The City of Doha, Qatar has one of the most approachable souq markets. It’s a clean and welcoming place that allows locals and tourists to intermingle while shopping for a souvenir, getting in some entertainment or visiting a local restaurant. We made the most of our short stopover by coming back for a visit and walking the streets of the market.

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This post is one chapter on our trip to South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and the United Arab Emirates. This trip was redeemed through American Airlines AAdvantage & Alaska Mileage Plan. For more information on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction here. For other parts of the trip, please see this index.

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Activity: Strolliing the Night Market of Souq Wahif, Doha, Qatar

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“The Night Market of Souq Wahif is a must visit attraction, even if on a short stopover like us for any visit to Doha, Qatar”

About Souq Wahif:

We had visited Souq Wahif on our previous stopover in Doha in 2012. The story goes that a Souq has been on this site for over 100 years. Most of the older buildings were torn town and reconstructed. It now appears to be a bit artificial, commercial and less authentic. Despite this, I was keen to return since it’s nothing like the shopping or night life experience back home. It remains one of the main attractions in Doha and is easily worth a visit when you are in town.

Getting There:

We only had 14 hours in Doha, Qatar including a sleep. Being young at heart, we went out and took in a visit to Souq Wahif. We used Uber X from the Westin Doha Hotel and Spa up to the Souq. Our driver didn’t speak any English, but that was okay. We had no problems getting an Uber X and the only issues were the amount of traffic thanks to the road construction of the Doha subway that was causing some general traffic re-routing problems. Only 15 QAR ($4.11 USD) later and we were at the back of the Souq.

Visiting Souq Wahif:

It was Friday night (the equivalent of Saturday night in the Middle East) and the place was packed. We wandered the alley ways and streets taking in the smells of water pipes and downs of families out at the market.

There were quite a few restaurants but not a lot of english menus. I’d bring your translator with you or be prepared for some food surprises.

Near the Corniche, there happened to be a stage set up for a concert related to the Spring Festival. We happened to get some free entertainment in the form of a concert. We also took in the views.

Walking the Animal Kingdom:

We headed back towards the hotel side of the Souq through the “Animal Kingdom”. The Souq sells lots of animals and if you visit during daytime trading hours, you can even see the falcons for sale that are used in falconry. Tonight, it was mostly household animals in small cages. The cages were quite cramped compared to MrsWT73’s cat at home whom is afforded every luxury living in a three level house. There have been reports of some attempts to change the living conditions of the animals here. An animal lover at heart, it made MrsWT73 a bit sad and I only include the photo to show the amount of cages out and around in the “Animal Kingdom”.

We caught an Uber X back to the hotel and bedded down for the evening. Otherwise it was a nice visit and fun to take in a bit of culture at crossroads where I never actually thought that I would ever return to.

Our trip to Souq Wahif:

It’s always great when you can sneak in a visit to an attraction on a stop over. Our visit back to Souq Wahif was a neat experience to walk down memory lane. It was packed on our visit making it a very vibrant experience. I’d highly recommend a trip to Souq Wahif while in Doha, Qatar.

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If you’ve visited the Doqu Wahif, did you come away with any local treasures?

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