operators can also organise tours to the stable.
www.qrec.gov.qa
SCUBA DIVING
Qatar’s abundant marine life and rich coral reefs provide an unforgettable scuba diving experience. Groupers, carangids, crabs, snappers, emperors, and turtles are some of the many species that may be encountered in underwater exploration. If on a boat dive, friendly bottle-nosed dolphins may be spotted.
SPAS
No trip to Qatar is complete without enjoying its legendary spas. Sharq Village and Spa offers extraordinary spa facilities including sauna and steam rooms, Jacuzzis, plunge pools, relaxation rooms and more. The Four Seasons Hotel has a spa with tepidarium (warm Roman bath), hydrotherapy pools and yoga studio.
La Cigale Hotel has a traditional Moroccan hammam (stunning, tiled bathhouse) as well as a Jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and relaxation rooms, and offers hydrotherapy treatments and a beauty salon. Millennium Hotel has an indoor rooftop pool, full spa, Turkish bath, steam room, Jacuzzi, sauna and aromatic bath.
TENNIS
Both indoor as well as outdoor courts are available in Qatar within hotel premises. Ritrz Carlton Hotel has indoor air-conditioned tennis courts. The Khalifa Tennis & Squash complex, located in the city centre, offers 29 courts for hire.
Qatar hosts the ExxonMobil Men’s Open every January, the first ATP event of the season. It also hosts the Sony Ericsson WTA Championship in November, the end of the season tournament for the ladies.
TOURS
A day-trip to Khor al-Adaid – a huge inland sea – offers a unique experience of Qatari wildlife (dugong, turtles, waterfowl and gazelles) along with a stunning landscape and beach relaxation.
There are several impressive forts surrounding Doha, including the Sheikh Faisal Museum (housing an extraordinary personal collection of cars, artifacts, archaeological finds and more) and the magnificent Al Zubara fortress, a former settlement and thriving trade region, where archaeological investigations are ongoing.
Qatar also has various resort towns a day’s trip from Doha, while inland, about 40km south-west of Doha, the Singing Dunes are an amazing experience — one of the few places in the world where conditions are just right for sand dunes to produce an eerie humming across the desert landscape.
WATERsports
The nearby beach resorts of Doha offer jet skiing, waterskiing, windsurfing and sailing. Two artificial reefs have been created for avid divers. Doha Bay and the Gulf beyond offer fantastic fishing, and cruises are perfect for sunset dinners.
The traditional wooden dhow is a great way to take in the calm, warm waters of the bay. Several exotic islands with unspoilt reefs and resorts lie within a couple of hours’ sail from Doha.
