Sleeping in Doha Airport

Whether your situation calls for a short nap during your layover or an overnight slumber, this sleep guide will give you the essential information needed to prepare you for sleeping in Doha Airport.

Our guide is updated with the help of airport sleepers who tell us about their experiences at Doha Airport. If you have a tip or photos to share, please take a moment to write a review to help us keep this sleep guide up-to-date!

Read the latest traveller reviews.

Sleeping in Doha Airport

Locations & Seating

There’s plenty of seating, though most of it is fitted with armrests. Some Quiet Rooms have semi-reclined seats intended for sleeping, as long as your can fall asleep on your back. A few travellers tried lying on the carpet for some shuteye. Some were told that it is not allowed, but others had no issues from staff.

Here are good spots that travellers recommend for sleeping:

Quiet Rooms in Concourses A, B, and C offer lounge chairs – see Rest Zones below for more info.
Level 0 in Concourse C, downstairs from Gates C20-C29 has little foot traffic and some privacy – sleep in the chairs or on the carpeted floor.
The children’s play areas are soft and generally quiet at night.
Family and TV areas located at Concourses A, B, and C have a few couches.

Rest Zones

Doha Airport Quiet Room — (Photo courtesy of a Guest traveller / 13Jun2015)

Doha Airport offers designated Quiet Rooms, separated by gender, where tired travellers can relax and enjoy some stress-free time before their flight. There are semi-reclined lounge chairs here, but they’re not everyone’s idea of comfortable sleeping. Many people congregate in these areas, so they’re often more like not-so-Quiet Rooms, which means earplugs might come in handy. Locations can be found throughout airport.

Temperature

Many travellers have reported very cold temperatures, particularly overnight. Arrive prepared with a blanket or even a sleeping bag. A hoodie provides extra warmth if the terminal gets even colder.

Lighting

Several reviewers have pointed out that bright lights stay on around the clock. Arrive prepared with eyeshades or something else to cover your eyes, such as a shirt or towel.

Noise

The airport is busy with travellers at all hours, so noise is common, even in the middle of the night. Come prepared with earplugs or noise-cancelling headphones.

Pro-tip: If you chose a spot near any eateries, keep in mind that the staff arrive early and they can get pretty loud in the kitchen.

Showers

Freshen up (and loosen those stiff muscles) with a shower before your flight. Location: Vitality Wellbeing & Fitness Centre, located inside the Oryx Airport Hotel. Some pay-to-use lounges offer show facilities, too. Check out this list of lounges in our Doha Airport Guide.

Food & Drink

When you get the midnight munchies or give up trying to sleep and need a coffee to stay awake, 24-hour food concessions are available, though we are unable to confirm their locations.

Hotels

Prefer some privacy and comfort? If you would like a good solid sleep between flights without the stress of going through security, there are a few transit hotels available. The Sleep n’ Fly Lounge offers sleep cabins that can accommodate 1-2 people looking for short term sleep. Cabins are available hourly with a 2 hour minimum. For a traditional room, the Oryx Airport Hotel is located inside Security, just 2 minutes from Immigration and 5 minutes walking from Gates A10 and B10. Day rooms are available, with a 5-hour minimum stay. See the hotel section in our Airport Guide for locations or visit Tripadvisor to find hotels deals at Doha Airport.

Lounges

While Doha Airport has a few lounges, none have any sleep rooms or rest areas. If you just want to relax in a comfortable seat, check out this list of lounges in our Doha Airport Guide that you can pay to access.

Security & Safety

At the time of this update, we have no reports from travellers commenting on safety issues at Doha Airport. As a precaution, here are a few tips to ensure you have a safe airport sleeping experience:

Know Where Security is Located. Whether you are sleeping in the airport by yourself or with friends, it is good to know where security is. Know where their office is located and look for video cameras in the spot you decide to stay the night. Ask security where it is safe to spend the night. They’ve probably seen many airport sleepers before you and they will direct you to a safe spot.
Don’t Seclude Yourself. If you are travelling alone we recommend that you sleep near other travellers or close to security.
Hide Your Valuables. Don’t leave all your mobile devices out in plain view. We have received reports from people who woke up with earphones and no ipod and a laptop bag strap and no laptop bag (or laptop). Same goes with important documents and money. Keep these secure on your body, so that no one can get them without waking you up.
Secure Your Bags. If you are a deep sleeper, you may want to padlock your bag to something. If your bags have zippers turn the bag upside down (zippers to the floor) or sleep with your bag up against the wall, so that it would be hard for someone to access.
Choose to Stay Alert. If you don’t feel safe, drink coffee and stay awake and be alert. You can always sleep on the plane!

Pro-tip: If you are sleeping in the public zone, don’t be surprised if you receive an early morning wake-up call. Security is known to make the rounds waking people up as travellers begin to arrive for morning flights.