Most visitor trips in Doha come down to one choice: take the metro plus a short feeder hop, or take a turquoise Karwa taxi door to door. The two are run by different organisations. The metro has its own operator and card, while Mowasalat, the government-owned company behind the Karwa brand, runs the taxis, the public buses and the Metrolink feeder buses. Knowing who runs what explains why you tap one card at the metro gate and use a different app for everything on the road.
How does paying for the Doha Metro work?
Qatar Tourism's metro guide describes two classes of travel. Standard includes the family carriages, and Goldclub is the premium class. That makes three carriage types on each train. You buy a travel card from the vending machines in any station, and some retailers sell cards too. A Goldclub card comes from the Goldclub office inside a station. You tap in at the start of every journey and tap out at the end.
The one fare figure Qatar Tourism publishes is a ceiling: you can "explore all day for a maximum cost of QAR 6". It gives no per-trip standard fare, Goldclub fare or card price. Those are on the metro operator's websites (qr.com.qa and metrotram.qa), and neither would load for us on 27 September 2026. If you are only riding once or twice, ask at the customer information desk which ticket to buy. Qatar Tourism's page says that "travel cards are for frequent customers only and designed to be topped up", but it does not say what an occasional rider should buy instead.
Where the three lines take a visitor
The map is simpler than its size suggests. All three lines meet at Msheireb, the largest station, and the Red and Green lines also meet at Al Bidda. According to Qatar Tourism, trains run every six minutes and a typical hop from one station to the next takes about three minutes.
| Line | Runs between | Stops a visitor is likely to use |
|---|---|---|
| Red (Coastal) | Al Wakra and Lusail, about 40 km | Hamad International Airport Terminal 1, West Bay Qatar Energy, Katara, Qatar University |
| Green (Education) | Al Mansoura and Al Riffa Mall of Qatar | Education City, Qatar National Library, Hamad Hospital, Al Shaqab |
| Gold (Historic) | Ras Bu Aboud and Al Aziziyah | National Museum, Souq Waqif, Sport City, Al Aziziyah (for Villaggio Mall) |
Three tram systems connect to the metro, and they charge differently. Qatar Tourism's getting-around guide says the Lusail Tram has four lines and 25 stations, meets the metro at Lusail and Legtaifiya, and takes the same metro travel card. The Msheireb Tram is a free 2 km loop around Msheireb Downtown. The Education City Tram is also free, with three lines and 24 stops, and connects with the Education City, Qatar National Library and Al Shaqab metro stations. It keeps shorter hours at weekends: on Fridays and Saturdays the Blue and Green lines run only from 08:00 to 16:00.
When does the metro run, and what changes on Fridays?
Qatar Tourism does not publish opening times. It says the metro is "open from early until late" and warns that hours change for events and seasons. It also flags a shutdown on Friday morning for Friday prayers, when many museums and restaurants close as well. Hamad International Airport's metro page says the service runs seven days a week and that every station shows live updates and last-train times on its monitors.
In practice, a Friday-morning airport arrival or a late dinner in Lusail is when the timetable matters. Look at the last-train times on the station monitors when you set out, not when you are ready to head back.
Karwa taxis: how to book and pay
Mowasalat's taxi and limousine page lists three ways to book: the Karwa Taxi app, online booking, and a 24-hour customer service line on 4458 8888. The same page lists an Economy tier, run with Fox Transport, that you can book only in the app, plus limousine classes and 7-seater SUVs and vans for families. At the airport, Mowasalat operates every taxi. The airport's taxi page puts the Taxi Pavilion at the left end of the Arrivals Hall and lists cashless payment by Mastercard, Visa, Apple Pay, Google Pay and NAPS. You can also book in advance on +974 800 8294.
Neither Mowasalat nor the airport publishes a current taxi tariff. The latest figures we found come from the press, not from Mowasalat itself: the Qatar Tribune reported in February 2018 that fares from 1 February 2018 were a QR4 flag fall, QR1.6 per km by day and QR1.9 per km at night, with a QR10 minimum plus a QR1 technology charge. Airport pickups started at QR25. On that tariff, a 10 km daytime ride came to 4 + (10 × 1.6) = QR20. Those figures are more than eight years old, so treat them as a sense of scale and read the meter or the app quote for the real price.
Qatar Tourism describes Uber as a widely used alternative. The UK Foreign Office's safety advice for Qatar, updated on 19 August 2026, tells women travellers to use pre-booked taxis from reputable companies or recognised apps. It also advises checking the registration number and confirming that the driver has your name.
The last kilometre: Metrolink, metroexpress and buses
When your hotel or destination is not beside a station, three Mowasalat services cover the gap. Metrolink buses carry passengers to and from metro stations for free. Mowasalat's bus page gives their hours as 06:00 to 23:00 from Sunday to Thursday and 14:00 to midnight on Friday. That page does not list Saturday hours, so check the Karwa Journey Planner app before relying on a Saturday feeder. Mowasalat's regular Karwa buses run every day from 04:00 to midnight. Metroexpress is an on-demand shared ride to or from a station, booked in the Karwa Taxi app. Qatar Tourism says this ride is free in some areas.
From the airport, public buses leave from the Bus Pavilion to the right of the Arrivals Hall. Each bus has a luggage area, and Mowasalat's call centre gives route and timetable details.