Long haul flight- what would you choose?

[Kakkilakki]

We’re flying from Europe to Australia via Qatar later this year. We were supposed to fly late afternoon Tuesday, 3.5 hour layover and arrive in Australia Wednesday evening.

Our flight has changed. Now we have two choices:

1. Leave 09:30 on Wednesday, 3.5 hour layover, arrive 17:30 Thursday. We lose a day of our holiday and will need to stay in a hotel on Tuesday night because we live a long drive from the airport, which is £££

1. Leave late afternoon on Tuesday as planned. Have a 21 hour layover in Doha with a hotel provided. Arrive 17:30 Thursday so still lose a day of holiday

So basically pay out of pocket for an airport hotel, or have a 21 hour stay in Doha that is paid for. Arrival in Australia wouldn’t change.

We are travelling with two primary school aged kids.

I’d do the layover in Doha

I would break the journey up in Doha. The kids get the excitement of a hotel for a rest. The flights to Aus are so long I think you will be grateful of a split journey.

I would also do the layover

Definitely layover in Doha

Long layover in Doha would be my choice.

Definitely the Doha option, you get to rest in a hotel and it will feel like part of the holiday

Oh I'd stay in Doha definitely. It would break up the journey really well, time to relax, have a nice long shower/bath, go out to dinner and so on. Like a mini holiday within the holiday! It's a no brainer really.

Layover in Doha. We flew home from Australia with Qatar last year. If I would’ve known that they cover layover hotel costs then I definitely would’ve spent the night there to stretch our legs and break the flying up a bit. Our layover was only 2 hours and I was dreading getting back on the plane!

Layover in Doha

Doha definitely! Even the airport is exciting!

Seems unanimous! Can someone explain how layovers work? I’ve flown to Australia a few times but always straight through.

Do we choose the hotel and book it? Or do Qatar sort that?

How do we get to it?

Can we leave and explore a bit?

Do we need a visa?

Sorry for so many questions but I’d like to be informed before we make the decision.

For a while I wasn’t sure if this trip would even go ahead (thanks, Trump…). So I’m already quite nervous

What airline? I am sure most airlines offer similar transit options to Qatar air. Check with yours.

https://www.qatarairways.com/en/hia-hamad-international-airport/transit-accommodation.html

Late Tuesday departure. I'm thinking maximise rest on the way might reduce some of the jetlag.

That’s easy. A stopover in Doha. You get to see a bit of the city, walk about, swim in the hotel pool, nice shower and comfy bed before your next leg.

Thanks all.

A hotel before our flight would have cost us about £250 and we would still need to be at the airport at 7am. A few weeks ago I didn’t want to
spend more time than necessary in the ME. It seems to have calmed down, hopefully it stays that way.