Fuwairit Beach in Qatar

When Vij told me one day that his colleague Rob often goes to Fuwairit and he called it a great place, I wondered what makes a great beach!  Maybe it depends on what we are looking for. Normally, when we say it’s a great beach, some want it to be rugged and untouched, some want scenic coastlines, some expect beach boardwalk shops, and some want to see plenty of bikini-clad women! If that’s the case, Qatar’s shoreline has something unusual to offer. Of course, going to the beach in any part of the world is largely a summertime activity, and the beaches in Qatar are no exception. They are packed with people enjoying their weekends. So keeping all this in mind, for the past few months, we have been regularly heading towards Fuwairit beach, what you may call as one day-trip to the coast. 

In front of Landmark

Right turn near Landmark

Al Khor Road 

Fuwairit signboard

First time when we headed towards the beach, all that we knew was the term Fuwairit written on a piece of paper. After travelling about 50 km from Bin Omran, we used to slow down our car to check if there’s any signboard with the name of the place. Yes, in between we called Rob and disturbed his sleep to confirm if we were on the right track. Using Landmark Mall as a starting point, we took Al Shamal (north) Road, past Al Khor turned off and continued for a further 60 km. Then, we found a signboard and we took a right turn, along a surfaced road towards a small village. Let me warn you the road has lots of potholes and have to drive carefully. 

Pothole-ridden road

Rough road

Village ahead

Left turn before the village

After reaching the outskirts of the town, we took a turn on the left on to a rough track running parallel with the coast. 

Road towards the beach

We drove for about 2 km along the small dune edging the beach. On the way we saw unusual formations of eroded hills (jebel) that ran down to the water’s edge.

Eroded hills

When we reached the beach, we found some kite surfers and wind surfers. 

Kite surfing

The sight awaiting us was awesome! No other words for it but -- perfect! What a sublime experience! The area offers plenty to do and total relaxation in a pristine beach environment. We particularly enjoy sun bathe and swimming to our heart’s content. The place is simply exotic. The beach enchants us with its pure virginal white sands that sparkle under the warm rays of the friendly(!) sun. 

The water is clear and shallow for a few meters out and we dared to venture out without any fear. Have to accept one fact that the beaches here are clean and excellent, no comparison with our beaches back home and I call Fuwairit as one of the best beaches in Qatar. Plus, one more added advantage is you hardly find any people who stare at us as if we are a show piece! But please do carry some water to clean yourselves after swimming. 

We spent many hours lying on the white sand of the beach on the very first visit and later many afternoons and evenings splashing about and swimming in turquoise waters and I have spent hours building sandcastles and writing our names and watching the waves wiping them off. 

We left the beach after sunset and it was dark by the time we reached Doha.