gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/oman/terrorism. Under no circumstances should you attempt to cross the southern border into Yemen. The FCO advises against all travel to Yemen, including the mainland and its islands.Travel essentials
Costs
Unfortunately, a visit to Oman doesn’t come cheap. The major expenses are accommodation and transport/tours. The very cheapest hotel rooms start at around 12–15 OR per night (£22–28/US$30–40), at least double this for mid-range places, and anything from 75 OR (£140/$195) and upwards for top-end places.
The lack of reliable public transport options means that to see the country properly you’ll have to at least hire your own car (from around 15 OR/£30/$40/day), hire a car plus guide-driver, or go on a tour. The fact that so many of the country’s highlights require 4WD adds further fiscal punishment, meaning either hiring your own 4WD (from around 32 OR/£60/$80/day) or, more realistically, taking a 4WD with guide-driver (from around 80 OR/£150/$210/day). At least petrol is cheap.
Once you’ve paid for lodgings and transport, other costs are relatively modest. Eating can be very cheap (if only because of the lack of proper restaurants), although the price of alcohol (if you can find it) is punitive. Entrance fees to the country’s various forts and museums are extremely modest – seldom more than 1 OR.
Staying in the cheapest hotels, eating at local cafés, driving yourself and foregoing beer, you might scrape along on a bare minimum of 40 OR (£75/$105) per day per couple, without tours. Realistically, however, you’re probably looking at around double this figure once you factor in the cost of taking a couple of off-road tours or a boat trip in Musandam. And of course it’s very easy, in Muscat especially, to spend a lot more than this if staying in nice hotels and eating (and drinking) at good restaurants – in which case you could easily push this figure up to several hundred rials per day.
Many more upmarket hotels and restaurants levy a 17 percent tax (comprising an 8 percent service charge plus 9 percent government tax) on food and rooms. This is usually but not always mentioned in published room rates and menus – if in doubt, check. Cheaper places usually quote prices inclusive of taxes (the “nett” rate).
Crime and personal safety
Oman is an extremely safe country. Violent crime is very rare, and even petty crime such as burglary and pickpocketing is significantly less common than in most Western countries.
It pays to be sensible, even so. Make sure you have a good travel insurance policy before you arrive, protect all personal valuables as you would anywhere else, and take particular care of personal possessions in crowded areas such as Muttrah Souk.
If you are unfortunate enough to become the victim of theft, you’ll need a police report for your insurance company, obtainable from the nearest police station. Don’t count on finding any English-speaking officers, however; taking an Arabic speaker with you will probably be a major help.
Far and away the major threat to personal safety in Oman is traffic, whether you’re a driver, passenger or pedestrian. As a pedestrian, bear in mind that traffic will not necessarily stop – or even slow down – if you start crossing the road, and may also be travelling a lot faster than you might expect.
The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) advises that terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Oman, based largely on the fact that the country is in the Gulf region. Oman is generally very safe in this regard, but, as ever, it pays to be vigilant. The latest FCO advice can be found at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/oman/terrorism. Under no circumstances should you attempt to cross the southern border into Yemen. The FCO advises against all travel to Yemen, including the mainland and its islands.
Customs regulations
Oman has strict and rather complex customs regulations, which it’s worth being aware of before you travel. Non-Muslim visitors over the age of 21 are allowed to import up to two bottles (max. two litres), or 24 cans, of alcoholic beverages. It is permissible to bring in up to 400 cigarettes and 100ml of perfume. DVDs are limited to ten per person; any DVDs or CDs you bring in may be checked for their content first. A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for travellers arriving within six days from infected areas in Africa and South America. Travellers carrying prescription drugs should take a letter from their doctor stating that they are obliged to take this medicine.
Electricity
UK-style sockets with three square pins are the norm. The country’s current runs at 240 volts AC, meaning that UK appliances will work without problem directly off the mains supply, although US appliances will probably require a transformer.
Health
There are no serious health risks in Oman (unless you include the country’s traffic). All the main cities in the country are equipped with modern hospitals and well-stocked pharmacies. Tap water is safe to drink, while even the country’s cheapest cafés maintain good standards of food hygiene. One possible health concern is the heat. Summer temperatures regularly climb into the forty-degree Celsius range, making sunburn, heatstroke and acute dehydration a real possibility, especially if combined with excessive alcohol consumption. Stay in the shade, and drink lots of water.
Bilharzia is another possible risk if swimming in rock pools in the mountains. This is a parasitic infection which can cause rashes, fever, diarrhoea, and, in the long term, organ damage. There may be no symptoms, or they can take weeks to show up – visit your GP if you think you have any symptoms after swimming in fresh water.
Insurance
There aren’t many safety or health risks involved in a visit to Oman, although it’s still strongly recommended that you take out some form of valid travel insurance before your trip. At its simplest, this offers some measure of protection against everyday mishaps like cancelled flights and mislaid baggage. More importantly, a valid insurance policy will cover your costs in the event that you fall ill in Oman, since otherwise you’ll have to pay for all medical treatment. Note, too, that most insurance policies routinely exclude various “adventure” activities. In Oman this will include adventure sports such as caving, abseiling and rock-climbing, and might conceivably also include trekking. If in doubt, check with your insurer before you leave home.
Internet
As in many places across the world with widespread internet access, internet cafés are more or less redundant and are far less widespread than they used to be, including in Muscat.
Internet access is available in pretty much all mid-range and all top-end hotels, usually via wi-fi and sometimes also via cable. A large proportion of restaurants will also have wi-fi available to guests. Almost without exception internet access is free in such establishments, although it’s not unheard of for some hotels to charge extra for it.
In all but the most remote areas, you’ll find fast and widespread mobile phone data coverage courtesy of Oman’s main mobile phone providers, Omantel, Ooredoo and Friendi. Obviously this is an expensive way of getting online if you’re using a foreign SIM card, but it’s easy to pick up an Omani SIM at one of these companies’ kiosks at the airport, or at countless stores nationwide.
The country URL for Oman is “.om” – which looks confusingly like a typo for “.com”. If you find a .om address not working, try replacing it with .com, or vice versa.
Laundry
All hotels in Oman will provide some kind of laundry service, but it’s often extortionately overpriced; expect to pay at least 200bz for even the smallest item. The chains Snowhite and Kwik Kleen are slightly cheaper, while the best value is to be found in one of the countless local (often Indian-run) shops.
Rough Guides has teamed up with WorldNomads.com to offer great travel insurance deals. Policies are available to residents of over 150 countries, with cover for a wide range of adventure sports, 24hr emergency assistance, high levels of medical and evacuation cover and a stream of travel safety information. Roughguides.com users can take advantage of their policies online 24/7, from anywhere in the world – even if you’re already travelling. And since plans often change when you’re on the road, you can extend your policy and even claim online. Roughguides.com users who buy travel insurance with WorldNomads.com can also leave a positive footprint and donate to a community development project. For more information, go to roughguides.com/travel-insurance.
LGBT travellers
Oman shares the medieval attitudes prevalent around the Gulf with regard to same-sex relationships. Homosexuality remains illegal, and anyone caught in anything that might be classed as a homosexual act is technically looking at a spell in prison, although local police are unlikely to go after foreign gays and lesbians unless given good cause to.
As with other places around the Gulf, a scene does exist (particularly in Muscat), but it’s extremely secretive. The only accessible online resource available at the time of writing is via Facebook (try searching for “Gay in Oman”), although the few groups currently in existence appear to be largely made up of men looking for one-night stands.
In practical terms, the good news is that, given the sexually segregated nature of Omani society, male or female couples travelling together are unlikely to elicit any particular attention, assuming you behave in a manner consistent with local standards. Same-sex couples shouldn’t attract too much attention when checking into a hotel room together, assuming you stick to twin, rather than double, beds. Discretion is naturally the order of the day, at all times, and any public displays of affection or other unconventional behaviour should be strictly avoided, unless you know the people you are with very well.
Maps
The best map of the country is the Reise Know-How Oman map (1:850,000). It’s printed on (nearly) indestructible paper and covers the country in clear and commendably up-to-date detail. For off-road maps, Oman Off-Road, published by Explorer, includes excellent satellite maps of 26 routes around the country.
Money
The Omani currency is the rial (usually abbreviated “OR”, or sometimes “OMR”), subdivided into 1000 baiza (“bz”). Banknotes are denominated in 100, 200 and 500 baiza and in 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 rials (there are two types of one-rial note, coloured either purple or red). Coins are denominated in 5, 10, 25 and 50 baiza. Exchange rates at the time of writing were 1 OR = £1.86, $2.60 and €2.10. For the latest exchange rates, go to xe.com.
There are plentiful ATMs all over the country, virtually all of which accept foreign Visa and MasterCard; American Express is widely accepted, although not universally. Most ATMs have a daily cash withdrawal limit of 150–250 OR. You’ll also find banks pretty much everywhere, all of which will change travellers’ cheques and foreign cash. Many more upmarket hotels will also change cash and travellers’ cheques, usually at poor rates.
Major credit cards are widely accepted in Oman, but smaller restaurants (and, very occasionally, hotels) sometimes work on a cash-only basis, so always carry some.
Opening hours and public holidays
Oman runs on a basically Islamic schedule. The traditional working week runs from Saturday to Wednesday, although some businesses also open on a Thursday morning, while Friday serves as the Islamic holy day (equivalent to the Christian Sunday). Usual business hours are 8am–5pm; government offices open 8am–2pm. Banks are usually open Saturday to Wednesday 8am–noon and Thursday 8–11.30am.
Shopping hours are slightly different. Shops in most souks generally open seven days a week, although most places remain closed on Friday mornings. Most places also shut down daily for an extended siesta from around noon or 1pm until 5 or 6pm, lending many smaller places a rather ghost-town ambience during the hot afternoon hours. Local cafés may stay open, although there’s unlikely to be much food available past around 1pm (more upmarket restaurants tend to stay open until 2 or 3pm, but then usually close until around 7pm). Things fire back into life as dusk approaches, usually remaining busy until 9 or 10pm.
Museums tend to follow a similar pattern, opening Sunday to Wednesday from around 9 or 10am to 1pm and from 4 or 6pm to 7pm. Some remain closed for the whole of Thursday and Friday; others open, but only during the afternoon/evening. Forts broadly divide into two categories. Smaller forts tend to be open Saturday to Wednesday 8am–2pm; larger forts are generally open Saturday to Thursday 9am–4pm and Friday 8–11am.
There are eight public holidays in Oman. Three of these fall on the same day every year; the other five follow the lunar Islamic calendar and therefore change date by around eleven days every year, moving gradually backwards through the year.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
New Year’s Day Jan 1
Mouloud (The Prophet’s Birthday) Nov 10, 2019; Oct 29, 2020; Oct 19, 2021
Leilat al Meiraj (Ascension of the Prophet) April 3, 2019; March 22, 2020; March 13, 2021
Renaissance Day July 23
Eid al Fitr End of Ramadan. June 5, 2019; May 24, 2020; May 13, 2021
Eid al Adha Feast of the Sacrifice. Aug 12, 2019; July 31, 2020; July 20, 2021
National Day and birthday of Sultan Qaboos November 18
Islamic New Year Sept 1, 2019; Aug 20, 2020; Aug 10, 2021
Phones
The country code for Oman is 
968. All Omani landline phone numbers are eight digits long, starting with 2. Area codes (eg 24 for Muscat) have now been integrated into the eight-digit format, and must be dialled irrespective of where you’re calling from. Mobile numbers also follow an eight-digit format, but begin with 9. To call Oman from abroad you have to dial the country code plus full eight-digit number. The emergency number for police or ambulance is 9999.
Public phones are scarce in Oman. Check the relevant mobile (cell phone) charges before you leave home. European GSM handsets should work fine in Oman, although North American cell phones may not (except tri-band phones).
If you’re going to be using your phone a lot, it might be worth acquiring a local SIM card, which will give you cheap local and international calls. The leading local phone operators are Omantel (omantel.om) and Ooredoo (ooredoo.om), which have shops countrywide where you can pick up a SIM card (you’ll need to show your passport when purchasing). The easiest way of doing things is with the pre-paid packages, which include a SIM card and a certain amount of credit which you can then top up. Funds can be added to your account using the widely available scratchcard-style recharge cards, available from many local shops – look out for the window stickers. Another option is Friendi (friendimobile.com), who have a kiosk at the airport and offer similar services to the other two, although shops and recharge cards are less widely available.
Photography
Oman is a very photogenic country, although the often harsh light can play havoc with colour and contrast – for the best results head out between around 7am and 9am in the morning, or after 4pm. Don’t take photographs of people without asking or you risk causing considerable offence, especially if taking photos of ladies without permission. In Arabic, “May I take your picture?” translates (roughly) as Mumkin sura, min fadlak? (to a man) or Mumkin sura, min fadlik? (to a woman). Men will probably be happy to oblige, women less so, while children of either sex will usually be delighted.
Post
Oman has an efficient and reliable modern postal service. Postcards and letters cost between 600bz and 800bz to Europe, Asia and North America, rising to as much as 12–16 OR for parcels weighing over 1kg, although if sending anything valuable you may prefer to use an international courier such as DHL or FedEx, who have offices in Muscat and Salalah. There are no reliable poste restante facilities in Oman. If you need to receive a letter or package, it’s best to have it delivered to your hotel (and to warn them in advance of its arrival).
Smoking
Smoking is not permitted inside cafés, restaurants, bars, malls, offices and other public areas – although it’s usually permitted on the outdoor terraces of bars and restaurants.
Time
Oman runs on Gulf Standard Time (GST). This is 4hr ahead of GMT (or 3hr ahead of British Summer Time), 9hr ahead of US Eastern Standard Time, 12hr ahead of US Pacific Time; 4hr behind Australian Western Standard Time, and 6hr behind Australian Eastern Standard Time. There is no daylight saving in Oman.
Toilets
There are not many public toilets in Oman (a notable exception is at the corniche-side entrance to Muttrah Souk). If you get caught short elsewhere, head to the nearest plausible-looking hotel, restaurant or café. Pretty much all tourist attractions, including museums and forts, also provide toilets. Most toilets in Oman are of Western-style sit-down design, although Asian-style squat toilets are also occasionally found.
Tourist information
There are no proper tourist information offices in Oman (apart from a small kiosk at the Muscat airport), and getting reliable local information can be a struggle. Your best bet is to talk to a local tour operators. Staff at better hotels may also be able to provide local information, though this is decidedly hit and miss.
There are no proper Oman tourist offices overseas. In the UK and Ireland, tourist enquiries are handled by the PR company Four Communication (020 3697 4200, 
omanministryoftourism@fourcommunications.com).
USEFUL WEBSITES
destinationoman.com Longstanding website devoted to travel throughout Oman, packed with information on hotels, restaurants, tours and activities.
muscatmutterings.com Useful listings of forthcoming events in the capital plus links to other Oman-related blogs.
omanobserver.com Latest news from the country’s leading daily newspaper.
omantourism.gov.om Official website of the Ministry of Tourism, with extensive information and features on all parts of the country.
tourismoman.com.au Official website from the Ministry of Tourism aimed at Australian visitors, but more user-friendly and useful to all visitors than the ministry’s main site.
Travellers with disabilities
Unfortunately, visiting Oman presents major challenges for travellers with disabilities. Many of the country’s leading attractions – including its rugged mountains and rickety old forts – are, by their very nature, largely inaccessible to visitors with impaired mobility. Muscat is the country’s most accessible destination. Some of the city’s upmarket hotels have specially equipped rooms, while leading attractions including Muttrah Souk and Sultan Qaboos Mosque are fully accessible (although you’ll have to check with your hotel as to whether they can provide you with suitable transport). Outside the capital things become more difficult, but you may be able to arrange transport through one of the tour operators. Muscat Diving and Adventure Centre (holiday-in-oman.com) and Oman Travel (omantravel.co.uk) are two recommended operators for travellers with disabilities.
CALLING HOME FROM ABROAD
To make an international call, dial the international access code (in Oman it’s 00), then the destination’s country code, before the rest of the number. Note that the initial zero is omitted from the area code when dialling the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand from abroad.
Australia international access code + 61
New Zealand international access code + 64
UK international access code + 44
US and Canada international access code + 1
Ireland international access code + 353
South Africa international access code + 27
Working and studying in Oman
Oman is so popular a destination among expats that they now account for almost half of the total population, and more than half – almost two thirds, in fact – of the population in Muscat. It’s also a popular destination among study abroad and gap year students.
STUDY, WORK AND VOLUNTEER PROGRAMMES
Anglo-Omani Society 020 7851 7439, angloomanisociety.com. Longstanding society promoting Anglo-Omani relations, offering Arabic courses, grants for educational projects, and school teaching placements in Oman.
Center for International Learning 968 2443 4779, ciloman.org. Muscat-based language school offering courses in Arabic and Middle Eastern studies.
Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) US 1207 553 4000, ciee.org. Leading NGO offering study programmes and volunteer projects around the world.
Earthwatch Institute Europe 01865 318 838, US 1800 776 0188, Australia 03 9016 7590, earthwatch.org. Scientific expedition project that spans over fifty countries, with environmental and archeological ventures worldwide.