Souq Al Wakrah Layover: A Beach South of Doha
Part of the full Doha in One Day: The Souq Waqif Market
Souq Al Wakrah, on the shore about 19 kilometres south of central Doha, is a market rebuilt in low sandstone around a lit seafront boardwalk, a run of narrow lanes behind it, an open swimming beach and a harbour where wooden fishing dhows are still propped on the sand.
The boardwalk runs the whole seaward side of the souq
The promenade is what the souq was rebuilt around: a paved strip with restaurant terraces and cafés along the landward side and nothing but sand and water on the other, so you get the whole length of it without crossing a road. It opened in December 2014 as part of a national push to put Qatar’s older coastal settlements back together rather than let them fall down, and the buildings along it are deliberately low, flat-roofed and rendered in sandstone.
Almost nobody is out here in the middle of the afternoon, and the place changes completely around sunset, when the lamps come on and the terraces fill. If the gap you are working with is long enough to go further south still, a half-day desert run out to the Inland Sea can be booked through a tours and activities platform, though at four to six hours it is a whole layover rather than part of one.
This is a small coastal town, not a transport hub: there is no left-luggage desk at the station, no lockers at the souq and nothing at the beach, so anything you bring gets carried the whole way.
Sandstone lanes run behind the seafront
Step one street back from the terraces and the souq goes quiet: plain rendered walls the colour of the ground they stand on, heavy studded timber doors, the occasional tree leaning over the paving, and the sea showing at the end of every second alley. The lanes are narrow and unevenly paved, and in daylight most of them are empty.
What is behind those doors is shops, galleries and small restaurants rather than houses, and a fair number of them only open in the late afternoon. That is worth knowing before you build an itinerary around browsing: on a midday stop the lanes are something to walk through rather than shop in, and the walking is the better part of it anyway.
Fishing dhows stand propped on the sand at the water’s edge
Al Wakrah lived on pearling and fishing for generations before Doha grew into what it is now, and the fleet did not entirely go away. Wooden dhows sit at the shoreline stood upright on timber legs, hulls planked and ribbed and rigged, close enough to walk around.
The beach itself runs off the southern end of the market, and it is a swimming beach rather than a promenade to watch the water from, with shallow water, no gate and no charge. Zaha Hadid Architects’ first stadium, Al Janoub, stands a few kilometres inland from here, its roof drawn from the sails of exactly the boats sitting on this sand; it is a working football ground rather than a visitor attraction, but it is the shape on the skyline coming in.
The airport is nearer to here than the middle of Doha is
Al Wakra is the southern end of the Red Line, and the airport sits between it and the city, which is the whole argument for this trip: from here the run to the Hamad International Airport (DOH) Terminal 1 station is north up the line and then a change at Oqba Ibn Nafie onto the airport branch, around fifteen minutes of riding plus whatever the change costs. A standard single is QAR 2 with a QAR 6 daily cap, and a taxi does the same journey directly in about twenty minutes.
The leg to watch is at this end. Al Wakra station is about five kilometres inland from the souq, so a free feeder bus or a taxi covers the last stretch in roughly fifteen or ten minutes respectively, and walking it takes nearly half an hour with no shade on the way. Trains run 5am to 1am Saturday through Thursday and start at 9am on Fridays. If you would rather spend the gap in the city than south of it, the central Doha itinerary is twenty minutes further north and built around one interchange, and the rebuilt market in the middle of town is the direct comparison to this one, bigger, busier and roofed rather than open to the sea.
Frequently asked questions
What should I do during a layover near Souq Al Wakrah in Doha?
Walk the seafront and the lanes behind it, and give it two hours. The boardwalk runs the length of the souq with restaurant terraces on one side and sand on the other, the lanes behind are low sandstone with heavy timber doors and almost nobody in them outside the evening, and the beach at the end is a real swimming beach rather than a view. Wooden dhows sit propped on the sand where the fishing boats are kept. Nothing here is ticketed, and the whole thing is free apart from what you eat.
How far is Souq Al Wakrah from Hamad International Airport?
Closer than the middle of Doha is, which is the reason to consider it at all. The souq sits about 19 kilometres south of central Doha, and the airport lies between the two. By metro it is a run north up the line and then a change at Oqba Ibn Nafie onto the branch that serves Hamad International Airport (DOH) Terminal 1, roughly fifteen minutes of riding plus the change. A taxi does it directly in about twenty minutes.
Can you walk to Souq Al Wakrah from Al Wakra metro station?
You can, but it is about five kilometres and takes the better part of half an hour, and there is no shade on it. The station sits inland and the souq is on the coast. A free feeder bus runs from the station and covers the last stretch in around a quarter of an hour, which is what most people use; a taxi from the station rank does it in about ten minutes. Budget for that leg in both directions when you are working back from a departure time.
Is there anywhere to leave a bag at Souq Al Wakrah?
No, and that is the practical case for arriving without one. This is a small coastal town rather than a transport hub: there is no station left-luggage desk, no lockers at the souq and nothing at the beach, so whatever comes down here gets carried along the boardwalk, through the lanes and onto the sand. The drop-off points in Qatar cluster in central Doha, which is on the way in either direction.