Using your transit as a tour is one of the best and cheap way to add more countries to your traveling.
So, I’ll share my experience and some hacks by following you can visit more countries
1. When you are booking a flight to any countries and if you see that you have a layover or by manually add in a filter that you need a flight with a layover, in this case, you’ll get a cheap flight option also…
2. Try to find more than 8hr transit time (safely should be more than 12hr) also when you are booking flight see in which country you have layover so you don’t have to pay extra for transit visa as we have 2 options to visit a country on transit.
(a)You choose a country that allows visa on arrival on your passport like I visited Qatar without paying any money for a transit visa or visa on arrival as Qatar gives visa on arrival on an Indian passport (Condition: Layover should be more than 8hr) and you need to show hotel booking that you can show dummy hotel booking also you can book any hotel which allows you to pay at property option.
(b)Pay for a transit visa when you arrive at the airport or you can buy prior to your trip but in this case, also you must have more than 8hr transit time (always check with your transit country as some country have different time you can easily check on that airport’s official website) also you need to show hotel booking and best is to book hotel prior to your trip don’t book in last minute.
3. Mode of Transport: The best option is to use (a)public transport as it is cheap and connected all over the city also some country have the option to have a city tour while you’re on transit visit (ex. in Qatar you have bus tour option from the airport to 3hr city tour ), But you can use taxi also they take tour package wise charges. I took a taxi when I was on my transit visit to Qatar, you’ll find many options as you step out of the airport there are so many private taxis you can ask for a city tour and places which you want to see. I booked a taxi (I choose taxi over public transport as I want to visit more places in less time) for 180 QAR (3586INR as of 20Feb21) he was Indian and he was from my uncle’s city so we had after taking to 5-6 taxi drivers I booked his as he took less price so you can always try to bargain as people think you’re a tourist you don’t know anything you will pay any value so best is to ask multiple drivers and decide as per your budget and need.
4. Places to Visit: Always check the best places to visit before you book a ticket and plan for a transit trip so that you get very much aware of places you want to visit and you can directly tell taxi drivers to take you to this location.
If your transit country is Qatar you can visit the places which I covered also you can find the Qatar city tour bus facility which is available from the airport (pick up and drop) price for this tour is QAR75(1494INR as of 20Feb21) places cover in this tour
1. Souq Waqif
2. Dhow Harbour
3. The Pearl
4. Katara Cultural Village
Timings for this tour, from 8:00, am to 9:30 pm every 3-4hr (find at tourist helpline desk)
Also, you can take the Karwa smart card city bus day pass which is 20QAR (unlimited for 24hr) and travel as per your choice.
If you are planning to go by Tour by taxi you can visit
1. Film City
2. Museum of Islamic Art
3. Falcon Souq
4. Souq Waqif
5. Gold Souq
6. Doha City Festival Mall
7. Pearl Qatar
8. Villaggio Mall
And if you have time and budget you can try some water sports (I didn’t do any as it was costly and time taking)
5. Food: Always spend less on food and try not to eat Indian food abroad it’s too expensive, you can have Burger/Sandwich or Kfc at very less price. I spend hardly 40QAR-45QAR so it’s better to save where you can.
6. Manage time always keep eye on your time as you have less time and more place to explore so it’s better to plan accordingly and reach airport 45 prior to boarding time it’s very important to be on time otherwise you can be in trouble and miss your flight.
Hope you find this helpful and you’ll use this tricks in your next trip, to support me follow for more travel hacks and budget trips on Instagram at @voyagewithsib
