3 days in Oman. Rent a car?
Jan 15, 2015, 8:46 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AUS
Posts: 248
3 days in Oman. Rent a car?
We only have three days in Oman. We're flying into Muscat via Abu Dhabi.
My questions:
We'd love to see the Daymaniyat Islands for snorkeling.
We'd love to see at least one cool wadi with that crazy turquoise water.
Some mountains.
Maybe Nizwa.
I know this is a lot to fit in. The order above would be the priority.
Should we rent a car? Or hire a driver by the day? Should we just book three nights at one hotel in Muscat and use that as our base?
Thank you,
My questions:
We'd love to see the Daymaniyat Islands for snorkeling.
We'd love to see at least one cool wadi with that crazy turquoise water.
Some mountains.
Maybe Nizwa.
I know this is a lot to fit in. The order above would be the priority.
Should we rent a car? Or hire a driver by the day? Should we just book three nights at one hotel in Muscat and use that as our base?
Thank you,
Jan 15, 2015, 10:06 am
#2
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: MEM
Programs: ::US,UA,CO+ currently non-rev Plat
Posts: 132
Yes absolutely. I rented a car in Oman for a week in Jan 2013 and it was one of my best trips. With only 3 days I wouldn't recommend driving all the way to Salalah (highly recommended for another time) but you can still see tons of stuff in the upper half.
I would recommend against using Muscat as a base. There are hotels in other areas and you don't want to have to drive hours back and forth at the beginning and end of each day. I personally didn't spend any time there (besides the old fort area near the town center before I left) but that was because I like to be on the road and moving.
Around Nizwa there are a bunch of mountain opportunities. Jebel Shams amd you can visit Wadi Ghul (the Grand Canyon of Oman). You don't need to pay someone to drive you up. The road is bad but passable in a car.
You could head toward Sur where you can find a hotel. Driving north along the coast towards Muscat you can stop at Wadi Ash Shab. Bring a dry bag if possible so you can continue on further past the end of the canyon that requires you to swim to access it.
If you like sand dunes you can head west of Sur to see them. I didn't visit north of Muscat but I was able to stay busy for a week doing everything south of it.
You could buy the Bradt guide as I believe it was recently updated in the past year or so. I had used the old one.
Also try to search for a good rate code for the car so that you have unlimited km or a low per km rate so you don't feel constrained. Gas is cheap so you can drive and drive.
I would recommend against using Muscat as a base. There are hotels in other areas and you don't want to have to drive hours back and forth at the beginning and end of each day. I personally didn't spend any time there (besides the old fort area near the town center before I left) but that was because I like to be on the road and moving.
Around Nizwa there are a bunch of mountain opportunities. Jebel Shams amd you can visit Wadi Ghul (the Grand Canyon of Oman). You don't need to pay someone to drive you up. The road is bad but passable in a car.
You could head toward Sur where you can find a hotel. Driving north along the coast towards Muscat you can stop at Wadi Ash Shab. Bring a dry bag if possible so you can continue on further past the end of the canyon that requires you to swim to access it.
If you like sand dunes you can head west of Sur to see them. I didn't visit north of Muscat but I was able to stay busy for a week doing everything south of it.
You could buy the Bradt guide as I believe it was recently updated in the past year or so. I had used the old one.
Also try to search for a good rate code for the car so that you have unlimited km or a low per km rate so you don't feel constrained. Gas is cheap so you can drive and drive.
Jan 15, 2015, 2:51 pm
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: AUS
Posts: 248
Thank you all so much. Very helpful. Should we get a 4WD?
I like your suggested itinerary!
We won't make it to Salalah in the short amount of time we have, unfortunately. But I'm glad to read we can hit many of our "musts" in the northern half.
I like your suggested itinerary!
We won't make it to Salalah in the short amount of time we have, unfortunately. But I'm glad to read we can hit many of our "musts" in the northern half.
Jan 15, 2015, 6:07 pm
#5
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Sacramento, California, USA
Posts: 2,976
I used Europcar last April for our car rental in Oman. They offered unlimited kilometers while other agencies mostly had 100 free km per day. So definitely check around.
I have a Garmin Nuvi GPS which I brought on the trip. A few months prior to the trip I purchased the Garmin mapset for Oman (includes UAE too) and was very glad I had it. One thing i did was look up the latitude and longitude of places we wanted to visit (and our hotel!) using Google Maps and plug those into favorite places in the GPS. Made getting around very easy.
Highway signs are bilingual Arabic and English.
Traffic circles/Roundabouts are popular as are speed bumps.
Speed cameras and red light cameras are in use in Oman. The superhighway between Muscat and Nizwa has speed cameras every few kilometers. I can't remember what the threshhold over the speed limit is for when they trigger but in any case watch your speed.
Gas/Petrol stations are frequent along the superhighways and in towns. There's generally a gas jockey who will fill your tank and collect your cash. Gas is cheap in Oman as you might guess. Don't know if they accept credit cards or not as I never tried. Many stations have mini-markets where you can buy snacks and cold drinks.
I have a Garmin Nuvi GPS which I brought on the trip. A few months prior to the trip I purchased the Garmin mapset for Oman (includes UAE too) and was very glad I had it. One thing i did was look up the latitude and longitude of places we wanted to visit (and our hotel!) using Google Maps and plug those into favorite places in the GPS. Made getting around very easy.
Highway signs are bilingual Arabic and English.
Traffic circles/Roundabouts are popular as are speed bumps.
Speed cameras and red light cameras are in use in Oman. The superhighway between Muscat and Nizwa has speed cameras every few kilometers. I can't remember what the threshhold over the speed limit is for when they trigger but in any case watch your speed.
Gas/Petrol stations are frequent along the superhighways and in towns. There's generally a gas jockey who will fill your tank and collect your cash. Gas is cheap in Oman as you might guess. Don't know if they accept credit cards or not as I never tried. Many stations have mini-markets where you can buy snacks and cold drinks.
Jan 15, 2015, 8:25 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: TPA
Programs: AA PLT, HH Gold, FM Prem, SPG gold
Posts: 581
Great info everybody. Just booked a car for my 4 days.
Still TBD on where to go (welcome to suggestions) but I did the europcar with unlimited km. Plan to get a local SIM on arrival for transit GPS.
Question: I had an IDP (int'l drivers permit) for trips in the past and it was never requested (Europe). Says I need one here, but don't really want to bother with the effort. Think an expired one (or edited date) would work since it's such an informal document? (all info still accurate).
Still TBD on where to go (welcome to suggestions) but I did the europcar with unlimited km. Plan to get a local SIM on arrival for transit GPS.
Question: I had an IDP (int'l drivers permit) for trips in the past and it was never requested (Europe). Says I need one here, but don't really want to bother with the effort. Think an expired one (or edited date) would work since it's such an informal document? (all info still accurate).
Last edited by rivlinm; Jan 15, 2015 at 8:32 pm Reason: typo
Jan 15, 2015, 11:48 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,060
There are so few roads that you honestly won't need GPS. Check where you want to go and print off some maps from Google Earth. Most petrol stations also sell road maps. If you are stuck at a junction, just ask the next car driver that comes along.
Car speedos usually over read, so you will discover that you need to do 127kph on the speedo for a true 120kph. (gPS is useful for this). in Oman, you are usually safe doing 134kph on your speedometer.
Car speedos usually over read, so you will discover that you need to do 127kph on the speedo for a true 120kph. (gPS is useful for this). in Oman, you are usually safe doing 134kph on your speedometer.
Jan 15, 2015, 11:54 pm
#8
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 1,060
If you have snorkelled elsewhere, eg Barrier Reef, you will be very disappointed by the Daymaniyats. The Barrier Reef is thousands of times better in terms of numbers and variety. Also be aware that you are not allowed on the islands or their beaches.
Jan 16, 2015, 3:05 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Canada
Programs: UA*1K MM SK EBG LATAM BL
Posts: 23,309
There are so few roads that you honestly won't need GPS. Check where you want to go and print off some maps from Google Earth. Most petrol stations also sell road maps. If you are stuck at a junction, just ask the next car driver that comes along.
Car speedos usually over read, so you will discover that you need to do 127kph on the speedo for a true 120kph. (gPS is useful for this). in Oman, you are usually safe doing 134kph on your speedometer.
Car speedos usually over read, so you will discover that you need to do 127kph on the speedo for a true 120kph. (gPS is useful for this). in Oman, you are usually safe doing 134kph on your speedometer.
Your rental car will probably beep at 120. Then you realize there is a local right up on your rear end who thinks that 150 is too slow
They know where the cameras are, you dont