DOH to DXB travel
 

Question for the regular travelers doing DOH to DXB or even DOH to SHJ/AUH route on a Thursday evening. I have the researched the following options.

DOH to DXB via Muscat: 4 hours travel time best case scenario costing QAR1000 upwards
DOH to DXB via Kuwait: 4-5 hours travel time best case scenario costing QAR1000 upwards

Any other faster/cheaper/convenient options I am missing? If this has been discussed elsewhere in the forum please direct me there. Thank you all in advance for your help.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Nope. Those are the two options.

Going through Muscat is better. Kuwait is much more prone to delays and long queues. At least Muscat is within driving distance of Dubai if anything goes wrong. And Muscat Airport has a bar.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

QAR 1000 sounds pretty reasonable.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

One way. It's 2k round trip.

Before the embargo it was 500 round trip on QA or Emirates.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

yeesh... sounds horrendous

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

I've heard even more now, hence my surprise at only 1k.

We've stopped travel between them unless totally necessary and billable to the project / client wherever possible.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

In all my years here, I've been to Qatar only once and that was in transit. I thank my lucky stars every day.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Just a FYI that expat whispers over the weekend are saying embargo could last up to five years. Apparently some big multinational is making internal plans based on that assumption.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

only five years?
new normal.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Couple of working days there and one flight through.

Didn't dislike it at all, wasn't all that different. Same poop different toilet.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Five years?
Why not ten?
Think Iran
I don't see the peoples and governments of this region being particularly conciliatory or accommodating and you can just plain forget compromise I think.

Who are the losers here?

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

correct, longer it goes on for the more it plays into qatar's hands, unfortunately.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Thanks for the responses.

Anybody tried or heard of Doha to Sohar by Qatar Airways and then onwards to Dubai by road? Apparently there are shared taxis from Sohar to Dubai. This is based on hearsay so want to check if anybody has tried it? Thanks.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Enjoy the 6-7hour drive.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

I'm sure it's a valid possibility and possibly even slightly quicker assuming you hop straight into a car and head straight for Dubai (no wasting time with layover waits) and there's no border crossing delays but it does add a level of complication to the journey.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

Three seems more realistic.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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 :lol:

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.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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?''

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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).

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

@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!

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

What about the 1630 on a Thursday?

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

RJ via Jordan
Turkish via Istanbul
Egypt Hahahahahair via Cairo

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

@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

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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?

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

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?

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

@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

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

I take this flight regularly, highly recommended. Edinburgh has good onwards connections to many UK airports. You can book through either QA or BA, on the same flight.

There's also a BA flight from Heathrow to Doha on a Saturday night. Leaves at 22:10 and lands about 07:05 BST on Sunday (BA0123). I took this flight coming back after Eid and went straight to the office, blaming the Doha traffic for being slightly late.

The OP could also bring the family out to Doha to visit during the school hols, book them into a nice 5* hotel with a pool and access to the beach. Lots of good deals to be had, since there are no tourists from the B4 countries.

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

**** the boss. Any boss who quibbles over a day or two's leave doesn't deserve you. :thumbup:

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

That's rather what I thought. Seems there is a difference of expectation between employee and boss and that's not good after the deal is done!

Re: DOH to DXB travel
 

I guess some are difficult. I'm going to the UK for work next week and it was my boss who suggested going earlier, not taking leave and spending time with my Mum.

That's the kind of boss I'd like to be when I grow up.