farbster

Fantastic trip. I wonder why you chose to stay in such a nice place at first and then not as nice in Muscat. Seems like a wide range between the two?

AtlantaTraveller

Great TR!

El Cochinito

Had to snap the young man back to reality at some point after living fat in Dubai for a few days with the Raffles hotel, Burj al Arab luncheon and the chef's table dinner at Table 9!

All kidding aside I wanted to save a bit of money at some point so I didn't spring for a deluxe property in Muscat. I stayed at the Mutrah Hotel on my first (solo) trip to Oman a few years ago and found it an acceptable budget property. You can walk downhill to the Mutrah Souq in 20-25 minutes, the hotel has free parking and it is convenient to the expressway.

sfoactuary

Wow, what an adventure and some really fantastic pictures!

FlyForFun

Great report! Thanks for posting.

rankourabu

Awesome pics!!!!

I took my dad on a road trip thru Oman 4 years ago, and he loved it.
Youre the only other person I know who has been to that sinkhole

bowdenj

Fantastic trip report and makes me want to go back to Oman!

nemme99

Great report. What a great dad/son trip - one he'll remember and appreciate. I'm a bit older - a bit - than your son, but I'm taking my mom to Abu Dhabi and Doha next month. It will come back to you!

Digital01

Excellent report! Looks like some great father and son bonding! ^

ekflyer1

Great trip report... brings back a lot of memories. I have been on several trips to the likes of Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain & Abu Dhabi... its the cultural aspects of these trips that make them memorable and prefer the quieter towns over the city which are more geared to tourists. Oman looks fantastic, I love the photos taken of the mosque and historic buildings and would plan a visit to one of these places instead of going to a city full of skyscrapers.

I encourage everyone to go to countries in the middle east, africa, and sub continent to get a feel of the different cultures. Its a real eye opener.

Just one question.. did you use a guide to visit the different places in Oman or was it a case of doing the research before hand and hiring a car to go it solo.

Thanks again for the report.

El Cochinito

Agree wholeheartedly and is exactly the reason I picked Oman in addition to Dubai for this trip. Dubai is fun and somewhere he wanted to see, but I knew Oman was something a little more grounded in the culture of the region.

The latter - we did our research and rented a car. Didn't bother with a guide. It is very easy to drive in Oman and get around. We've hired local guides at other places we've visited such as Bangkok and Hanoi but I didn't see a need in Oman.

Before our trip I did get my Garmin GPS updated with street level maps for Oman (includes the UAE as well). I also looked up the latitude and longitude on Google Maps of the places we wanted to visit in Oman and plugged them into my favorites on the GPS. That was incredibly helpful.

Amelorn

Now that's a report.

Incidentally, I couldn't help but notice that the sequence of pics also documents your son's laissez faire attitude towards shaving. I am quite horrible with my self-shearing during travel.

Mauresam

Really enjoyed reading your trip report and viewing your pics. What a wonderful graduation gift to enjoy with your son. I am planning a trip to Dubai in the fall and can't wait. Might have to visit Muscat too just based on your pics and report, LOL.

El Cochinito

Yeah, it was a "no shave" trip for him but he normally wears a beard anyway. Has had it off and on since last year (age 17) and has learned to keep it lined and trimmed for school.

El Cochinito

I highly recommend Muscat and Oman; many others who have gone there will tell you the same thing. It provides a great counterpoint to Dubai.

Check for cheap flights on Fly Dubai or set up your trip to fly from home to Muscat with a free stopover in Dubai (which is what we did with Emirates).