Qatar

Visa requirements for Qatar depend on which passport you hold. Check the Traveller visa tool to see whether your passport needs a visa and, if so, how long you can stay.

October–March is the comfortable season (18–28°C) — best for Doha's Museum of Islamic Art (I.M. Pei's masterpiece on the corniche), Souq Waqif (the restored traditional market), the Pearl (luxury marina island), and 4WD dune bashing in the Inland Sea (Khor Al Adaid, a UNESCO-recognised natural wonder). April–September is extremely hot (45°C+).

• Modest dress outside hotel and beach resort areas
• Women: cover arms and legs in souqs and malls; swimwear only at hotel pools and beach clubs
• Men: avoid sleeveless tops outside hotel grounds

• Qatar hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup — the most controversial in football history, with questions about labour rights and the decision to hold it in a country with no football culture; the infrastructure built for it is extraordinary
• The Museum of Islamic Art is genuinely one of the world's great museums — I.M. Pei's last major building, on a peninsula in Doha harbour
• Qatar is the world's wealthiest country per capita (GDP per capita approaching USD 100,000) — the wealth from natural gas is visible everywhere
• Qatari nationals (who make up only about 12% of the population — the rest are migrant workers) are distinguished by their white thobes

• LGBTQ+ activity is illegal; exercise extreme caution; the 2022 World Cup brought international attention to this issue
• Alcohol available only at licensed hotels, restaurants, and the Qatar Distribution Company — not in public
• Public displays of affection between couples can be prosecuted
• Photography of construction sites and some government buildings restricted