According to travelationary, Qatar (Katar) (Arabic: قطر Qaṭar) is a country in the Middle East (Asia) bordering only Saudi Arabia. The capital of Qatar is Doha. Some major cities in Qatar are: Ar Rayyan, Umm Salal Muhammad, Al Wakrah, Lusail, Al Khor and Al Khawr.
Qatar is known as ‘the best kept secret in the Persian Gulf’. Qatar is a rich oil state and that is reflected in the luxurious buildings, large hotels, skyscrapers, luxury cars, impressive mosques and gigantic oil fields. The landscape consists of vast desert areas that you can traverse with a jeep and a beautiful coastline with sandy beaches where you can dive, among other things. Qatar is also known for its many sports facilities. There are golf resorts, football clubs, rally courses and horse races. Well-known sporting events that are held there are the World Cup in 2022, the Qatar Tennis Masters, Qatar Golf Masters, Qatar Motor Cycle Grand Prix, the Tour of Qatar (cycling race) and the Sailing Championship. The people of Qatar are friendly and hospitable. See sunglassestracker for prosperous Qatar.
Where is Qatar located?
Travel information of Qatar
Official name: State of Qatar
Continent: Asia
Area: 11,000 km²
Capital: Doha
Country code: QA, QAT
Population: 2,444,174 inhabitants (2020)
Form of government: Constitutional monarchy (Emirate)
Highest point: 103 m (Qurayn Abu al Bawl)
Distance (Amsterdam – Doha): 4,913 km
Flight time: approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes
Travel advice
Current status: Attention, safety risks.
Current color code: Yellow.
Corona
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), (temporary) measures may apply in Qatar that you as a tourist may have to deal with. For the most up-to-date corona travel advice, please refer to our special coronavirus travel advice page. For the number of current corona infections, number of deaths and various corona-related graphs of Qatar, please visit Countryaah.
Travel offer
At the moment there are no travel organizations that offer travel to Qatar. If you want to put together your own trip or are looking for separate travel components such as hotels, airline tickets and a rental car, please visit our travel offer page.
Travel guides and maps
Are you looking for a travel guide, map, walking map, cycling map, book or DVD about Qatar?
Excursions, activities and day trips
With the help of Countryaah you can reserve an excursion, activity, guided tour, entrance ticket and/or day trip for your stay in Qatar at a discount. This way you are assured of a place, in some cases you can skip the queue and you can already plan your travel program.
Weather and climate
Qatar has a desert climate. The temperatures are around 25 degrees in the winter months and around 40 degrees in the summer months.
The current weather (weather forecast) and a weather forecast for Qatar can be found on our extensive weather page.
Detailed information about the climate of Qatar can be found at Climate info.
Best time
January, February, March and December are the best months to travel to Qatar. This avoids the extremely hot summer period.
Language
Arabic is the official language in Qatar.
Would you like to translate from or into Arabic for free? Use the Google translator for this.
Travel documents
You must have a passport that is valid for at least 6 months upon arrival in Qatar.
A visa is required. The application for this visa goes through the hotel reservation. You will receive the visa at the airport.
Embassies and consulates
Below is an overview of relevant diplomatic representations, including addresses and contact details.
Netherlands Embassy in Qatar: netherlandsworldwide.nl.
Embassy of Qatar in the Netherlands: embassyofqatar.nl.
For urgent assistance, you can contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 24/7 on +31247247247.
Vaccination (inoculation)
Before visiting Qatar, it is advisable to get one or more vaccinations.
For extensive vaccination advice and to make a vaccination appointment at home, please visit Thuisvaccinatie.nl. You can also see here whether your health insurance reimburses the vaccination(s).
Money and Currency
In Qatar, payment is made with the Qatari riyal (QAR).
The current position of this currency (currency, currency) can be found on our exchange rate page.
An overview of all ATMs in Qatar can be found on our ATMs page.
Price level
Prices in Qatar are slightly lower than in the Netherlands. The price difference with the Netherlands is -6% on average. Some examples are: restaurants (12% cheaper), food (1.5% cheaper), imported beer in catering (200% more expensive), cigarettes (60% cheaper) and public transport (55% cheaper). Please note that the price difference in tourist areas, especially during high season, may vary.
Tipping
In Qatar it is not a matter of course to tip. Sometimes service costs are already included in the bill, but this is almost never shared with the staff. Employees are therefore very happy with an extra tip. Good service is about 10-15% tip.
Time difference
During our summer time it is 1 hour later in Qatar.
During our winter time it is 2 hours later in Qatar.
Qatar has no difference in winter time and summer time.
The local time, date and time zone for Qatar can be found on our time difference page.
Traffic and route
In Qatar you must drive on the right.
To drive and/or rent a motor vehicle in Qatar, you must have an international driver’s license. The international driver’s license is available at an ANWB shop.
With the Google route planner you can compile a route description from, to or within Qatar.
Electricity
In Qatar you need a travel plug.
More information about common plugs and sockets in Qatar can be found on our electricity page.
Emergency services
If you need help from the police, fire brigade and/or ambulance in an emergency, you can use the emergency numbers below.
– Police: 999
– Fire: 999
– Ambulance: 999
Tap water
It is not recommended to drink water from the tap.
If you are unable to buy bottled water, use a water purifier to purify the water or boil the water for 5 minutes. After this you can safely use it as drinking water and for things like brushing teeth, cleaning lenses and washing vegetables and / or fruit. More information about drinking water and/or the purchase of water purification products can be found on our drinking water page.
News and newspapers
The latest news related to Qatar can be found on Google news.
An overview of the newspapers from Qatar can be found on Abyznewslinks.
Internet
Websites from Qatar end in.qa.
Qatar official websites: gov.qa and qatartourism.gov.qa.
Telephony
The country code (international prefix) to call someone in Qatar is 00974 or +974.
For a 7-digit number in Qatar, you must enter the first number twice.
Do you want to call the Netherlands from Qatar? Then use the Dutch country code 0031 or +31.
(If using a country code, omit the leading 0 of the number to be called.)
Telephone numbers can be found in the Qatar Telephone Directory.
Company details can be found in the Yellow Pages of Qatar.
