Qatar with kids: 12 fun activities

By Anna Purpurpurpur

Doha is a great destination to visit with kids: you can stay in a hotel with poolside and beach activities or visit multiply attractions throughout the city!

There is a plethora of activities interesting both for adults, and for kids.

See my list of activities all approved by my little one and by us.

1. Attend one of Qatar festivals

Qatar always has different festivals: Oud musical festivals, Food festivals, Falcon Marmi festivals, film festivals, dhow festivals… And we were lucky to attend the Kite Festival!

This year it took place in different locations, and we attended it on its final day at the Old Port of Doha close to the Mina district’s pastel houses. As the New Lunar Year approached, there were quite a few giant snakes in the sky: these cobras of different colours were at least 10 metres long! Other giant creatures included animals, fishes, Batman and other superheroes, and various symbols of the country such as falcons, oryxes, and even a huge dhow boat.

But there were “normal” sized kites too – people brought them with them or bought them on site. Of course, we wanted to participate too and bought a pretty small Macaw kite. So much fun!

And pastel – coloured Mina district houses was pretty close, so attenders could get some refreshments in cafes after a busy day too.

Drone shows are also one of the options – just keep an eye on a Qatar calendar account for the events! We watched an amazing drone show promoting the Jewellery and watch exhibition – this is my second drone show (first one was for the Platinum jubilee in London in 2022, and I also celebrated my 30th birthday on that day)

2. Visit the Doha cruise port

Inside the Doha Cruise port you can find an aquarium (basically one large tank with fish) and an entertainment area with displays telling you about Qatar. This would make a perfect addition to your visit to Mina district!

3. Ride gondola at the Pearl

The pearl is an artificial island built in the shape of an unfastened pearl necklace (aka S form) where the expats live in Doha.

Can you imagine that they built the whole of Venice here, with the Rialto bridge, canals, and palazzos? If you travel with a kid like us, don’t miss this experience, it’s very fun both for kids and adults!

To highlight the Italian vibes and to enhance the palazzo outlooks, we took a ‘gondola ride’ here, in Qanat Quarter of the Pearl, along the canals – the city at night looks incredible, and kids absolutely love boat rides!

Qanat quarter, Little Venice with musical steps installation, Gewan island and its crystal walk, Medina central area, and photo walk with a view over Marina with yachts, clock posts, – those will be your destinations here!

4. Have a Dhow ride from the Corniche

If you’re looking for an experience to remember, choose a dhow ride along the Corniche up to the financial centre Al Dafna and back. There are dozens of dhows, traditional wooden boats, along the Corniche promenade, all glimmering with fairy lights and booming with loud music; you can choose the length of your cruise (we went for a 30 min long one).

And of course pop inside the Museum of the Islamic art and just walk around the Doha Corniche with the Pearl monument and FIFA Championship 2022.

5. Say Hi to Robot at the Desert Rose cafe at the NMOQ

Come to the National museum of Qatar and make sure to cisit the Desert Rose cafe located on the premises of the museum, it’s such a treat!

The unusual building of the museum and the cafe interior were created in the shape of a desert rose, a natural phenomenon when a part of sand kind of fossilises and creates a crystal ‘flower’ with irregular petals.

In this cafe, inside the museum, they serve coffee and other drinks, sandwiches, salads and desserts. But there’s more: you can be served by a robot! Totally reminded me of South Korea – and such a cool addition to the cafe vibe. Your kids will be impressed for sure.

6. Explore the Panda house

The Panda House is the first panda park in the Middle East opened in 2022 to commemorate the World Cup which makes Qatar the first country in the region to receive Chinese giant pandas!

Two pandas live here: Thuraya and Suhail, one female and one male,both named after stars/constellations. Each has its own custom made enclosure.

The space is very well made, and there is also a panda themed cafe (with a view over pandas!), a kids only creative space, a shop, and a garden around the house.

I’ve been to China (Chengdu panda reserve), Singapore and many other places which have pandas but I’ve never seen a panda so close!

Important: you should book your tickets in advance via Oun app! There are no tickets sold on the site!

7. Have fun at OliOli museum

OliOli museum located by the Lafayette gallery at the Katara village is a must visit for curious and active kids! OliOli means Joy in Hawaiian – you’ve probably already heard this word because Dubai has a famous children’s museum under the same name, and in 2021 OliOli opened in Doha too.

Here you can learn some simple scientific principles, play with bubbles, build a car, compose music with water – and of course, play and have lots of fun! You can choose different entrance packages for 2 or 3 hours and decide whether you want to visit permanent galleries only or the temporary ones too. The staff there is very friendly, showing your kids around and teaching them how to use various stations. Ideal age to visit is 2 to 11 years.

A large toys sop is located nearby too.

8. Spend an evening at DADU garden and museum

DADU garden and museum is an educational and fun area for kids with “DADU” meaning play. There are different play stations with all sorts of activities from drawing to making giant cars. They have a little zoo with farm animals and a small garden with vegetables where you can water plants yourself.

However, the garden is open only a few days a week for a half day in the afternoon which is not very convenient (it gets chilly and dark in the evening in January). As far as I understand, this facility is planned to be enlarged in the future and now it’s more like a soft opening. Alright it’s pretty good already, it must get even better! Don’t forget to check their timings (for instance, on their Instagram page).

9. Go fishing in the Arabian Gulf

If you travel in Doha with kids, you have a chance to have a very special experience – a fishing trip in the Arabian Gulf (don’t forget to book this in advance).

We woke up at 6 in the morning to have a boat ride and enjoy some fishing not far from Doha. What a gorgeous view over the Mina district and the business district of Qatar we had in the early hours!

We had a few stops, at the floating island and also fished from the boat directly; so much fun!

We didn’t catch much (a few Four-lined Terapons, Pelates quadrilineatus, and other small fish; plus a couple of crabs) but as we’ve been fishing enthusiasts since childhood, we enjoyed our time a lot!

10. Pay a visit to 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic & Sports Museum

3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum opened in 2022 is a fantastic modern museum where you can learn everything about sport! It has a lovely immersive introduction to the traditional sports of different countries like horse racing, rowing, karate, kemari (Japanese one), dragon boats racing etc.

Of course, a large bit of the exhibition is dedicated to Ancient Greece, historical Olympic Games and the history of modern Olympic Games.

There’s a large collection of torches from different Olympic Games, medals, personal objects of the winners, mascots and lots of stories about the winners! You can also learn about the history of sport activities in the Middle East and of course in Qatar too.

It’s fun for everyone, and there are lots of immersive activities within the museum: you can try digital horse racing, or a boat ride along the Nile, or traditional climbing. Temporary exhibition during our visit was dedicated to racing. The Aspire tower and the Villagio mall are located close.

Besides that, pop inside the Vilaggio Mall for a gondola or a bus ride!

Besides that, come to Gondolinia in Villlagio, an indoor theme park for kids with many rides options. There are rides for all ages, and the area was not crowded during the daytime on a weekday.

11. Al Bidda Park

Parks such as Al Bidda always make me speechless: I can’t even imagine how much effort and money should go into keeping it green and blooming in such a climate! There are not only pretty tidy lawns, there are some flower beds, playgrounds, and many clusters and monuments to admire while you pass them by.

Moreover, there’s a view over the West bay, there are some sports facilities and there’s Wadi Al Sail Historical Site which gets covered in plants from time to time. And to add a bit to the list, there are even in-built barbecue stations.

12. Souq Waqif

Souq Waqif is a restored traditional market in the Doha downtown, and wondering around it is a great activity for adults and kids.

Come here to get introduced to the local arts&crafts and food and get lost in the old alleyways! Carpets, pillows with traditional patterns, clothes, spices, oud and perfumes, souvenirs – you can find everything here. Arabian magic at its best – your kids will be enchanted by the Aladdin vibes.

It’s been recently renovated however I found that it is at least 2 centuries old – Bedouins brought their goods for trade here. You can also spot Al Koot Fort (or Doha Fort) built in 1927 by Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani.

The camels of the royal guard are kept at the Camel pen (with a roof and the ceiling fans!) at the Souq Waqif, and you can see the guards riding them in the evening. Their front legs are tied up together so they could wander around the pen but cannot walk away.

Camels are not the only animals you can see here: there’s a falcon souk too! Falconry was one of the main traditional activities in this part of the world, and you can see the birds here by yourself, sitting on the poles and wearing a traditional hats covering the eyes. Some of them are super expensive! Falcon hospital is also nested within Falcon souk premises.

And finally, the Arabic horses are also located by the market and you can spot many marvellous creatures here in the stables. Do you see that they are actually different from European horses? These magnificent animals are definitely the pride of Qatar!

Finally, you can walk through the open-air zoo shop with parrots, turtles, ducks etc being sold there. Overall, this place is a must visit for visit!

Where to stay: St Regis Doha

St Regis Doha is a luxury beach hotel located on the West Bay. There are three giant sculptures of Oryx too: this is a national symbol of Qatar, you spot two of them immediately upon your arrival.

We had an Empire Suite overlooking the the large territory with pools, restaurants and beach great for family stay. However the access to the pool area from the rooms was a bit inconvenient.

Our large and stylish room was decorated in blue and neutral colours, and the room service was exceptional.

This hotel has everything you might need for a vacation including a number of restaurants including Novikov (however the service there is crying for some proper staff training), Fauchon and Hakkasan. Hakkasan Doha, located right inside the hotel, had a fantastic menu for the Chinese New year with snake – themed desserts, cocktails and food with “lucky” ingredients promoting prosperity and wealth.

Special place is dedicated to Vilebrequin: you can see its symbol – the turtle – everywhere, at La Plage, the brasserie and around the pool. And during the nighttime, giant turtles were projected over the pool area.