10 Jun Oman – Getting in, What to pack, How to get around, and Currency

So many of you might be like “where’s Oman?”  Here is a very brief overview

• It’s a country on the Eastern part of the Saudi peninsula.  Traditionally not on many tourists maps, it’s a quiet, peaceful, quaint country on the Arabian Sea full of searing deserts, beaches, and rocky mountains.
• Oman is a sultanate meaning it’s fully ruled by one sultan, Sayyid Qaboos bin Said al Said – or just Qaboos if you will.  Over the past four decades he has brought his country out of relative poverty into an extremely developed, clean, organized country.  The infrastructure is outstanding, the mosques grand, and the currency strong AF.  Sitting on some of the most vital fishing and oil ports in the world, Qaboos has used the wealth to build up his country and people.  I didn’t get a North Korea Dear Leader vibe, I could be wrong, but people generally liked him and he seemed well regarded.
• Omanis are very traditional, they’ve maintained their culture despite massive changes in the region.  They all mostly wear the customary dress and practice their outlier sect of Ibadi Islam which is accepting of everyone, and non-violent.  Every single person we met was kind, welcoming, and genuinely interested that we were visiting their country.   

Getting in

If you are a U.S. citizen you will require a visa to enter.  They offer visa on arrivals or online, but when given the chance I always do my visa online in advance, click here as to why.  The cost is about $55, and if you do an online visa it will be emailed to you about 1-2 days after you apply.

My entry experience: do not have Israeli stamps.  Read all about my entry experience here.

What to pack

Oman is a desert climate, yet a conservative Islamic country so this list below is based on my experience – I pack light and I have a full travel packing blog here.

• Basics
  • Travel backpack
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses
  • Laundry bag,
  • Bug wipes
  • Meds

• Clothing
  • Women:
    • Pack loose-fitting linen pants and long sleeve shirts or airy tanks with a cardigan to go over.  Your arms and legs should be covered. 
    • Pack for your period.  I’ve mentioned this before, but I failed to follow my own advice and I had to scrape by on overly priced limited variety tampons in brands I don’t like.
    • Do I need a hijab? I vote yes, I did, but that is completely up to you.  At the hotels often western women or foreign employees didn’t, but out in public I only recall only seeing one western tourist without her head covered.  Furthermore, I traveled during Ramadan and all hotels had notices asking foreigners to be respectful of the holy month in their dress.  I’m not Muslim, I didn’t feel forced to wear it, and I actually kinda liked it, I felt beautiful with the different colors I had and how they highlighted my eyes.
  • Men: mostly the same.  Your arms and legs should be covered. 

Omanis wear traditional Thobes and Abayas, foreigners working in the country can be seen wearing t-shirts, but I personally like to dress as conservatively as possible while in the Middle East – out of respect and not to draw attention to myself

• Footware
  • Sandals are completely ok, but if you’re going to the desert or to the mountains I recommend bringing tennis shoes.
• Water
  • Most water in Oman is not potable, while the country is highly developed a lot of the water is desalinated and not recommended to drink. 
  • I brought my steri-pen but every hotel offered as much free, bottled water as we needed.

How to get around

Rent a car, a 4×4 if you’re leaving Muscat. 

I read that advice on other blogs and it was true.  One of the resorts we booked in Jebel Shams wouldn’t even let us up the mountain road without a 4×4 – there was a police check for it.  Desert roads are unpaved, and public transport overall is limited.   Taxis are around Muscat, but the remaining cities aren’t as densely populated and you might find getting around on foot tough in the heat.

The paved roads are very nice and we had no issues getting around.  Google and Apple maps will fail you in Oman.  Download Maps.me to get accurate offline maps of Oman.  Roads are well marked, infrastructure is new and traffic is fairly light.   Note that when I picked up my rental car, the associate alluded to the fact that police checks are frequent and you must have your license and car registration handy.  We got stopped. 

• We got waved through one police check in Muscat
• We got stopped on our way up the mountain in Jebel Shams, there was huge language barrier but I gathered he was telling me the road was dangerous and I had to sign my name on an Ipad in Arabic to pass.  I don’t recommend signing anything in a language you can’t read, but this seemed like status quo for all cars entering this road.  I just signed and gave him a thumbs up and was on my way. 
• We got pulled over just driving down the highway between destinations.  Again, a language barrier but in the end the officer said sorry twice and let us go.  We didn’t want to ask why we got pulled over – my best guess was curiosity:  we passed the cop car not speeding but I had taken my hijab and cardigan off and made eye contact with the office through the untinted windows, so perhaps I looked nude?  We can’t be sure. 
• Lastly, there are countless signs saying highways monitored by radar.  I ignored those because I think I’m invincible, and I think I my attitude rubbed off on Tom because we were flying down the Muscat Express when he got a radar ticket.  Straight bright-flashing-in-your-face-light photographing you and the car.   We asked our concierge when we checked into our next destination on how to settle to ticket, he said at the airport.  After some googling we figured the fine would be around $30.  At rental car drop off we mentioned the radar ticket they said they’d get the ticket and deduct it from our deposit.  At time of this posting the pending deposit fell off of my credit card and no other charges were assessed.  Prayers I can get back in to Oman one day since the car was registered in my name.

I wanted to write a blog on making a car insurance claim because I dented the car backing into some pottery at a hotel but they missed it on checkout.  Always get rental insurance when you’re abroad.  You never know if someone will hit you, or if a camel will jump out in front of you, or if you just are bad at backing into things.

Currency

Hold your breath, the Omani Rial is strong, currently $2.60 to 1OMR at the time of this being published.  Food, gas, and shopping can be affordable but be prepared to drop some major dough while here if you want to get a massage or book activities.

I hope this blog helps you prepare for your trip to this awesome, unspoiled destination.

Read more about my trip to Oman here.