I am currently on an exciting trip to the Middle East, visiting 6 countries. Since Andrew has started publishing introductions to his trips in response to popular demand, I figured I should do the same. Especially since I obviously travel very differently as a full-time digital nomad and also as someone dating an American who currently has 50+ US-issued credit cards (a much wider variety of rewards currencies).
That said, this trip is a bit unusual for me.
You can follow my daily stories on my personal Instagram account, like for all my many trips. But I’ll try sharing more content about my trips here, too.
Here’s the introduction to my trip to the Middle East, specifically the context and the itinerary. The tips and logistics, the reviews, and the experiences will follow next.
Context of my trip to the Middle East
I’m going on this trip because I want to visit new countries in the area, because I love this region of Asia (a continent that I really love), and because hotel elite status is so addictive.
Basics of my trip
This trip is much faster-paced than our usual travel style. We typically stay 2 weeks to 2 months in one same place, but this Middle East trip is around a month total, visiting 6 different countries (5 new ones for me).
I’m on a quest to visit every country in the world, as you might know. Bahrain is my country #95, Saudi is #96, Iraq is #97, and Kuwait is #98. Then, after a separate side trip, we’ll come back to the region to visit Oman (#99) and Qatar.
I’ve already been to Qatar, and I’d also transited through Bahrain and Saudi Arabia before (but airport transits don’t count). Actually, we also have an extra overnight stay in Qatar on our flight from Saudi to Iraq.
Between Kuwait and Oman, we’ll fly to Bangkok for 2 weeks for a conference, but I’ll cover that trip separately since it’s in an entirely different region.
Another reason this trip is happening at all is to go to Qatar for my girlfriend’s Hyatt elite status. For Canadians, reaching Marriott Bonvoy elite status is usually the best way to make trips more enjoyable and luxurious, but Hyatt is very popular for Americans… and Canadians who get US-issued cards.
(We’ll soon share our complete step-by-step guide to getting US-issued cards for Canadians!)
My girlfriend needs 14 nights to requalify for her Hyatt Globalist status. There’s a cheap Category 1 hotel (Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha) there. And we’ve applied 2 confirmed suite upgrades to cover the whole stay in a usually very nice Regency suite.
Hyatt Globalist status also gives us free access to the VIP hotel lounge, which is usually pretty good at Hyatt properties (arguably better than most Marriott lounges). It’s the top status level (Hyatt has fewer levels than Marriott).
And Qatar is a huge hub, which was perfect for going to our next destination. My girlfriend has planned a surprise trip somewhere in Africa.
I haven’t written about this fun thing we do, so here’s a sidenote. The idea is that one of us doesn’t know the destination (I planned her surprise trip to Georgia in August). So I literally don’t know where we’re going, other than it’s in Africa. And that we’re going to Djibouti after, so I’m assuming it’s somewhere in East Africa, a region of Africa I’ve enjoyed but haven’t explored that much.
Booking my trip
I just spent a month in northern Italy, during which I also took side trips to Switzerland (#94), Liechtenstein (#95), and Austria (more on that trip in another article).
Getting to the Middle East from Italy was an adventure in itself.
We originally booked a really cheap direct flight from Bergamo to Kuwait. That got cancelled entirely. So we changed our plan to start in Bahrain instead because there was another flight there. That also got cancelled, again in advance at least.
At that point, we just decided to book something else and ended up flying to Bahrain via Cairo. If you’ve ever transited through Cairo for an international connection, you know what a terrible process that is! I genuinely hope I won’t be banned from the country for saying that.
The flight between Saudi and Iraq was on Qatar Airways. We booked by redeeming 7,500 Alaska Airlines Atmos points (no longer available from Canadian credit cards, but you can also book it with Avios points) and 93.13 USD in taxes. Partner airlines are always the key, as Flytrippers always repeats.
The rest of the flights within the region were all paid in cash, since they were pretty cheap anyway. Calculating value is vital to keep points of the more lucrative type for better redemptions, including luxurious business class flights (as I also do more often now, like Andrew).
We’ll be doing some interesting international overland travel on this trip, too. We’re taking public transport from Iraq to Kuwait and from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia. And we’re going to the famous Iraqi Marshes (or Mesopotamian Marshes) from the airport, which should be interesting.
Accommodation on my trip
For accommodations, as usual, we’re mixing Airbnbs and hotels. And for hotels, as usual, we’re mixing points redemptions with cash stays to maximize value where hotels can be expensive.
In Bahrain, we started with 6 nights in an Airbnb after having been in hotels all of September. It’s nice to have a washing machine and a kitchen where I can work from when my girlfriend is still sleeping in the morning, without waking her up.
For Saudi Arabia, we’re staying at the Hilton Garden Inn Al Khobar to maximize our 50 USD quarterly Hilton credit benefit from each of our Amex Business Platinum Cards (US-issued version only). It makes the hotel almost free for those 2 nights.
Iraq is a bit different, since it’s actually not always super easy to book anything online there. We were in touch with some Couchsurfers who helped us figure that part out, and we chose a desert hut, also called Iraqi Reed Houses, because that’s unique. Andrew visited Iraq and loved it, but he stayed in the autonomous Kurdistan region, so I was really looking forward to “real” Iraq.
In Kuwait, we’re staying at the Courtyard Kuwait City for 5 nights, because the 5th night is free when redeeming Marriott Bonvoy points! It cost 58,500 points, which is a pretty good deal for that part of the world (Kuwait does not seem like a very budget-friendly destination).
For Oman, accommodations aren’t booked yet. We are visiting the capital Muscat (Andrew already told you a bit about this in his post about his 6 continents trip destinations), but also Musandam, a unique Omani exclave separated from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates.
And as I mentioned, the Qatar stay is all about those 14 nights at the Hyatt Regency Oryx Doha for my girlfriend’s status run.
Itinerary of my trip to the Middle East
This faster general pace is really unusual for us, but it works for what we wanted to see in this part of the world, and how we built the trip.
Here are the destinations on my itinerary:
- Bahrain 🇧🇭 (the whole small country)
- 6 nights
- My 1st visit (country #95)
- Dammam, Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦
- 2 nights
- My 1st visit (country #96)
- Basra, Iraq 🇮🇶
- 3 nights
- My 1st visit (country #97)
- Kuwait City, Kuwait 🇰🇼
- 5 nights (to maximize the points)
- My 1st visit (country #98)
- Bangkok, Thailand 🇹🇭
- 2 weeks (conference)
- My 10th+ visit
- I’ve probably been to Bangkok more than Montreal
- Even though I grew up 2 hours from Montreal!
- Muscat, Oman 🇴🇲
- 2 nights
- My 1st visit (country #99)
- Musandam, Oman 🇴🇲
- 4 nights
- My 1st visit
- Doha, Qatar 🇶🇦
- 14 nights (to maximize 2 Hyatt suite upgrades)
- My 2nd visit
Traveling to the Middle East as a full-time digital nomad is quite different from how most travelers would do it. For example, we’re staying several days in Bahrain, but we only did 1 day of sightseeing, where we probably saw everything there is to see. The rest of the time is to catch up on work and stay in our neighborhood.
Overall, it’s nice to be back in a sunny and warm place (after being in rainy, cold northern Italy)! I’ll have more to share in the follow-up article after this trip.
Entry requirements for this itinerary
Here’s a teaser of the logistics post, as visas are part of the game in this region. But I remind you that you should ALWAYS check travel rules for ALL trips! Speaking of, this weekend, most European countries took the final step before implementing a kind of e-visa.
Thankfully, for most of these countries, it’s pretty straightforward and easy.
Here are the entry requirements:
- Bahrain: visa on arrival, 11 BHD
- Saudi Arabia: e-visa, 300 SAR (also available on arrival)
- Iraq: e-visa, 159 USD (in Kurdistan, it’s a cheaper visa on arrival)
- Kuwait: e-visa, 3 KWD, free for Americans
- Oman: no visa required for Canadians/Americans
- Qatar: no visa required for Canadians, 30 USD for Americans
Saudi Arabia and Iraq are the more expensive ones, but the Saudi visa is good for a year and multiple entries, so we’ll definitely be back to see more of the country. Iraq is a single-entry visa, but it’s still worth it to visit this rarely traveled destination.
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Summary
This month-long trip takes me through 5 new countries in the Middle East (plus a return visit to Qatar), with a 2-week break for a conference in Bangkok in the middle. It’s a faster-paced trip than my usual style, mixing sightseeing with maintaining my digital nomad lifestyle. The trip is strategically planned around hotel points redemptions and status runs, with some overland border crossings thrown in for good measure. After wrapping up in Qatar, I’m heading to a surprise destination in East Africa that my girlfriend has planned.
What would you like to know about my current trip to the Middle East? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Doha, Qatar (photo credit: Hongbin)
