How to get around Oman

Enormous expanses of dunes, unspoilt coastlines and dramatic landscapes are just a handful of the exciting adventures awaiting intrepid visitors to Oman, a country steeped in tradition and culture as well as being a friendly and hospitable nation. The amazing infrastructure with an extensive network of modern roads that are free of traffic snarls adds to the heady feeling of wanting to explore more and more of the country.

By Taxi

Painted in white and orange, taxis are easy to identify, and plenty are available, especially in larger cities. Be wise to negotiate the fare for the ride you are embarking on as these taxis are not metred, otherwise, you will have to pay more than you bargained for. Keep in mind to bargain hard as charges quoted for foreigners will anyway be higher. Short Trips within a city can cost 1-2 Omani Riyals (OMR) and longer trips in the Capital City Muscat can be about 5 OMR for a local.

Another point to keep in mind is, all taxi drivers are Omani Nationals and most of them speak at least basic English within Muscat. However outside of the capital city drivers will speak mostly Arabic. So have your destination communicated clearly to the driver, this can be facilitated by the local staff from the Oman beach resorts you are staying at.

Using Bus Services

A regular bus service named Mwasalat operates between major cities in Oman as well as from the airport to major cities. Operated by the state, travel from Muscat to cities such as Salalah, Ruwi, Wadi Kabir etc. are very economically priced, whilst routes from Seeb International Airport will be slightly higher, such as by 1 OMR etc. based on your destination.

When travelling between cities, return journey tickets are more economical. The best way to check the rates and timing of the buses is by visiting mwasalat.com. If you intend to use bus services make sure the cities you are visiting are covered, as the Mwasalat service covers major cities only so you may have to opt for a taxi service if the same is not covered.

Self-Driving

Self-driving gives a lot of flexibility to visitors and is used by many guests such as those at Al Baleed Resort Salalah to manage their travel within Oman as one can decide when to go and where to go without too much-advanced planning. Therefore, if you are comfortable driving this is a good option for visitors to explore the raw and alluring beauty of this country as fuel is extremely cheap, and rental vehicles are relatively cheaper in Oman against international standards with even global rental companies such as Hertz, Europcar and others being available. The roads are simply amazing.

Driving is on the right in Oman and the regular laws are used too such as not using mobile phones whilst driving, having seat belts on for all passengers and observing the speed limits on the highway, off it and additionally when crossing residential areas of Oman. The rental cars do have speed alarms which will trigger when you exceed 120kmph.

Erratic driving by locals and others can be encountered on your rides, always be alert and within the right speed limits as some highways have speed cameras installed.

Domestic Travel by Air

At present Oman has only two domestic airports, one in Salalah and the other in Khasab in Musandam. Domestic services operate between Muscat and Salalah as well as between Muscat and Khasab which are very efficient services as compared to travelling by road. Muscat to Salalah is 1h 35 minutes and Muscat to Khasab is Ih 5inutes, as against a road trip of several hours for both.