Muscat - Post Report Question and Answers
What are some interesting/fun things to do in the area? Can you recommend any “hidden gems"?
There are so many cute little places to visit. You can get lost and love every second of it. - Jan 2022
Once you arrive, buy the book "Oman Off Road" and just start working your way through the routes. There are so many incredible things to do and see in Oman. - Dec 2018
Not really - during the winter just beach, camp and hike. - Feb 2018
Bahla Castle, Nizwa Fort, Turtle Resort, the Beehive Tombs, Dolphin Watching, Jebel Akhdar mountain (the highest mountain in the Arabian peninsula), Jebel Shams (The Green Mountain), the lush Salalah. - Aug 2017
The secluded coves along the coast provide for some great camping and snorkeling. Just take your gear. The fish just a few feet from the shore are the size you usually see when out diving and are just beautiful. - Oct 2014
Dhow trips, fishing, snorkel/SCUBA, camping, off-roading, regional travel, occasional concerts, the new opera house brings in world-class performances. - Jun 2012
Camping, hiking, snorkeling, and diving are available but best done in winter. - May 2012
Camping, fishing, 4x4ing, sandbashing on the dunes, SCUBA diving. If you like the outdoors and can handle the heat or hot off during the really hot months, this place is great. - Aug 2011
Going to the beaches for water sports, driving to the interior, forts, shopping for local crafts. - Feb 2011
There is shopping, classes (painting, sewing, bellydancing, karate), beaches...and there are always coffee mornings if you like that thing. You have to actively seek out things to do here and that can take some work. There is a wonderful book called off-roading and if you have that, a gps and a 4 wheeler and some friends you can see some amazing things. Don't be afraid tobe a tourist of uscat even if you live there...go on the boat tours and visit the amouage perfume factory. - Apr 2010
Outdoor paradise, swimming, diving, snorkeling, deep sea fishing hiking and wadi bashing. There were two guys here during our time that had sea kayaks. Did some fly fishing from these and exploring. - Feb 2010
Miles of deserted white sand beaches and blue waters. Hiking in the wadis, which must have been the inspiration for the Biblical Garden of Eden. Dune bashing in the Wahiba Sands. Snorkeling and diving. Hiking around Jebel Akhdar. Exploring Nizwa and the towns and forts of the interior. A trip to relaxed sea-side Sur. Overnight on the turtle beach at Ras al Jinz. There's no dearth of outdoor activity. If you want to experience the much-vaunted Omani hospitality, you must get out of Muscat, where I have met some of the most unabashedly friendly and welcoming people in the world. Also don't miss the Muscat Festival each January/February -- it's the only time you'll see Omanis having fun in public, and it's a wonderful event. Muscat has some great museums, too. Check out the Sultan's Armed Forces museum, Bait al Zubair, Natural History, Oman-French (lovely house), and never pass up a chance to visit a fort. - Jan 2010
Muscat Festival in January/February; dolphin and whale watch cruises; dhow cruises; a small aquarium; hiking wadis; camping; swimming, museums; beach walks; school performances/plays; camel races; shopping in souks and weekend markets; visit forts in Nikhal and Nizwa, and hanging out with friends. - Mar 2009
Oman is incredibly beautiful, and many expats do lots of hiking, camping, and boating. The climate is fiercely hot for about five months, which keeps many indoors from May-September. There is an increasing variety of shopping options (including, most recently, a Gap, Banana Republic, and Borders Books), and a couple of cinemas that usually have one to three recent U.S. releases (most at least lightly censored).There are several good small museums worth at a stop when you have visitors in town. There are also lots of travel options - to the UAE and elsewhere in the Gulf, as well as relativel short hops to India, Egypt, east Africa, etc. - Feb 2008
