Our first stop was at Sealine Beach, one of Qatar’s most popular public beaches, where the towering dunes of southern Qatar begin. Sealine Beach sits at the end of the east road, around an hour’s drive south of Doha, past Qatar’s petroleum refineries and natural gas processing plants. This is Qatar’s leading shore diving destination, and while the dive sites aren’t the best in the Gulf, it’s still fun to check them out. Primary sites include New Club Reef and GMC Reef, both artificial reefs where crabs, stingrays, and tropical fish hang out in submerged cars and monster tires and the Dooba, a sunken barge where you may spot a turtle or two.
We joined locals at the public section of the beach to the south, backed by impressive dunes and acres of white sand in the desolate desert. Not far from there, you can hire quads or buggies for adventure in dunes or make a deal with camel drivers angling to sell you a ride.
Travel Tips – 4 borders crossing in one day
Yesterday morning, we left the beach and drove straight to the border. This time, we crossed it a little faster, but again, we were delayed by the procedures on the Saudi side (information about crossing the UAE-KSA border is here). About 50 kilometers beyond the border, we took diesel at the first “normal” gas station, Sasco (1 l / 1.2 SAR, you can pay by card). After that, we continued towards the border with Qatar. On the Saudi side, everything went smoothly and quickly (stamps in the passport, exit slip, and a sticker in the CPD carnet).
Then we had a nerve-wracking passage through the Qatari border. First, we had to have our biometrics taken. We already had the visas ready online in advance (30 days / single entry / 100 QAR) because many travelers had problems obtaining VOA. There was only one counter open in the arrival hall and crowds of people. We stayed there for two hours. There, we got a slip with a stamp for the exit gate.
The biggest problems and delays were at the customs office, where the assigned customs officer treated us arrogantly and unfriendly. As a local helper from Nepal commented, “He is not a good man.” He didn’t want to let us go further, so he called his superior to approve his decision. His superior didn’t understand why he had a problem with our truck. He just said, “Nice house,” apologized for the pointless delays, and ordered him to stamp us an exit customs document.
Then we continued to the counter, where we bought insurance (QAR 165 / 7 days) and, this time, also senselessly for the Honda scooter (QAR 45 / 7 days) that we will not use here anyway. We spent a total of 6 hours there.
We were so tired that we only drove a few kilometers to the Woqod gas station (diesel 1L / QAR 2.05). We bought there our Ooredoo sim card (10 QAR for sim and 100 QAR / 20 GB / 28 days). Then we recharged it via application (10 GB / 60 QAR / 28 days). We had a pretty good dinner at the Golden Spoon restaurant (Chicken Biryani, Zinger sandwich with French fries, and two Lemon Mint Juices) for 41 QAR. And then next door, at the relatively expensive cafe La Princesse Coffee, we had one Cold Mocca Coffee and one Brownie for QAR 43.90. In the morning, we refilled our water tank there and hit the road to start the discovery of the State of Qatar. Note that the actual exchange rate was 3,85 QAR / 1 EUR.
Parking location – Mesaieed: 24.851922N 51.509197E (🚻)