As part of a major push to attract tourists, Qatar’s first hop-on, hop-off sightseeing tour bus has begun offering a night tour that takes riders on a 90-minute trip starting at Souq Waqif.

The Doha Bus tour starts around 7:30pm and costs QR95 per adult, QR45 for children ages 5-15 years old and QR235 for a family of two adults and two kids, according to the company’s website.

By comparison, day tours costs QR180/adult, QR90 for children ages 5-15 years old and QR455 for a family of two adults and two kids.

Both tours are valid for 24 hours and include audio commentary in seven languages, a bottle of water and a cup of hot karak.

According to photographer Olya Morvan, “the best part of the (night) tour is the pleasant temperature outside. With the heat rising, it is an opportunity to see Doha without having a heat stroke.”

Expansion

In a statement, Doha Bus said it also has plans to launch a Sealine Beach Resort shuttle, Monster Truck bus trips into the sand dunes and sight-seeing trips on speedboats from the Museum of Islamic Art.

The move comes after the colorful double-decker tourist bus company introduced a new route in January that runs between City Center Mall and Education City, via the Abdul Wahhab (State) Mosque and the Qatar National Convention Center.

Doha Bus launched in 2012 with the initial aim of wooing Qatar Airways passengers who had long layovers by running free shuttles between the airport and the first Doha Bus stop.

Its first route travels along the Corniche, stopping at the MIA, Souq Waqif and other spots, before heading north to Katara and the Pearl-Qatar.

The buses are often seen driving around town mostly empty, and residents have complained about the steep fares, but officials said they carried more than 20,000 passengers last year.

Would you try the night tour? Thoughts?