Oman - a good destination for a short break (Oman)

Member Name: depurple2

Product:	Oman
Date:	30/09/06 (497 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Friendly people, nice hotels, some nice things to visit, good weather

Disadvantages: No history, too much like other cities.

I visited Oman in November. The temperature was in the 20's, and it didn't rain while we were there.

Oman is a at the bottom of the Arabian penninsula. The language spoken is Arabic, although most people we met could speak English. Oman is a pretty country, with mountains and deserts, although it has been built up a lot in the last few years. We stayed in Muscat, which is the capital city.


How to get to Oman
We flew with Qatar air via Doha. We had a 6 hour stopover in Doha each way (left from Heathrow, came back to Gatwick). If you decide to do this, I would recommend you go into the Oryx Lounge on the ground floor of the departure lounge - it costs about 15 dollars, but you get comfy sofas and free snacks and drinks, which is better than trying to find somewhere to sit in the busy terminal. You can also get direct flights from England to Muscat (Seeb International Airport), but this is more expensive.


How to get around
We used taxis or organised tours. Our transfer from the airport to the hotel (booked through lastminute.com) didn't turn up, so we had to get a taxi instead, but this was easy as there are lots of taxi desks at the airport and the staff spoke English.

It is not really practical to walk, as things are quite far apart. As we found, something that seems really close in the car can take about 30 minutes to walk to, and when it is really hot that isn't fun.


Where to stay
There are many nice hotels in Oman. We stayed at the Chedi (I have done a separate review on this), but we also visited the Al Bustan Palace, which has a very impressive atrium about 10 stories high. While we were there we also saw a new resort being built on the coast, which looked a bit like a mini Benidorm.


Prices and shopping
The Omani currency is Omani Rials. One Rial is about £1.40. Goods in Oman are not much cheaper than in England, but food is quite a bit cheaper. Many of the shops are the same anyway - McDonalds or Pizza Hut anyone? The shops seem to cluster together according to type, so you may have 4 furniture shops in a row, then 3 sports shops, then 5 clothes shops, not like in England where there might be one of each to avoid competition.


Things to see
Muscat is quite a typical city. Lots of shops, office buildings and busy roads. It is quite spacious though, and very clean. The Sultan's picture is everywhere. He rules the country and everyone seems to like him. You can navigate yourself around Muscat by the roundabouts - many of them have slightly odd models on them. So it's turn left a the pirate ship, then right at the giant tea pot surrounded by giant cups and saucers, then straight on at the dolphins.

We took a city tour around Muscat, which included a visit to the national museum (very small, about 2 rooms, with little dating back further than the 1950s). There is no history in Muscat, unlike some other Middle Eastern cities. We also went to the Grand Mosque, which is quite spectacular, with its huge dome containing a giant chandelier. It is impossible to convey how amazing it is, you need to go there and see for yourself.

We also went wadi bashing, which is essentially driving around rivers and mountains in a Toyota Landcruiser. It was fun, and we also got to swim in the wadi. There are no changing rooms out there though, so it is advisable to wear swimming costumes under your clothes, and take a towel to sit on for the journey back, unless you are happy to strip off in the middle of nowhere.

We went on a dolphin spotting trip, but unfortunately we didn't see any. This consisted of 2 very bumpy hours in a reasonably small boat with 2 giant motors, zooming out into the sea until we couldn't see any land anymore. The boat driver didn't speak much English, but he and other boat drivers spoke on the phone all the time to try and locate the dolphins. As we didn't spot any dolphins, the boat driver took us on a tour of the Muscat coastline instead, which was fun - zooming in and out of rocky coves and lagoons.

If you have more time, you can also go out into the desert and visit some small villages, or go camel riding.


Oman feels like quite a safe country, and the people are friendly, without always trying to sell you things like in some Middle Eastern countries. I would definitely visit for another short break again.

Summary: A good place for a short break, but I'm not sure I would want a 2 week holiday there.