Al Khor Fly-In

Al-Khor is a pleasant and quiet town, and though its Cor-niche cannot match Doha’s in beauty, it does offer a nice enough place to relax and sunbathe, or play beach volley-ball or cricket if you feel like being a little more active. There are plenty of shady places to sit near the sand, but you can't swim in the bay here as, like much of Qatar, the water is too shallow.

Al Khor Fly-In, Al Khor Airfield, ☎ +974 4472 3490, e-mail: Info@alkhorflyin.net. An annual light aircraft show which takes place on a 3-day weekend in mid-January. The event is hosted by the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority, and is popular with avia-tion enthusiasts as well as families.

Dhakira mangroves (Thakira) (5 km north of Al Khor). This fishing village is now a bedroom community of Al Khor, and its extensive mangrove swamps are particularly good for bird watching. Entalek (based in Doha, tel: +974 3311 6249, e-mail: entalek.org@gmail.com) runs sea kayak tours of the area, which can be booked online here. An-other option for kayaking tours is the newly launched PaddleQatar (www.paddleqatar.com, tel: +974 5549 0895, e-mail: info@paddleqatar.com). They run kayaking tours in the mangroves, overnight ex-pedition to nearby islands and cater for groups and individuals.

Al Farkiah Beach (Farkeh Coast / Al Khor Fam-ily Beach), off of Al Khor Coastal Road Q1A (fol-low the brown signs for “Farkeh Coast”). S-W 7am-10pm, Th-Sa (families only) 7am-midnight. A public beach with shaded picnic benches, toilets and shower facilities, barbecue stands, and children playgrounds. Free.

Al Khor Public Gardens, Al Shamal Rd (10 km west of Al Khor, signposted 1 km north of turnoff to Al Khor from Hwy 1). Dawn to dusk. The gardens are currently closed for maintenance, but when they are open they provide a good opportunity for bird-watching. Free.