Hello
April 1-9, I will be traveling with a few friends to the UAE and Oman for my spring break (I currently am studying at the University of Jordan). We have flights in through Dubai and out through Muscat and have been working for a while on itineraries. As far as the UAE, we have not encountered many problems, as we are hoping to stay in Dubai and take an organized day trip into the desert, but Oman is presenting a few challenges. We will be taking a bus from Dubai to Muscat, and have found that there are bus services that can take us to Nizwa (for a day trip) and Sur (for two nights--we will be visiting Wadi Shab/Tiwi and Ras al Jinz from there). I have a few questions, however, regarding transportation. I know this question gets asked time and time again on this forum, but I still have not received a definitive answer and have seen a few mixed reports regarding transportation in Oman.
How can I get from Sur to Ras al Jinz and back? I will be traveling with 3 other people and am thinking that shared taxis might be the best option because we will fill up all the seats. How much should that cost? I saw that Sur hotel can set us up with a driver for 25 OR. is that round trip? with a wait for us to see the turtles? what if we want to spend the night at Ras al Jinz? Is it worth it to spend the night there? I am basically concerned about spending the night at the beach and having no way of getting back to Sur the next day
...and I have a similar question regarding the wadis. How much should it cost to hire a cab for the day from Sur and go to the Bimah Sinkhole, Wadi Shab and Wadi Tiwi? is there ANY public transport? What about microbuses? I keep getting mixed reports...
We don't have a car and are not allowed to rent one as per our agreement with study abroad. Punishments are pretty harsh if they find out we rented one, and none of us want to be kicked off the program!
Thanks for your help!
Hello Ebisbocci,
Until the end of your post, I was about to say that the best solution would be to rent a car in Dubai and drop it at Muscat airport. Strange rule you have to follow.
I would advise you not to rely on public transport to go in such remote places. But then you are left with not much choice. A car with a driver would be too expensive, and breaking the rule seems not to be an option.
Maybe travelling with a friend that does not have to follow the same rule ? Or trying to make a deal with the taxi driver for a few days.
Regarding Raz al Jins, you will see the turtles only at night, so yes, it is worth to stay a night. There is an hotel there (70OMR as I remember), but it is better to go and camp on the little beach 1km on the left. Please don't disturb the turtles with lights and noise.
Hope you can find a solution.
Regards,
Patrice
Hi, I've never done it before but why don't you take an organized tour to the places you will be seeing in Oman. When I hear of people going on them they are always super enthusiastic as it's excellent value for money. Then, you don't need to worry about the transport thing. Many of the hotels can organize a tour for you. Or just check with a tour operator in internet.
I agree that traveling by public transport in Oman is not really a good option.
Happy travels
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