With kids · Doha · Qatar
Doha with kids
Family-tested sights, a calm base and the practical details that make travelling with children easier.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: km2bp @ Mapillary.com, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Doha is calm, clean and child-friendly, with parks, a hands-on sports museum, family beaches and big malls with indoor play areas. Most attractions are air-conditioned, and families come out in force on winter evenings along the Corniche and in Aspire Park. Top picks: 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Aspire Park and Doha Corniche. Families usually base themselves in West Bay.
Key facts
- Family picks
- 7
- Best area for families
- West Bay
- Rainy-day options
- 1
- Busiest months
- December
Best things to do with kids
Museum · Aspire Zone
1.3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum
Next to Khalifa International Stadium, this museum opened in 2022 covers the history of sport from ancient times to the modern Olympics and Qatar's own athletes. Interactive zones let visitors test their speed, balance and reactions, which makes it a strong pick for children.
Leave time for the interactive Sports Zone at the end, where children can try different sports.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- History
Park · Aspire Zone
2.Aspire Park
Doha's largest park has a lake with ducks, shaded lawns, playgrounds and jogging paths, with the Torch Doha tower and Khalifa International Stadium as a backdrop. Families picnic here on winter weekends.
Visit from late afternoon in the cooler months, when local families gather around the lake.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
Waterfront · Corniche
3.Doha Corniche
A 7-kilometre crescent promenade around Doha Bay links the Museum of Islamic Art with West Bay, with palm-lined paths, lawns, playgrounds and views of moored dhows. Families, runners and cyclists fill it from late afternoon in the cooler months, and the skyline is lit up after dark.
Walk the stretch from MIA Park to the Sheraton Park in the early evening, then take the Red Line back from West Bay.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Views
- Kids
- After dark
Experience · Corniche
4.Dhow cruise on Doha Bay
Traditional wooden dhows moored along the Corniche take passengers out into Doha Bay for short trips with views of the West Bay towers and the Museum of Islamic Art. Longer evening cruises add dinner on board, and the skyline is most impressive after dark.
Agree the length of the trip and the price before boarding shared dhows on the Corniche.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes to 2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Couples
- Kids
- Views
- After dark
Market · Souq Waqif and Old Doha
5.Falcon Souq
On the edge of Souq Waqif, shops sell hooded falcons, leather gloves, hoods and training gear to Qatari falconers, and birds perch on stands inside. A specialist falcon hospital is next door. It is one of the most authentic glimpses of a living Gulf tradition.
Ask politely before photographing the birds or their owners; most shopkeepers are happy to talk about falconry.
- Time needed
- 30 minutes
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Off the beaten path
- Kids
- History
Museum · Corniche
6.Museum of Islamic Art
I. M. Pei designed this geometric limestone museum, opened in 2008, on its own promontory off the Corniche. Inside, a soaring atrium leads to galleries of manuscripts, ceramics, metalwork, textiles and jewellery spanning more than a thousand years from Spain to Central Asia. The surrounding MIA Park has lawns, cafés and Richard Serra's steel sculpture '7'.
Walk out along MIA Park in the late afternoon for the classic view of the West Bay skyline across the water.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Art
- Architecture
- Rainy day
- Views
Neighbourhood · Katara
7.Katara Cultural Village
A seafront cultural district between West Bay and The Pearl with a Greek-style amphitheatre, galleries, a mosque covered in blue and turquoise tiles, a gold-tiled mosque, traditional pigeon towers and restaurants. Katara Beach has calm water and water sports for a fee.
Visit in the late afternoon to see the tiled mosque in daylight, then eat at the waterfront restaurants as the sun sets.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Architecture
- Art
- Couples
- Photo spot
Rainy-day ideas
- 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum — Leave time for the interactive Sports Zone at the end, where children can try different sports.
Where families should stay
$$$ · Best for families, luxury and beach
West Bay
Doha's skyline of glass towers holds most of the big international hotels, many with private beaches, pools and licensed bars and restaurants. The Corniche promenade starts here, City Center Doha mall is in the middle of the district, and the Red Line metro runs through it to Msheireb and the airport.
- Good
- Hotel beaches and pools; Metro access; Plenty of restaurants with alcohol licences
- Watch out
- Car-oriented streets; Little traditional character
- Nearby
- Doha Corniche, City Center Doha, Katara Cultural Village
Family travel tips
- Metro trains have family carriages, and stations have lifts, which makes pushchairs easy.
- Plan outdoor time for the late afternoon and evening; Qatari families go out after sunset, and children are welcome everywhere late.
- Katara Beach and hotel beaches in West Bay have calm, shallow water suitable for young swimmers.
- Keep children well hydrated and shaded even in winter; the sun is strong.
- An Inland Sea tour can be adapted for children; ask operators for a gentle dune drive.
Day trips for families
- Khor Al Adaid (Inland Sea) (About 1.5 hours each way by 4x4) — In the far south-east of Qatar, tall sand dunes run straight down to a tidal inlet of the Gulf, with Saudi Arabia visible across the water.
- Al Wakrah (About 25 minutes by Red Line metro or car) — A coastal town south of Doha with a restored seafront souq of low stone buildings, seafood restaurants and a public beach.
- Al Thakhira mangroves (About 1 hour by car) — Grey mangrove forest on the north-east coast near Al Khor, best explored by kayak on a guided tour timed to the tide.
- Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (About 30–40 minutes by car) — A private collection set in a fort-like building on a farm west of Doha, with everything from vintage cars and carpets to Islamic manuscripts, fossils and a reconstructed Syrian house.
When to go with children
The best months overall are November–March. December is the busiest, so book the big sights early. Weather by month.
Questions travellers ask
+Is Doha good for kids?
Doha is calm, clean and child-friendly, with parks, a hands-on sports museum, family beaches and big malls with indoor play areas. Most attractions are air-conditioned, and families come out in force on winter evenings along the Corniche and in Aspire Park.
+What can kids do in Doha?
3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, Aspire Park, Doha Corniche, Dhow cruise on Doha Bay and Falcon Souq.
+Where should families stay in Doha?
West Bay: Skyscraper district with beach hotels, City Center Doha mall and the northern Corniche.