Travel Must-Have Tips: Getting a free entry Visa and tour to Doha, Qatar

When heading to Qatar, some travelers actually love layovers since these cause them to explore the whole city. But what's even better is when an airline company picks up the tab on the entry visa, as well as conducts free tour for the travelers to Doha.

Qatar Airways launched a free Doha city tour for passengers who are transiting through Doha. This joint effort between Qatar Airways and the Qatar Tourism Authority gives the travelers the opportunity to avail a free city tour of Doha, as well as paying for an entry visa into Qatar.

According to Trip Hackr, visas can be availed on an arrival in Qatar for 33 approved countries. A visa on arrival in Qatar will cost the travelers for around QAR 100, or about $27 USD. This visa can be compensated directly from the immigration officer as they accept credit or debit cards. Travelers can also apply for a visa online before arriving, but this process is just so quick that it won't save them much time.

The minimum layover duration in Doha to take advantage of the free city tour is 5 hours. According to Qatar Tourism, the tour includes visits to some of the key landmarks around Doha: The Pearl-Qatar; Katara Cultural Village,Souq Waqif, and the Museum of Islamic Art.

Unfortunately, for most Qatar Airways passengers, the free city tour is not well advertised and presents a challenge in order to locate once they are already at the Doha Airport. It will allegedly take them some effort to figure out the process, especially after a very long flight from the origin city. However, there are steps provided in securing a spot on the Qatar Airways free city tour, as mentioned by Point Me To The Plane. Upon arrival, they can easily follow the airport signages towards the Transfers.

When in the Transfer Screening, travelers need to pass their luggages through a security screening. But if they are taking advantage of the Qatar Airways' other transit programs, they can now skip going to the Transfer Desk and head towards security checkpoint lineups. Once cleared by the security, they need to head in the main concourse of the airport.

In the WHSmith convenience store, they will see a queue for the tour. The city tour occurs 4 times per day, with the last tour departing at 7:30PM. But, the last tour of the day is often sold out because of an the many travelers who miss out on earlier tour times. Moreover, remember that a staff member will directly process everyone's check-in by around 6:00 PM.

Meanwhile, frequent travelers are now enjoying their layover in Qatar as they can actually claim their visa easily and conveniently. And what's even better is that some airline companies are now giving these flyers the offer for city tours and free entry visa to Qatar.