Oman

Who Oman is for

Oman is a touring country. In one or two weeks you can string together a low, white capital on the sea, 17th-century forts, mountain villages at 2,000 m, wadis with freshwater pools to swim in, a night in the dunes and turtles coming ashore on an Arabian Sea beach. Muscat is a few hours' flight from Europe's main cities, direct or with one stop.

European visitors are almost all on holiday. In 2025 the NCSI (National Centre for Statistics and Information, Oman's statistics office) counted 775,000 European visitors, 767,000 of whom came for leisure. They stay 8 nights on average, longer than any other group, and tend to move from hotel to hotel. The largest European markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Switzerland.

The country also works as a beach stay in Muscat with two or three day trips.

When to go: winter in the north, the khareef in the south

Oman runs on two calendars. In the north, from Muscat to the Hajar Mountains and the desert, the season is October to April. In the south, in Dhofar, the summer monsoon known as the khareef wraps the mountains around Salalah in mist and drizzle from June to September and keeps temperatures down while the rest of the Arabian Peninsula passes 40 °C.

These are the 1991-2020 normals for the Muscat, Saiq and Salalah stations, calculated by Meteostat; sea temperatures come from satellite analyses by NOAA, the US ocean and atmosphere agency.

For a road trip in the north, November to March is the most comfortable time. More than eight in ten European hotel guests arrive between October and April, according to the NCSI. From October to March, thunderstorms can cause flash floods in the wadis; the Oman wadis guide explains how to stay safe.

The khareef is high season for visitors from the Gulf. Between 21 June and 31 August 2025, Dhofar received 1,027,255 visitors, including 734,225 Omanis and 179,246 nationals of other Gulf states, according to the NCSI. Europeans tend to go to Salalah in winter, for the beaches.

Worth noting for 2026-2027: the Muscat Marathon on 29 and 30 January 2027, Ramadan from about 8 February to 8 March, with its rules set out in the Ramadan in Oman guide, and the Jebel Akhdar roses from late March to early May.

Six areas, from Muscat to Musandam

Oman's Ministry of Heritage and Tourism presents the country by its eleven governorates. Sabaro groups them into six areas: three in the north, where road trips happen, and three further afield, presented together with government travel advice.

Muscat and the Batinah coast

In Muscat you can visit the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, opened in 2001 and open to non-Muslims from Saturday to Thursday, 8 am to 11 am local time, the Royal Opera House, opened in 2011, the National Museum, and the souq and fort of Muttrah. Offshore, the Daymaniyat Islands nature reserve is a boat ride away for diving and snorkelling, and dolphin-watching trips leave from the city. Muscat has the big beach resorts, from The Chedi to the Mandarin Oriental and Jumeirah Muscat Bay.

To the west, the Batinah has the forts of Nakhal, 80 km from the airport, and Al Hazm, the Ain Al Kasfa hot spring in Rustaq and the mountain village of Wakan at 2,000 m.

The Hajar Mountains and Nizwa

About 150 km from the airport, Nizwa has a round-towered fort, 34 m high, built in the 17th century above the souq. Nearby are Bahla Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, and Jabreen Castle, built in 1675, with its painted ceilings. Jebel Akhdar, the "green mountain", carries the Saiq plateau at around 2,000 m, with terraced villages, rose gardens and aflaj, the irrigation channels listed by UNESCO in 2006. Jebel Shams, Oman's highest point at around 3,000 m, towers over Wadi Nakhr; the Balcony Walk follows its cliff edge in three hours there and back, and the village of Misfat al Abriyeen clings to its rock further down. The Hiking in the Hajar guide covers trails and altitudes.

Sharqiyah: wadis, desert and the Sur coast

The Wahiba Sands, also called Sharqiyah Sands, cover about 10,000 km² of dunes, just over 2 hours from the airport. You sleep under canvas, from Thousand Nights Camp to the private camp of Canvas Club, and go dune driving, camel riding or ballooning at sunrise. The Night in the desert guide helps choose a camp. Wadi Bani Khalid, with its pools and palms, is on the way.

The coast of Sur and Ras al Jinz brings together Wadi Shab, where you walk and swim up to a cave with a waterfall, the Bimmah Sinkhole, the Bibi Maryam mausoleum at Qalhat, a UNESCO site since 2018, and the Ras al Jinz reserve, the only authorised place to watch nesting turtles in Oman. Guided viewings start at 9 pm and 5 am local time and cost OMR 12 per foreign adult; the Ras al Jinz turtles guide sets out the rules.

Dhofar, Al Wusta and Musandam

These three areas are described together with governments' advice, without trip ideas, as long as European governments advise against travel there.

• Dhofar. Salalah, 1,000 km from Muscat, is the frankincense city: the Al Baleed archaeological park is part of the "Land of Frankincense" listed by UNESCO in 2000, together with Sumhuram near Taqah and Mirbat, and the sites of Wadi Dawkah and Shisr on the road to the Empty Quarter, the world's largest continuous sand desert.
• Al Wusta. Duqm, a port town on the Arabian Sea, is known for its rock garden shaped by erosion and for its beaches.
• Musandam. The Musandam peninsula, cut off from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates, has fjords on the Strait of Hormuz around Khasab.

Getting around: car, 4x4 and distances

Roads are generally in good condition, and a tour of the north works with a driver-guide or a hire car. Distances from Muscat airport, calculated on OpenStreetMap, with non-stop driving times:

Two mountain roads need a 4x4: the Jebel Akhdar road, where a police checkpoint at the bottom only lets four-wheel drives through, and the upper part of the Jebel Shams road, which is only half paved. In the dunes, camps often collect guests where the sand begins.

Whether your driving licence is recognised depends on the country that issued it; an Arabic or English translation, or an international permit, avoids difficulties. The drink-drive limit is zero. Outside Muscat, it is best to avoid driving at night because of camels on the road. For the desert, governments recommend travelling with at least two vehicles. The Driving in Oman guide covers road rules, fines and car hire.

For the south, Salalah is a 1 h 35 flight from Muscat, or about 1,000 km by road, a drive the German foreign office says is "often underestimated".

How many days: three sample routes

The classic route is a loop from Muscat. These three lengths are guidelines to adjust to your own pace.

• 7 days, Muscat and the mountains. 2 nights in Muscat, 2 nights on Jebel Akhdar, 1 night in Nizwa for the forts and souq, then a last night in Muscat by the sea.
• 10 days, the grand north. 2 nights in Muscat, 2 nights in Nizwa or on Jebel Akhdar, 1 night on Jebel Shams or in Misfat, 1 night in the Wahiba Sands, 1 night at Ras al Jinz for the turtles, then back along the coast via Wadi Shab and Bimmah, with 2 or 3 beach nights in Muscat.
• 5 days, desert and turtles. 1 night in Muscat, Wadi Bani Khalid then 1 night in the dunes, 1 night at Ras al Jinz, then Wadi Shab on the way back and 1 night in Muscat.

Sabaro suggests ending in Muscat to rest before the flight home. The Family and Mountains pages list suitable hotels.

Budget, prices and taxes

For two people in March 2027, with taxes and fees as shown by booking sites, prices checked in October 2026 are:

A few places, private camps or villas, are priced on request. Each hotel page gives its price with the note "local taxes may apply". In Oman, a hotel bill carries 5% VAT (value added tax), an 8% service charge and a 4% tourism fee introduced by the implementing regulations of the tourism law, in force since 17 April 2026; some Muscat hotels also add a municipality tax. Sabaro confirms the amount at booking.

On the ground: the National Museum costs OMR 5, a guided tour of the Royal Opera House OMR 3.15, turtle watching OMR 12. A guided tour of Muscat starts at about €45 per person, a day trip from Muscat to Wadi Shab or the desert costs €70 to €125, and a balloon flight over the Wahiba Sands about €310. The Omani rial is pegged to the US dollar: OMR 1 has been worth USD 2.6008 since 1986.

The regional situation

Since March 2026 Oman has been hit by several drone attacks linked to the conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel, notably at the ports of Duqm and Salalah, in the Sohar industrial area and in Musandam. Advice differs from country to country and focuses on Salalah, Duqm, Musandam and the Yemen border; the box at the top of the page gives your country's advice. The Oman and the regional situation guide sets out the situation, and what it means for insurance and flights.

Before you go

• Entry. Depending on nationality, entry can be free for 14 days on arrival; your passport must be valid for at least 6 months after the return date, and beyond 14 days you need an eVisa. The entry requirements table on this page gives the rule for your country, and the Oman visa and entry guide covers the rules, medicines and customs.
• Time difference. Oman is on UTC+4 all year, with no daylight saving time: 4 hours ahead of London in winter and 3 hours ahead in summer. Times given on this page are local time.
• Dress and alcohol. Shoulders and knees covered in town; alcohol is served to over-21s in licensed hotels and restaurants, never in public.
• Photos and drones. Photographing government buildings, military sites, police officers and soldiers is forbidden. A leisure drone without a licence is confiscated on arrival.