Oman
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
We had a bit of a hassle when we visited Dubai for three days from Oman. We travelled by bus, and stopped at the Omani border at Al-Wajaja to get an exit stamp. However, the bus didn't stop at the UAE control at Hatta (20km up from Al-Wajaja), nor did it on the way back, so we had no stamps for UAE. On return, the Omani guards insisted that we leave our bus, return to UAE and get entry and exit stamps (because we "could have come from the sky"). We also had to pick up a white form (Business/Tourism Reciprocal Entry Form) to get back in for free. So, the message is, it's worth getting the bus drivers, who were both ignorant about procedure, to stop at both borders to get the necessary stamps, or risk being stranded as we were, in the middle of the desert (as the borders were so far apart). And also the white form will save six rials and the hassle of getting a new visa.
Neil Holden, UK (Aug 03)
Because we were short of time we were not able to get the visa for three weeks in Holland, so we bought the visa at Muscat Seeb Airport when we arrived. There you can only get a visa for two weeks. That went rather quickly and cost us for one visa OR7. They only accept Oman money, so you first have to change money at the airport. For an extention for one week we went back to the airport and it also cost OR7. All together it took us about two hours to extend the visa.
Niek Ruijs, Netherlands (Apr 03)
We were not impressed with the visa situation and border crossings. Both the Oman website and a call to the embassy in the US told us we could get a three week visa at the airport on arrival. Not true for us. The agent on duty (at 3am, admittedly) insisted it was only for two weeks. We found the bank open in the airport when we arrived but he appeared to be closing down and would not cash a travellers cheque for us. The ATM machine adjoining was happy to take our visa card. We also crossed over to the UAE for a couple of days, and though our visa was stamped for multiple entry, the official at the border insisted we hand in our exit papers. No amount of discussion with him or his supervisor (in Arabic and English) could find a way to do it. They insisted it would not be a problem. When we returned, we went through the same dance and were required to purchase a second visa, for a lesser rate (only two weeks and single entry). Our crossing point was Hatta, supposedly the best place. In spite of all this, everyone was very pleasant and wanted to make things possible; they just didn't quite have the tools or forms to make it happen.
Dale & Lois Derouin, USA (Mar 03)
Single Entry Visa - these are valid for 14 days & cost OR7 for British passport holders.
Brian Furner (Feb 03)
This is my experience of going to Oman overland from the United Arab Emirates. I am Italian so I rang up the Omani embassy in Rome. They told me that I could cross into Oman from every post on the border without problems and without having to apply for a visa at the embassy. When in the Emirates I rang up the Omani embassy in Dubai. What the Omani embassy in Rome had told me was not true. I had to get a visa from the embassy. I stayed in Dubai 2 days, paid Dh50 or US$15 (much less than I was asked for the visa in Rome) and got my visa.
Marzia Beltrami, Italy (Feb 03)
There were no fees for the visa stamp (3 weeks with one week extension allowed). Make sure the bus stops at the UAE side of the Hatta border to get stamped in/out of the UAE. On the Oman side it is a bit slower and all the passengers will need to be processed, whereas local residents seem to be able to bypass the UAE post.
Trygve & Karen Inda, USA (Jan 03)
From January 2003 all children aged between 3 and 12 should pay a departure tax at Seeb International airport. Babies under 3 won't pay the tax.
Jordi Fortia Huguet, Spain (Jan 03)
It is not possible to get a visa for Oman at any port or border check. You can only get it at the Seeb International Airport. Thus, if you come from the UAE, you have to get your visa from the embassy before your travel starts.
Kai Kirchesch, Germany (Dec 02)
Nationals of the countries listed below may take advantage of the new visa scheme from the Sultanate of Oman in order to better facilitate tourism. Visas may be obtained at the Seeb International Airport, or at any port or border check, for a fee of OR5 (US$13), valid for 14 days with a one-week extension available (must have sufficient funds & onward travel ticket). Otherwise three-week visas are still available from overseas embassies with one-week extensions, for the same fee. If you arrive by cruise ship and stay less than 24 hours, there is no visa fee.
USA, Taiwan, Brunei, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Canada, Singapore, New Zealand, Venezuela, Peru, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guyana, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Suriname, Paraguay, Chile, Portugal, Switzerland, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Latvia, Russia, Poland, Belarus, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Britain, Denmark, Estonia, Austria, Ukraine, France, Croatia, Hungary, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Slovak Republic, Czech Republic.
David Chaudoir, USA (Jul 02)
Travel Tips
A new, very interesting place to visit is the Grand Mosque Sultan Qaboos in Muscat. In 1995 the building of it was started and in March 2001 it was finished. The complex is 1000 metres long and 885 metres wide. There are 4 minarets on the corners and a big central one of 91.5 metres. You are allowed to visit the mosque free of charge as long as you are decently dressed with long sleeves and trousers. Women can wear skirts as long as they covers the knees, blouses closed to the top and the hair must be covered so that you can't see the hair. The mosque itself is 75 x 75 metres and inside lays a one-piece carpet 60 x 70 metres, handmade out of 1700,000,000 knots. 600 women have worked on it full time for four years. There is also a smaller and more simple prayer room for the women.
Niek Ruijs, Netherlands (Apr 03)
There's a new entrance fee for all the forts managed by the Omani government. This fee is OR 0.50 for foreigners. Visiting forts is not free as before.
Jordi Fortia Huguet, Spain (Jan 03)
Driving in Oman can become very dangerous in the case of a slight rainfall. This is of course true everywhere, but the combination of very smooth roads and possibly, previous long periods of drought must be the cause of exceptionally slippery surfaces. On the motorway from Al-Kamil to Sur I witnessed four traffic accidents within 10kms. Two of these involved loss of life. The cars had literally flown off the road. In town I saw two taxis in front of me going through a full spin. Despite my experience and training in driving on slippery roads I had my share of work to keep my 4WD from going out of control, both on the motorway and in town, and at very moderate speeds. In Sur, as I stepped out of the car to ask for directions I felt like I was on a skating ring and almost fell flat on my face.
Romano Sansone, Switzerland (Nov 02)
Moving About
An alternative approach to Sur and onward to Ras al-Jinz is along the coast from Muscat via Qurayat. There is a good surfaced road to Quriyat and then a gravel road takes you all the way along the coast with some breathtaking scenery along the way. Anyway a 4WD is strongly recommended as the road gets rarther bad now and then. If you have camping gear with you we would recommend spending one night somewhere along the coast. On the way to Sur an absolute must is a visit to Wadi al-Shab, which is probably one of the loveliest little wadis in Oman. Leave your car just at the entrance to the wadi, where some local boys will help you cross the water in a small boat (for a small "backsheesh" of course). Afterwards continue along the falaj into a narrow gorge. In case of recent rainfalls you may have to wade through water on slippery flooded concrete bridges, while you continue your walk flanked by steep wadi walls on both sides of the track.
Siegfried & Regina Peer, Austria (Aug 03)
Although the book claims there are city buses to get around Muscat, there did not appear to be any during our visit. In any case, the shared taxis are very easy to use.
Trygve & Karen Inda, USA (Jan 03)
If you want to go cheaply from Seeb International airport to Ruwi or Mutrah you can walk 200m to the airport roundabout (just in front of the airport, there is a clock in the centre) and catch one of the service microbuses or shared taxis heading to Ruwi or Mutrah and coming from Nizwa, Rustaq or Sohar. The trip costs only OR 0.40 or OR 0.50 by shared taxi and is far cheaper than an engaged taxi (OR 8-9) available in front of the arrivals terminal. Don't expect to wait more than 5-10 minutes. The trip takes around 40 minutes.
Jordi Fortia Huguet, Spain (Jan 03)
I refer to page 295 Around Dibba of the 1st edition - July 2000 of the above book. The first paragraph says: "There is an unsealed road through the Musandam peninsula from Dibba to Khasab in the Omani enclave but you won't be able to pass through the Omani military checkpoint after about 50 km. Some years ago this was possible but it was definitely not possible when we were there."
I was in the Musandam peninsula in early December 2001. We sailed over 3 days from Dibba to Khasab, and returned to Dibba by road. The overland return journey was completed without difficultly. The road was well graded if deserted - we did not see any vehicles on the road away from Khasab and Dibba, except for the military presence near the top of Jebel Harim. It is an interesting drive from Khasab up to and beyond Jebel Harim, with usual (to an untrained eye) rock strata. Our passports and papers were checked at a checkpoint some way away from Dibba and before the road descended down a wadi, which went on for mile after mile continuously descending mainly through a gorge which got relatively deep at some stages. The road crossed the wadi at several points, but was well maintained with road maintenance vehicles parked at presumably strategic points. The drive down the wadi was the main feature of the drive back to Dibba - although we drove down it at some speed, it still took over 20 minutes of diving through the gorge the next part of which only became visible as the road twisted and turned before the flattening out on the outskirts of Dibba.
Graham Harman, (Dec 01)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
If you stay in the Nizwa region and have a 4WD, a trip to Jebel Shams is certainly a highlight of a journey to Oman. Take the road to Bahla and turn right to Al-Hamra; at the petrol station take a left turn and follow the signs to Wadi Ghul Dam. The road is mostly tarmac but changes to gravel now and then; after a short drive you cross the wadi bed and see the ghost town of Ghul in front of you along a steep cliff. Take the left road here, which heads towards the cliff (do not follow the road along the wadi) and you will reach a newly built tarmac road winding up the mountain with spectacular views of the plateau. At km 27 the road changes to gravel again and a rough drive takes you another 5km up the mountain until you reach the plateau of Jebel Shams (about 2000m above sea level) and the look out for the grand canyon of Oman. This is the second deepest canyon in the world after the Grand Canyon in the USA and really spectacular.
Siegfried & Regina Peer, Austria (Aug 03)
One pleasant surprise was that, contrary to info in the guide, the Great Sultan Qaboos Mosque in Muscat (al-Kuwair) is now open to the public on specific days, but only in the mornings. Our "tour " was led by a knowledgeable female guide who spoke excellent English. The building is well worth seeing as it has some excellent craftsmanship and beautiful features. It also has one of the largest hand woven carpets in the world, measuring about 77 x 66 metres, woven in several pieces and assembled on-site. It covers the entire main prayer hall floor. Apparently the official name of the mosque in Arabic leaves it unclear whether it is the mosque or the Sultan which is great. We think the mosque certainly is.
On the road from Muscat to Sur - which still required a 4-wheel drive, we encountered two interesting places. Just before Tiwi, we visited Wadi Shab, a beautiful spot which is relatively undeveloped. After a ride in a small rope-pulled ferry across the lagoon, there is a nice path along the Wadi which enters a very steep sided valley where date palms grow where ever there is space. We saw little of the sun, since the walls were so steep. We met a family of Omanis having lunch along the way, who offered us the traditional dates and coffee as we passed. Time well spent.
The second place of interest to us was called BB Miriam house, and was just southwest of Qalhat going toward Sur. This is a building which seems unlike any other we saw, either new or old, in Oman. It sits amid the ruins of an old city which stretches several kilometres along the coast. It looks a little like a church and has writing inside in several languages. There is also an arch roofed storage building. Nothing has been restored, but the place was reputedly visited by Arab historian Ibn Batuta during his travels.
One last place we would highly recommend: Misfat al A'briyeen, near the city of Al-Hamra. A drive over the ridge where there is a new school for the village brings you to a place that, except for the recently added electric wires could have been right at home several centuries ago. Buildings are built on the rock, and an old watch tower oversees all. There is a steep up and down path through the village and the oasis which really takes one back through time. People were very friendly. We saw a group of young boys having the greatest time sliding on a steep, short part of the "street" on cardboard. Certainly a much simpler place.
Dale & Lois Derouin, USA (Mar 03)
About 15 or 20km out of Nizwa, a few kilometres off the road to Salalah, Manah is a really stunning site with old towers and buildings and an old village abandoned in 1971. You can walk through the streets, climb on the roofs and towers. The only preserved building is the mosque from where you can see the irrigated gardens. The modern city is just next to the old one.
Frank Rohl, France (Apr 02)
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