OMAN

Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings

If you are planning on travelling overland, obtaining multiple-entry visas for the countries is a very difficult task to near impossible for some nationalities. Plan well in advance as the only possibility for many nationalities is to write to Muscat and ask for a special exception based on the nature of your trip. Regarding the UAE, the solution for us was an appointment with the Consul (and beg him) and pay the most expensive visa fees of our lives. Please note that when visiting the Musandem Peninsula overland you will need to have a multiple-entry visa to enter the Peninsula and leave it to continue through the UAE into the Omanic mainland.

When travelling overland, you will have problems leaving and re-entering these countries. When planning your itinerary, check in advance the places where there are manned border posts. In the case of Musandem you can only enter and leave Oman and the UAE by the Tiba/Sham border post. If you leave Oman by Dibba you will not have an exit stamp and "officially" you will be still at the Sultanate (in case you are going to apply for another visa or use a multiple entry visa to enter again). You can fly from Khasab to Muscat in an internal flight (with the same single-entry visa), no matter what the Omani customs officer tells you at the Tiba border post.

You can enter Oman (Musandem) from the road that comes from Ras al Khaimah and leave the country back into the UAE at Dibba without a visa. This is a popular ex-pat day trip either by mountain bike or by 4X4. One of the UAE highlights is the awesome Hatta Pools. These pools are actually in Oman a couple of kms past the border and there is no customs control up to that point but access is from Hatta. They have water all year round and consist of a miniature canyon of highly polished curved rocks deep into the Wadi floor. The water usually goes from wall to wall and it is an amazing experience to swim these narrow rock corridors and play at the many little waterfalls. You can mountain bike to them from Hatta or use a 4X4. For those with no wheels, there are a lot of UAE "adventure" tour operators that briefly take people there. The Hatta hotel also offers this trip at a ridiculously expensive price.

If you are cycling you will need a tent as there are lots of towns with no hotels. The police do not mind if you camp wild.You can still take your well deserved "shower" by following this tip: at sunset chose your camping spot before it gets dark in a place not far from a town. Just before you go to camp at night, buy several normal water bottles at the local shop to be used as your "shower water". Water bottles are a very cheap alternative when you're saving a hotel fee. Please do it after dusk when the locals will not see you nude to avoid offence.

If you are leaving Oman (mainland) by land, the best place to cross is the coastal road (Shinas/Kalba). There are 24 hour border posts for both countries. You can now travel with Israeli stamps in your passport.I had no problems entering Oman and the UAE, just as their respective embassies had reassured me before I travelled there.

Travelling with our bikes was a great idea. We could mountain bike in the best parts such as Musandem Peninsula, Hatta pools, the Habel Shams and its canyon in Oman (Nizwa area - a highlight of the Sultanate) and even zoom through the Dubai souks. You can take your bikes everywhere by public transport to avoid boring rides (Dubai - Ras al Khaimah) as long as you can take the wheels off the frame. We used normal taxis, service taxis (vans), buses and even the small plane from Khasab to Muscat. We never had problems and people are always willing to help "eccentric" cyclists.
Rafael & Susi Dubois, Venezuela (Feb 99)

It seems that the aquarium in Muscat has virtually closed down. I made a special effort to go there and all they had were a few turtles in a pool in the entrance hall and some tired looking posters. All the tanks were empty and nobody was around.
Mark Hunt (Mar 99)

We spent a few days in Sur. The people there are a lot darker than those in Muscat. We thought this may have something to do with the town's role as a port on the East African trade routes. The locals were great. As visitors are still a rarity, we were often stopped by younger people eager to just have a chat. One young guy took us for a ride on his boat and a taxi driver offered us free lifts around town.

For a day by the sea, a day membership to the Oman Dive Centre is a better bet than the hotel beach clubs. It is cheaper and the beach is much more attractive. There are also far fewer people there. During the week it is possible to be the only person there. You also escape the hotel's extortionate prices for food and drink (although the dive club's menu is hardly suited to the budget traveller).

Keep your eye on the local English language press. In amongst the stories on Kerelan politics and grovelling tales of Sultan Qaboos, there are ads for the many social functions on offer for the expat community. We went to a show-jumping demonstration put on by Sheik Sayyid Shabib bin Taimur Al-Said. It featured the Royal Omani Camel Pipe Band (bagpipe players on camels is a sight I will take to the grave) and various other events. It was free (including free food courtesy of the Al Bustan Palace Hotel) and was a good way to see how Oman's upper classes and its expats live and play. It was held in the Enam Equestiran Grounds in Seeb, which is very hard to find.
Jason Mountney, Australia (Feb 99)

Musandem Peninsular : the road to Kasab from Tibat is fully sealed (asphalted) and is very good. The Omani's have spent a lot of money on this stretch of road including new sea defence barriers and lighting.

If you wander down the port/harbour area of Khasab, you should be very easily able to negotiate with one of the many Iranian cigarette smugglers to charter his speed boat to take you out for a spin. We spent a fantastic three hours skirting the coast in a boat - the driver knew the area well and was able to take us to fiords/villages/beaches that are totally inaccessible by anything other than a boat. Our three hour trip cost 300 dh (50 pounds) and for the view and sights alone was worth every penny (dirham) - thoroughly recommended.

On towards Muscat, we visited a few forts. We did not require permits to enter any of those that we went to, which were Jabrin/Barka/Nakhal/Rustaq and Sohar. The fort at Jabrin closed at 4 pm when we were there. Nakhal is an absolute must, set in stunning mountain and oasis scenery, the guard was very happy to see us and gave us lots of info about the forts' history. He also proudly has a newspaper cutting stuck to a wall of an article about him and the fort. Rustaq was under restoration, we could walk inside the outer wall but the inner walls were closed off.

The Fort at Bahla is completely closed due to extensive restoration work.
anon (Feb 99)

One month tourist visas for UAE are available upon entry (at least for UK passport holders) - this can then be extended for a further two months at the immigration office. If you are still in the country after 90 days you have to do a visa run (Doha/Muscat are popular ones), turn around and re-enter UAE and start all over again.

Tourist visas for Oman are not available on the border (contrary to popular belief) if you are crossing from the UAE, and entered UAE on a tourist visa. They can be obtained from the Omani embassies in Dubai/Abu Dhabi and take three to four days. Only single entry visas are available at the embassy in Dubai (ie multiple entry required, application must be lodged with Abu Dhabi embassy). Single entry visas costs 200dh and are valid for three weeks and entry into Oman must be within one month of issue.

The UAE do not have a presence on the border with Oman at Hatta. If you leave UAE at Mezyad (on road to Nizwa) you will get an exit stamp from UAE and pay 20dh for the privilege. If you re-enter at Hatta there will be no one there to give you a re-entry stamp (we had to get our Omani visas re-validated so that we could drive back into Oman then onto the Fujairah border crossing where both UAE and Omani guards are present - this was such hassle and took about three hours)

Some of the old "deserted" parts of Fujairah Old Town are actually inhabited and I was made very unwelcome. It is interesting to look around the dilapidated buildings/old fort but I was virtually chased away by one of the locals - there are also a few dogs around, so be very careful if visiting this area.
Andy Hurst, UK (Nov 98)

In Oman, a spectacular site not to be missed is Oman's "Grand Canyon" in the Jabal Akhdar range opposite Jabal Shams, the country's highest mountain. From a plateau at a level of 2000 m it is a sheer drop of nearly 1000 m. What a view! A walk along the edge is nothing for the fainthearted.

You can drive right up to the plateau, but you absolutely need a 4WD for the 41 km of steep rocky track. If you don't have one, you can rent one in nearby Nizwa for about 45 Riyal (ú60) per car with driver.

Cheaper, and more fun, is to take a minibus or hitchhike (not easy) to Al-Hamra, 16 km off the main road between Nizwa and Bahla. At the end of the paved road, before the village there is a gas station and some houses. My companion asked the attendant how to get up to Jabal Shams and minutes later a local presented himself and offered to drive us up in his huge old Toyota 4WS - for 20 Riyal. He was the owner of an adjacent shop and simply closed his business for our trip. Off and up the mountain we went at breathtaking speed giving lifts to an old man and a beekeeper on the way, taking a break for our driver's prayer and stopping at his home for dates and coffee (the traditional Omani welcome) plus goat's milk with a hefty does of hot spices.
Reinhard Fey, Germany (Aug 98)

In Oman only US dollars are exchanged at an acceptable rate and DM, for instance, are exchanged with 10% spread between buy and sell rate; so bring US dollars. This is not the case in UAE where DM sells and buys with a difference of 1,4% only.

It was astonishing to me that not only all bus lines had still the same schedule in Oman as indicated in LP 1996 edition, but also virtually all prices (hotels, air-tickets etc) were unchanged - a remarkably stable country.

There is also an ATM at the British Bank of the Middle East at the Mutr Corniche (very conveniently located for the Mutrah hotels).
Joachim Behrmann - Germany (Feb 98)