10 Days: The Middle Eastern Destination Nobody Talks About Enough
At a Glance
Best for: Culture, solo travel, diving & food
Where I stayed: Split between Muscat & Al Mouj
Solo Friendly: ★★★★☆ (only because solo makes it more expensive)
Budget: $$-$$$ (Taxis, hotels and tours are more costly)
Transport: Bolt, marshrutkas, organised day tours & walking
Why Oman deserves have a place on your bucket list
I'll admit it, I was a little nervous before arriving and wasn’t quite sure what to expect from it. Like quite a few people, my knowledge of Oman was pretty limited and it pains me to say that we hear so much bad press about the Middle East, more so if you say you’re a solo female traveller. There’s a question on women’s rights, safety, travel etc, and visiting somewhere completely unfamiliar can feel daunting.
But I’m happy to say that within the first day or two, all of those worries had disappeared.
I spent ten days exploring Muscat, splitting my time between the city itself and Al Mouj Marina, and it surely became one of the safest, friendliest and most welcoming places I've travelled to.
Muscat is huge and it took a good 50 minutes walk to get to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque from my hotel, which even at night, did not feel at all unsafe. Then chuck in some delicious food, fascinating history, beautiful mosques and some of the best diving I've experienced, and Oman far exceeded my expectations.
Days 1–5: Diving in Al Mouj
I arrived in Muscat and headed straight over to Mysk Al Mouj, where I based myself for the diving part of the trip.
In summary, Mysk Al Mouj was a really convenient place to stay for this because you're right by the marina and close to the dive centre. After checking in, I kept things pretty relaxed and had a walk around the area.
The next few days were epic, spent diving around the Daymaniyat Islands with Mola Mola Diving Center, eating a lot of great food and discovering some awesome places to visit during the evenings,
→ All info on my Al Mouj page
Day 5 early afternoon - Back to the main part
For the sightseeing half of my trip, I took an Otaxi back and checked in at the Mövenpick Hotel & Apartments Ghala Muscat (around €100 per night).
I'll be honest, the location wasn't the most convenient, actually it was quite a pain in the ass, being pretty distant from a lot of the main sights. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque was I think the closest, and even that was an almost an hour's walk away (which I did, even at night, and felt completely safe doing).
But then I saw the infinity pool and... well. What was I supposed to do? It was a really lovely hotel to come back to after a day of exploring, and sometimes a good pool wins.
Day 6: Nizwa
For Nizwa, out of convenience, I went on a small tour wonderful tour guide, Mahmood. He showed us around Nizwa Fort and the surrounding area, and then even gave us another hour or so on top of the planned tour to take us to some additional viewpoints and places.
We also had the most delicious lunch and were able to try lots of local snacks/drinks during the day.
→ Read my Nizwa page for the full story and tour details.
Day 7 - Omani Breakfast & Sod-All Else
I have no recollection of really what I did this day after breakfast, so I guess it mostly lazing around and doing absolutely nothing apart from swimming.
Now to fuel myself in the morning, I had my eye on this quirky place called Dukanah Cafe, which is purposely made to look like an old Omani home, with stone and wood, traditional textiles, lanterns and old-style décor.
I ordered their mixed breakfast for one (you can actually order it all day if I remember right), and it’s similar to Turkish style, featuring:
Dal / lentils
Shakshuka
Foul
Pasulya (beans) with denggo (chickpeas)
Cucumber & olives
Feta with za'atar
Fresh cream with honey
1 piece of Omani bread & a couple slices of chapati bread
It was amazing!
Day 8 - Muscat city tour
I booked a Muscat sightseeing tour (with hotel transfer included) through Tripadvisor, since the city is so spread out and taking taxis would quickly add up.
Hilariously and very randomly, I ended up having the same guide, Mahmood, from the Nizwa tour! Small world, right?!
We visited the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, Muttrah Souq, Bait Al Zubair Museum and Al Alam Palace, as well as some of the surrounding viewpoints and older parts of Muscat. The tour was around 4–5 hours, but Mahmood was incredibly kind and gave us a little extra time to visit a couple off-the-beaten-path spots.
We also stopped for a little lunch (not included), where I ordered a fattoush salad… and that’s where the obsession began.
Note: There was of course far too much food, but none was wasted as Mahmood takes the leftovers for homeless people.
Tour price: from €48.40 per person - current listed price, varying by group size. Entrance fees to Bait Al Zubair and the Royal Opera House are extra.
→ Find out more here
Day 9 - Old Muscat & a bit more exploring
I'd then make this your less structured Muscat day, because the tour has already covered the big sightseeing circuit. Use this one to revisit anywhere you particularly liked, or as I did, explore Takia and Muttrah.
I had a slow morning at first, swam a little bit and then sometime in the afternoon, booked a taxi to Takia first, as it’s way too far otherwise. I’m not sure how well public transport runs so for ease, made more sense. I think the one way journey cost something around €7-8. From there, I just walked around the area and worked my way up to Muttrah Corniche for the sunset and evening. Even at that time though, the heat was a lot (mid September) and within half an hour, I was pretty sweaty.
To be completely honest, I thought the corniche area would have a bit more to do at night, but it was pretty boring. Oman is one of my favourite countries but it’s a shame there didn’t seem to be a lot happening after the sun went down. Or maybe I didn’t look hard enough.
Day 10 - One last morning & then off to Qatar
And just like that, it sadly was time to leave Oman. I kept my last morning pretty slow, just a little breakfast, one last walk around the hotel and swim, then off to the airport.
After ten days of diving, mountains, mosques, forts, bloody good food and meeting some very lovely people, I was definitely disappointed to be leaving. But, on to Qatar next!
Would I go back? In a heartbeat!
→ Want to know the little things I wish I'd known before going? Read Oman Will Welcome You With Open Arms.
→ Curious about my trip after, to Qatar? Jump in!