Muscat is the capital of Oman and the country's largest city.

 

Weather

 

The climate is tropical, with very hot and generally humid weather year-round.

 

Understand

 

The city referred to as "Muscat" is in fact three smaller towns which have grown together over time. They are:

Muscat - often referred to as the "walled city", Muscat proper is the site of the royal palaces.

Matrah (Matruh) - originally a fishing village, and home to the maze-like Matrah Souq.

Ruwi - generally considered the commercial and diplomatic centre of the city.

 

Al Jalali Fort, Muscat

This tripartite division will sometimes cause the visitor an inconvenience, as distances between sites can be very long.

As an alternative to the main CBD area that is considered as these three areas there is plently of places to go and things to see along the main highway that heads North East out of these areas. This main road, The Sultan Qaboos Highway, goes past many areas on its way out to the Airport and further still to Seeb, Sohar and eventually the northern most tip of Oman.

Heading along this road you pass the districts of Qurum, Madinat Al Sultan Qaboos, Al Khuwair, Bausher, Al-Hail and Seeb. Each one has a range of sights to see and places to stay.

There is also a very long beach road from Qurum to Seeb, some 50km. Situated along this are some of the large international hotel chains but more importantly you discover the true beauty of the Oman coast-line. Km's of beaches, fisherman with drag nets and open space to walk for hours.

 

How to Get in

 

You do not need to purchase an Omani visa if you are entering the country directly from Doha or Dubai. If you're entering by air in Muscat, skip the Travelex queue where visas are normally purchased, and go directly to passport control. Once there, explain that you've come directly from Dubai/Doha. They will need to see the in/out stamps in your passport and your boarding pass (updated Sept 2014).

 

By plane

 

"flydubai" operates 4 flights per day from Dubai to Muscat.

Oman Air operates flights to Muscat from Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Amman, Bahrain, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beirut, Cairo, Chennai, Chittagong, Dar Es Salaam, Delhi, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jaipur, Jeddah, Karachi, Kathmandu, Khasab, Kochi, Kozhikode, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lahore, London Heathrow, Lucknow, Male, Milan, Mumbai, Munich, Paris, Ras Al Khaimah, Riyadh, Salalah and Thiruvananthapuram.

Gulf Air offers flights from Bahrain to Muscat.

Emirates has 7 flights per day from Dubai to Muscat, flying time 1 hr.

Air Arabia offers 2 flights per day from Sharjah to Muscat, duration of flight 55 min.

Etihad Airways operates 3 flights per day from Abu Dhabi to Muscat, duration of flight 1:05 hrs.

Britsh Airways offers daily flights from London Heathrow to Muscat. The journey has a 1-hour stop-over in Abu Dhabi during which passengers stay on the plane.

KLM operates flights from Amsterdam to Muscat on Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sun, duration of flight 8hrs 30min.

Lufthansa has flights from Frankfurt to Muscat from Sun to Fri, duration of flight 8 hrs.

Swiss operates daily flights from Zurich to Muscat via Dubai.

Royal Jordanian flies from Amman to Muscat on Tue, Thu, Fri and Sun, arriving in Muscat next morning.

Egyptair offers flights from Cairo to Muscat on Mon Wed, Thu and Fri, arriving in Muscat next morning, duration of flight 4 hrs,

Air India Express has flights to Muscat from Amritsar on Wed and Fri (duration of flight 3 hrs 15min, from Delhi on Wed and Fri (duration of flight 5 hrs 20min), from Kochi on Tue, Thu and Sun (duration of flight 3hrs 35min), from Kozhikode on Fri, Sat, Sun (duration of flight 3hrs 25min), from Thiruvanantahapuram on Tue, Thu to Sun (duration of flight 3hrs 45 min, or 5hrs 20min if flight goes via Cochin).

Pakistan International Airlines operates flights to Muscat from Islamabad on Mon, Wed, Thu, Sat and Sun and from Peshawar on Wed, Thu and Sat.

Turkish Airlines operates flights to Muscat from Istanbul on everyday.

The number of airlines flying to Muscat increases each year, although the Omani sale of their part of Gulf Air has meant a temporary decrease in passengers.

Domestically, Oman Air also flies from Salalah to Muscat at least twice weekly.

 

By bus

 

Oman National Transport Company runs busses to Muscat from Dubai (duration of journey: 6 hrs) and Abu Dhabi (via Buraimi). al-Khanjry Transport runs a bus from al-Rigga in Dubai to Muscat, leaving every day at 7:00am and 3:00pm (55 dirhams one way, 90 return). Within Oman there are daily busses to Muscat from Buraimi (via Sohar), Nizwa (2hrs 20min), Salalah (13 hrs, reservation required), Sanaw and Sur (4hrs 15 min). Long distance busses arrive at the Oman National Transport Company at Ruwi, Al-Jaame Street (near Sultan Qaboos Mosque).

 

By car

 

You can reach Muscat by road from the United Arab Emirates. The journey takes about 5h by crossing the border in Hatta/Al Ain.

You can drive from Al Ghaydah in Yemen. The journey is about 6 hours via the border crossing at Sarfeit to Salalah and then another 10 to Muscat.

 

Get around

 

By taxi

 

Maxi taxis (vans, known throughout the expat community as baisa busses) ply the highway from Seeb to the corniche area. The charge is 100 baisa from corniche area to the church round about and another 100 baisa from the church round about to Wadi Adai.

On arrival at the airport, situated approximately 40km from the main Muscat CBD, you can get a baisa bus down the main highway in either direction.

The (mostly orange and white) taxis are a bit pricier, and they hang around the hotels where they get juicy fares from unwary travellers. They will charge 8 Rials for an airport trip if you don't haggle, but you should be able to barter for 5 Rials. They always say they will give you "good price" but its best to figure out what you want to spend then agree before you get in.

The Maxi Taxis ply the main routes through town, and they go where they want so you might have to find one going your direction, once you are on one, they will make sure you get there. THe place to wait for them is on the on-ramps of most of the main highway junctions, you'll usually see a few people waiting around for one. A journey within the Muscat area should not cost more than 300 Baisa each, but if you look like an experienced traveller and hand them 200 baisa then you can usually get away with that.

 

By car

 

There are many rent-a-car services available in the city. There is much conflicting information as to whether an international driving licence is required for renting out a car. According to the Royal Omani Police website, a valid license from your home country is sufficient for up to 90 days. It is best to verify this with the rental company. Most of the Car Rentals have offices at the airport arrivals terminal.

 

AUTORENT

ABC

Al Maskry Rent-a-Car 

Avis

Budget

National

Europcar

Hertz

Sixt

Thrifty

Al Maha Rent a Car (00968-99467384)

Bahwan Rent a Car

The cheapest car hire is about 11 OMR (14 GBP) for a day which will get you an economy car with manual transmission and sometimes no air-conditioning. To get yourself properly equipped, you should hire a 4WD which will be around 30 OMR (38 GBP). Make sure that you will get a proper induction on driving in Oman.

Road signs in Muscat can be quite confusing, particularly when having to decide which exit to take to reach your destination. Best to ask a local to provide you with directions if you haven't been to your destination previously.