Is Oman dull?
 

I'm planning a short holiday in Feb 2013, out monday return the following monday, and I'm considering Oman for 4 nights, well, mainly because of the awesome award flights I'm finding on QR. Can anyone recommend it?

Hard to say without knowing what interests you. There are some things to do there though: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel...MISC-BR-1.html

Is Oman dull?
 

Go to TLV, you'll get the middle eastern flair and culture as well as an amazing beach.
Plus I believe that oman is a "dry" state, Israel most certainly is not.

Plus if you go to israel you can explore the ancient city of Jerusalem one day and go clubbing in Tel Aviv the next.

Too hot in Oman now,
but it is OK, I had a car and driver,
some fun day trips out to various old fort-towns a few hours away..

You can buy alcohol at some "western" hotels
which have expensive pubs.
sometimes the "barman" at the pool can send someone
around with a few few black market bottles
if you find the right one.

Yes, Jerusalem is a place most should know at least once,
Eilat has good pub scene,
and Dubai is surprisingly worth the trouble, lots of pubs !!

But again, it is just too hot there now.. :D

Yes, Oman is dull, no doubt. But it's a great place to visit. The Muttrah souq and corniche area are a quaint and friendly slice of Gulf Arab culture, with a lot of historical multicultural influences (British, Indian) built it. The people are by far the friendliest in the Gulf region in my experience, and the place has an authenticity to it that the UAE and Qatar lack to an extent.

The country has a few true destination hotels (Chedi, Shangri-La), though the main five-star chains (InterContinental, Hyatt, though I am not sure about the newly renovated Ritz-Carlton Al-Bustan Palace) are a bit dated.

There are passable Arabic and Indian restaurants, and little nightlife as others have pointed out.

There are some nice geographical features outside Muscat, e.g., up the coast toward the UAE and down toward Salalah, which you could include in a four-day trip, and some forts and whatnot.

If you're only going to visit the Gulf once in your life, then I would recommend Dubai. But Oman is a nice secondary destination.

Well, yes, if you are after night-life then Muscat is very tame, even dull. But in many other respects it blasts other middle-east destinations out of the water - variety of scenery, historic/cultural sites, and the very agreeable, friendly nature of most Omanis are top attractions.

Well we always take a week off in February. And I've got the points to burn, and found some good C class flights on QR. I wanted something where I was flying for less than 24 hours since we only have a week. I hated Vegas so assumed that Dubai would be not be interesting to me for 5 days. We're not much on clubing or nightlife, but we do enjoy dinner and drinks.

Maybe I should look where else QR can take me!

I would say there is plenty to see around the MCT area to fill 4 days, although the pace of life is pretty relaxed. I would echo mecabq's and IAN-UK's posts which sum it up pretty well.

I'd add scuba diving and dolphin watching as possible activities.

If you don't like Vegas then you may not love Dubai, but the combination of DXB and MCT would make an interesting contrast. I like them both equally, but for different reasons.

Feb is a great time to visit the Gulf as the weather will be very pleasant. And Oman is by no means 'dry' :D

Thinking of other QR destinations, I'd put AUH and DOH much further down the list. How about BEY ?

hth

BEY? Really?

Never even considered DOH for anything but a connection. Actually I was planning NBO, but the flight there eats into the week off, and the $$$ really pile up for a 3 day safari!

Beirut is fun! And if you are considering the Levant it avoids the awkwardness of Israel. Cyprus would be the easy option, but a very comfortable one with lots of options open beyond Ayia Napa :).

Though Oman still fits your requirements quite well. As for the booze question, I've had enormous fun at busy alcohol-free restaurants (YMMV, of course!), and drinks are certainly served at restaurants and bars attached to the larger hotels.

It's not a a single-destination place: Nizwa is most certainly worth an overnight trip; Salalah is an hour's flight south, but fascinating; and the separated bit of Oman that is Musandam on the straights of Hormuz is breathtaking.

Could I easily combine Dubai and Oman in one trip?

Absolutely. In case you are not able to get an award ticket from DXB to MCT, you can buy a cheap ticket on flydubai or even take a bus.

Sure you can.

Air Arabia flies quite cheaply from Sharjah, otherwise Abu Dhabi seems to have cheaper flights to MCT than Dubai. Look out for fifth-freedom "tag flights" from European carriers e.g. BA (AUH) and Swiss (DXB), can be very attractively priced (although they get in to MCT late).

Otherwise you can drive: a more expensive choice, but it gives you much more freedom and can be part of the holiday. You need to watch out for the insurance fees covering you for Oman. Driving means you get to see Al Ain, the sort of spiritual homeland of the Abu Dhabi emirate, and you can then route yourself through the mountains and Nizwa to get to Muscat.

Yes, I did this in May. It was something like a 40 min flight on a DXB-MCT EK777. Ironically LHR-DXB-MCT-DXB-LHR was cheaper than LHR-DXB-LHR. Go figure. Oman is not going to be in the Premier League of places to go, but it is friendly, interesting and worth a few days. But hotter than hell right now, I would imagine. Chedi was a very agreeable place to stay and the forts eg Jabrin are worth a look. Muscat souk was relaxed but quite small and not worth going out of your way. The grand mosque is worth a look, not far from Chedi, but not in the same league as Abu Dhabi's. Oman hasn't got the bling factor of DXB or AUH so is a welcome contrast.

Thanks. It's a question of opportunity costs. Given the length of flight and costs of time off, would you stack Oman against any other place one could visit for the same costs?:eek:

Gosh, that really depends on what your interests are and where you've already been.... and how bothered you are about risk (still kicking myself I've missed going to Syria, Libya, Iran and Chad which all look dodgy for the foreseeable future). We went to MCT very much as an add-on to DXB and did have a long think first. I wouldn't go to Oman in preference for example to Egypt (but maybe off limits now?), Jordan, Israel, Turkey or even Tunisia. But there's so much to see in these other places that sometimes I find going to a mellow place without a lot to do forces me not to worry about ticking off all the major sites/sights....YMMV.

If choice is constrained by the QR route network, it depends very much on the style/pace/vibe of destination you would prefer, and the prevailing weather in Feb.

The weather will be delightful in the Gulf in Feb. Further N or W (e.g. Med, Levant) will be distinctly cooler and possibly wetter.

You may have got the impression that those of us who've been to Oman have fallen in love with the place :) It is slower paced with less mass tourist infrastructure, and there certainly aren't 20 things to do before lunch. On the upside, the people are warm, generous and friendly, with time to chat to visitors, and there is a genuine feel of the traditional Arab culture not present in other over-developed locations. I can't remember many other places where I've had a laugh with an immigration officer (about my comedy attempts at Arabic :))

Looking at the QR route map, do you have the option to travel slightly further to e.g. India, Sri Lanka or the Maldives ?

Given that any trip will involve a change in DOH, I'd still recommend MCT + DXB if you can get an open-jaw reward ticket.

+1

Oman can be intoxicating - the pace is slow, the historical architecture is lovely, and the weather in February would be lovely!

I think there would be plenty to do for four days, no question. For what it's worth, I found Dubai even less appealing than Vegas.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It's a work in progress. Egypt has always been "off the radar" as the last few trips we've done have involved piles of rocks (angkor, greece, italy). We loved each trip and we love the history. But ruin fatigue does set it and the rocks start to look the same after a few days. That said I am working a plan for Egypt now just to see what can be done. It really is one of those places to check off my list.

I'm not constrained by the QR route, but I'd sure like to use it before UA drops their arrangement in Sept.

Maldives was mentioned. We thought about it and Seychelles. I struggle to find how it could be much different than Anguilla, etc. But for and entire week, I think I'd go absolutely mad on a tiny island. Sitting. With nothing else to do but sit. And pay deserted island prices for drinks. And sit.:)

Being based in AUH, I try to go to Oman as much as possible. The mountain scenery is just fantastic - I would rate the Wadi Bani Awf drive one of my top 5 drives in the world. Sayq Plateau, Nizwa, overnight boat trip from Dibba or Khasab into the Musandam. All great great fun.

Another vote here for Oman (not dull if you like gorgeous scenery) and also for Beirut (not dull in any way!) The two places are more or less polar opposites, but they are both great in their own way.

I didn't feel unsafe in Beirut, although there are a lot of security guards walking around with automatic weapons, which can be unnerving if you're not used to it. Overall it is a super vibrant, interesting, highly cosmopolitan place.

I was in Oman just for a long weekend, based in Muscat and staying at the Intercontinental. I rented a 4x4 to drive around, with only the Lonely Planet's atrocious road map as a guide. I had a great time. The landscape is beautiful in many places, and I stumbled on what had to be one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen. Muscat itself can pretty much be done in 4 hours (it's very small), but there are good day/2-day trip opportunities.

Is Oman dull?
I'd suggest the following:
The big jump into the pool at Wadi Sweih
The via ferrata in Wadi Bani Awf (Snake Gorge)
A drive on any of the mountain tracks
A drive on any main road
Any of these will get your adrenaline going without expending much energy (apart from the via ferrata)

Is the Via Ferrata open again?

I know people who have used the wires recently but with their own climbing equipment. This is definitely "at your own risk" as some of the bolting has been done incorrectly.
A write up here:
http://adalpine.wordpress.com/recent...-ferrata-oman/

Ah ha - the AD Alpine Club...of which I'm also a member. :) The last I'd heard the wires had been removed pending a refurb/maintenance.

Situation today, 22 August, on Snake Gorge via ferrata:
The wires have been removed and are going to be replaced (or new routes?) by the Ministry of Tourism. There is no date for when the new wires will appear.

We spent a few days in Muscat and really enjoyed it - found the people very friendly and laidback. We stayed at the Hyatt which was great (get the stay voucher for a much reduced stay).

If you need to buy flights between MCT and DXB, Swiss may be an option as their business class flights are pretty good value.

A visit to the Grande Mosque is a must, old Muttrah Souq was quite interesting and the scenery is much more interesting than Dubai, which we also love as a really fun city to go to.

Oman is more traditional and less brash than Dubai - the 2 places are a good contrast.

2 years ago we rented a car in Dubai and drove down to Oman for about 5 days.
Really enjoyed the trip. The roads are great, locals are friendly and helpful, lots to see.

Its as dull as you make it, if you like to stay in a western chain hotel and never leave, then yeah, its gonna be dull. If you get out and explore, its certainly not dull.