RetireJapan

Another repressive Middle Eastern country to cross off the list then!

Further to my earlier post about couples potentially requiring a marriage certificate to stay in one room in hotels in Qatar:

* I have never been to Qatar

* I have not unearthed the specific Qatari law on this point

* The internet has many accounts of rules and reality being different, eg
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/qatar-a ... hotel.html

* However, I do have *some* experience with this matter. In 2022, when researching Japan-UK-Japan travel for my family, I looked into Qatar Airways as an option. With three kids under four, I wanted to ensure I understood all details of travel, and got as far as making enquiries with hotels in Doha both within the QA stopover package deals and outside the deals. At least one hotel required a marriage certificate for couples to share a room.

* In any case I opted for Etihad as I found an amazing deal and we thoroughly enjoyed Abu Dhabi as a bonus destination. So much so that…

* … I currently live in the UAE. Feel free to PM if you want any thoughts on layover/stopover options in the UAE.

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Other thoughts on booking:

* +1 for booking directly with airlines.

* Also, I recommend multi city searches, eg on Singapore Airlines site, searching for Tokyo - Singapore - Dublin - Singapore - Tokyo will reveal deals beyond those listed without checking the multi city option. (To throw another airline into the mix; Changi Airport with kids is a destination in itself!)

Often such deals can be cheaper than through fares. Some airline sites have options to search for a layover without doing a multi city search (eg Etihad), but even in those instances you may want to also try multi city searches to ensure you are getting the best deal.

It is possible to search ‘through’ in one direction and ‘stopping’ in the other, eg I ended up searching for Tokyo - London - Abu Dhabi - Tokyo and got a 14hr layover outbound (airport hotel; stretch legs; etc) and a 4-night (?) stopover inbound. The price was significantly cheaper than ‘through’ tickets and the layover and stopover worked well for my family.

* Some airlines have child fares (75% of adult fare); some don’t. Compare the total fares for your family.

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Other thoughts on long haul with a child (apologies if covering the obvious):

* be sure to book child meals with the airline in advance; not only child-friendly food, but child-friendly timings: they get served first!

* airlines may not have child headphones, and adult headphones may be too big for young kids; consider buying and bringing your own

* European car seat laws (/enforcement!) are stricter than in Japan; for a 5yo a booster may be needed, and dependent on your onward travel arrangements, it sometimes makes sense to carry it with you halfway across the world. (Middle Eastern car seat law enforcement is limited and in any case, I wouldn’t recommend driving in the region as a tourist. Taxis without car seats would be fine.)

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The wiki now has a section on Flying to the UK (content still relevant for Ireland):

https://retirewiki.jp/wiki/United_Kingd ... _to_the_UK

Thanks! Kuma for this detail, this really helps.
The middle east does look appealing indeed

Looking at the WIki I see "Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Sri Lankan and other airlines may continue to fly over Russian airspace[29] and may offer relatively cost-efficient options."

I think I will skip on the above option though as I would like to actually arrive at my destination

Just spent a week in Doha. Amazing city and I'd recommend a stopover if time permits. Absolutely no issues whatsoever as a couple with different surnames at hotel or anywhere else. Qatar Airways was excellent and the late departure/overnight flight made a big difference in terms of getting a few hours sleep.

kuma wrote: ↑Sun Mar 24, 2024 1:58 am Etihad

This video just popped up of a guy who got downgraded from Business to Economy with them (Japanese):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0yDiR55XjA&t=2450s

edit: I thought it was pretty bad but turns out it was only a 1hr flight

Easiest way to look at all the flight options available is with farecompare.com.

I have in the past flown from Japan to both UK and Ireland with Ethihad, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore, Air France & KLM.
Ethihad, Emirates, Turkish, Singapore are all equally excellent, both the flights, food, service & using the airports.
They also tend to have the lowest prices.

AF / KLM are ok but not great, and tend to be more expensive. Schipol is a nice airport to transit through even with small kids ..... Paris CDG is a nightmare.

I tend to favour a nice short transfer (2-3 hours) just to get the journey over and done with as soon as possible and not waste time, but on my last trip back, I stopped off in Dubai for 2 nights .... and that was enough to stave off any jetlag on returning to Japan.