DXBtoDOH

Three seems more realistic.

Pongo

Other possibilities are, DOH-MCT-KHS then drive from Khasab to Dubai (3 hour drive).

DOH-MCT-AAN then drive from Al Ain (1:30 hour drive).

Either case still a pain....with layover time.

DXBtoDOH

The flights between MCT and DXB are cheap enough that it makes you wonder why bother going any other route and driving?

Millhouse

Dubai - Al Ain is almost 2 hours, and the road is a nightmare at times. I used to do it in an hour at 5am though

Is the Al-Ain border crossing still open? I remember getting a lot of shit there one time for leaving the UAE at Hatta and re-entering at Al Ain.

DXBtoDOH

If coming from Sohar he'd go through Hatta, no?

Al Ain crossing was open to expats as of a year ago. I know I crossed it a few times in 2016 for camping trips. I don't think that's changed. The UAE / Oman have complicated the Hatta crossing due to the mini-crossings over the dead scrublands that technically belong to Oman that slows things down and I still think Hatta pools is now off limits to expats for this reason, but I gather visa runs are still going on through Hatta and that makes it the still more logical route from Sohar.

Sabi Star

Though it's not helpful to OP - Qatar Air are having direct flights to Cardiff from May 2018. The Chief Ex. Akbar Al Bakerm said'' Wales is a huge developing state. It was important we operate and connect with the people of Wales and the South West. When a child needs a bar of chocolate you don't give it in pieces. The region is longing for an international flight. As one of the world's only 5 star airlines, why shouldn't we go daily?''

Miss Ann Thrope

There are four border crossings in and around Al Ain. The two in the city are for GCC nationals only. Hafeet/Jezyad and Wadi Jizzi/Khatam Al Shikhla are a bit out of the centre but open to all. The former is towards Ibri and the latter towards Sohar.

The direct road from Dubai to Hatta is now only open to GCC nationals. Expats need to make a diversion towards Mleiha from Madam to avoid crossing into Oman territory en route, adding about 30 mins driving time. Sohar to al Ain to Dubai might thus be a better option especially as the Jizzi/Khatam crossing is usually pretty quiet.

All this additional border nonsense around the Hatta pools, Mahadah and Buraimi is due to the UAE increasing border controls. None of those crossings are Omani as those areas remain in a special zone in Oman - that's why the Oman border points have always been much deeper into Oman (except Hafeet in the other direction which is why you can walk from one border point to the other there).

cookiedad

@Sabi Star, thanks for flagging this. The reason I am looking for options for DXB-DOH is that QR does not have overnight flights on Friday morning from DOH to London between April and October. The earliest flight is at 540am on Friday which lands at 11am and then half a day is lost.










It is hard to apply for leave where I work so the only way I can see my family is the Friday/Saturday taking overnight flights on both sides. With the embargo I cannot use Emirates or Etihad which have convenient connections to London. The only other option is to fly to Dubai and take the overnight BA to London (Friday early morning) and return using the overnight BA back to Doha on Saturday night. Again here too the embargo makes it a pain. Sorry for ranting about a first world problem caused by the embargo!

scrubbedexpat141

What about the 1630 on a Thursday?

Miss Ann Thrope

What about Oman Air flights to London? Or BA from Kuwait?

Millhouse

RJ via Jordan
Turkish via Istanbul
Egypt Hahahahahair via Cairo

cookiedad

@Scamp: Don't have the luxury of leaving office that early
@Ann: Oman Air is an option but I cant seem to get a decent return connection from MCT to DOH and earliest I can get to Doha is 1200pm on Sunday. Looks like a lot of AE folks using morning MCT to DOH flights


BA does not have an overnight from Kuwait into London

DXBtoDOH

QA has a 1:40 AM flight to Edinburgh, getting in at 7:20 AM, on Friday mornings.

I took this very flight a month ago (there's a long and entertaining story involved but I'll spare you). Consider flying there and then a train/easyjet/BA internally to your home airport?

scrubbedexpat141

What about increasing the trip length and reducing frequency, so you don't use much holiday and get away on and early Thursday returning Saturday on decent flights?

Anywhere else Qatar fly to? Can you get most of the way? Amsterdam? Paris? Frankfurt etc?

cookiedad

@scamp: doing that now i.e. taking Thursday off and flying at 145am Thursday morning much to the slight irritation of my boss


QR are weird in the sense that they are charge a fortune if it is a multi city trip even if both cities are in UK/Europe e.g. DOH-BHX/EDI and LHR-DOH is significantly more expensive than DOH-LHR-DOH