Desert by the sea
We go camping a lot, and we love camping in the desert. Many weekends during the year you can find us either in Liwa (the Empty Quarter or Rub al Kalee), or any of the other deserts closer to Abu Dhabi. They are vast, with endless rolling and sometimes towering sand dunes, and we absolutely love them. It is stunning in the desert, and spending a night sleeping under millions of stars beats any hotel room anywhere.
As Sal, Mark and Iona all lived in Doha, we decided it was time to see what Qatar has to offer for camping trips. And we flew over on a Thursday evening as Qatar still has a Friday and Saturday weekend, meaning it doesn’t align very well with our traditional, more common Saturday and Sunday weekend.
After a lovely dinner out at Desert Rose, we spent the night in Sal’s mansion complete with private pool on the outskirts of Doha. The next morning we loaded up the car, and drove over to Mark and Iona’s place. It had been ages since we had caught up with them, and it was great to be able to spend some time together. Heading out into the desert in Qatar you find many places to deflate (and inflate upon your return) your tyres. You can literally sit in your car and have somebody do the deflating for you….!
Sal’s mansion on the outskirts of Doha
the area where you enter the desert in Qatar is full of entertainment options
We cruised through some of the dunes and spotted still quite a few semi-permanent camps. Many in the process of being dismantled. Here in Qatar, many of the locals set up a semi-permanent campsite for winter where they will spend all of their weekends. We’re not sure you can still call some of them campsites, as there were many mobile homes and whole toilet blocks on wheels present. Apparently it can be quite hard in winter to find a spot, as people set up camp everywhere. You have to be careful not to crest a dune and then upon descent find yourself in the middle of someone’s camp.
Jude, Iona, Sal and Mark in the desert of Qatar
These camps all have to be registered with their location, and at the end of the winter season they have to be removed, including all rubbish. This will be checked by government officials as they have a huge problem with people leaving litter behind in the sand dunes (the same problem exists in the UAE and Saudi Arabia). A real shame as it looks so much nicer without all the plastic bottles and empty food containers around.
We found a lovely spot right next to the water’s edge and set up our mini camp with just two tiny tents, one for us and one for Sal, as unfortunately Mark and Iona had to drive back after our lovely bbq. We spent a few hours eating and chatting, before they set off on their drive back to Doha. We settled in for the humid night, and woke up to the sound of gentle lapping waves right in front of our tent.
we watch a few quad bikes zoom past our bbq and camp spot
our camp spot, right next to the Arabian Gulf
Of course we had to go for a quick swim with the dolphins we could see further out, before packing up. We went on another drive through the dunes towards the inland sea before inflating our tyres again at one of the stations at the edge of the desert.
Jude and Sal ready for the morning swim with the dolphins in the Arabian Gulf
the inland sea of Qatar
Sal enjoying the drive
that’s right, you don’t even have to get out of your car to inflate your tyres after spending the weekend in the desert of Qatar
And after a nice stroll on the boardwalks of Al Thakira mangroves in Qatar’s northeast, it was already time to head back to Abu Dhabi. We had very much enjoyed spending precious time with friends in the desert of Qatar, and loved the novelty of camping next to the sea in the desert. But, in our humble opinion, the deserts of the UAE are more impressive and beautiful, and offer many more stunning locations for camping trips.
we also go for a walk at Al Thakira mangroves in Qatar’s northeast