OMAN: 5 Things To See in Muscat (Visa & Hotel details included)
Visiting Muscat was something that was planned on a Thursday evening, on the way, while my husband and I were going back home from work. We were just bored of visiting the same places and wanted to do something new! So, we just decided to explore Muscat that weekend. Thus, we rushed to Hertz, got our car insurance for the trip and were ready to set on a road trip to Oman the very next morning. In this post, I will tell you 5 things to see in Muscat, visa and hotel details and where I ate.
My husband and I were living in Dubai at the time we planned this trip and in Dubai, Friday and Saturday is a weekend and work resumes Sunday onwards.
The next morning, we left from our home in Dubai at 4:00 am and reached the border in approximately 45 minutes. Got the visa stamped on our passports which took hardly ten minutes and had cost us 50 AED (5 Omani Rials or £9.10) per person, crossed the check post and entered Oman. The entire one side journey took around 3 - 3.5hours.
About Oman:
The Sultanate of Oman is located in the Middle East (South west of Asia), and is bordered by United Arab Emirates, Saudia Arabia and Yemen. Muscat the capital of the country is also the largest city of Oman. Arabic is the official language and is dominated by Muslim population since Islam is the official religion of the country.
5 Things to See in Muscat
Beaches in Muscat:
Since Muscat lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman, there are many beaches in the city which should be seen, few of which are the Qurum beach, Qantab beach and Al-Sifah beach. Although my trip was short, I managed to see all of them.
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| See the Qantab beach above - Isn't this beach simply beautiful? |
Mutrah Corniche, Mutrah Souk & Al-Wadi Al-Kabir:
See the beautiful views below and you will know why it should be a must to see the Mutrah Corniche. I don't think I need to add anything about it but if you love shopping and are looking for souvenirs, then you must also visit the Mutrah Souk. There, you will find a lot of variety of various Omani cultural products which are beautiful and unique. Make sure you bargain because the vendors can easily make out if the buyer is a tourist or a resident and quote the prices.
Just opposite the souk, which was on the other side of where the picture below has been taken from, the tides were very high and the water was gushing out making the road footpath wet.
Al-Wadi Al-Kabir was just opposite the Mutrah Corniche, less than a minute walk from the corniche. It's an Arabic term, wadi refers to a valley and kabir means big. It was very green and delightful to the eye.
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| Mutrah Corniche - What beautiful views! |
Yiti:
Driving past the hills in Muscat was also a pleasure. The city is very hilly because it has many valleys and mountains. The drive was lovely because the hilly roads let us see the picturesque views of the city.
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| Yiti - Hills in Muscat |
Muscat City Centre (Muscat Grand Mall & Oman Avenues Mall):
Again, if you are keen on shopping, then you must visit these two malls. I visited both but my main motive was to find something good to eat for lunch as the malls have nice eateries and food court where different variety is easily available.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque:
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is a must see if you are visiting Muscat. The structure is huge and magnificent and has been built on a large piece of land. Both the exterior and the interior have been done very beautifully! Lots of detailing has been done which makes it fascinating and gives a grander look. The main prayer hall is huge, has been decorated very intricately and gives the feeling of wonder and peace! |
| Exterior of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque from the front - Captured from the main road! |
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| Exterior of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque from the back - Captured from the parking lot! |
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| Interior of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque - This is the main prayer hall for men decorated with beautiful chandeliers! |
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| Entrance of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque |
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| Interior of the mosque - Corridor leading towards the ablution area |
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| The beautiful minaret of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque |
Where to Stay & Eat in Muscat:
At first we had decided just to do the sightseeing of the city and drive back to Dubai, but then we decided to stay in Muscat overnight. Therefore, we went on a lookout for a nice but economical hotel and ended up booking Safeer International Hotel. Luckily, we got a very good room rate and it was a nice good sized room. The room also had all the other basic amenities, a telly, tea and coffee. We did not opt for breakfast because we had some other plans for the morning (haha - plans of eating breakfast at McDonald's) so the room rate we paid for a night was 34 Omani Rial or £62.
Once we got the keys, we decided to freshen up and leave for dinner and ended up going to TGI Fridays. The menu card there had the rates without tax that we weren't aware of, since Dubai does not charge any taxes on the bill as everything is already inclusive in the prices mentioned on the menu cards. However, TGI Fridays charged us an extra amount for the tax other than the price for the food seen when ordering.
For the meal, we ordered a chicken steak that came with mashed potatoes and some veggies and an Italian dish, some pasta with grilled chicken. Sorry, don't remember the exact names and prices.
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| Our hotel room - Safeer International Hotel, Muscat - Oman |
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| TGI Fridays in Muscat and the food we ordered! |
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Have you ever visited Muscat or any other country in the Middle East? Would love to know about your experience or any tip you would like to share with my readers.
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beautiful structure and truely an art of beauty these places are... never knew muscat-oman had such wonderful sites...
ReplyDeleteHey thanks! You must visit the city in the winter months otherwise it is extremely hot in summers.
DeleteI have never been to Muscat or to any other country in the Middle East. I loved all these pictures,the view is beautiful.I would really love to visit one day.XOXO
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. I am sure you will enjoy your trip when you will visit Muscat.
DeleteWow, the architecture is stunning. It looks like you had a wonderful experience
ReplyDeleteOh yes. I did! :-)
DeleteWow, Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque looks stunning! Soo beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThe prayer hall of the mosque is even more beautiful.
DeleteWow ,wow ...just wow , amazing photos .To me it looks like a totally different world all together . A bit like 1001 nights .... your fantastic post got me dreaming :) Thank you !
ReplyDeleteThank you for such a lovely comment.
DeleteMuscat is stunning I love the unique mixture of culture, history and architecture all rolled into one. Maybe I should put it on my travel bucket list!
ReplyDeleteOh yes! You should definitely visit Muscat but try to plan your trip between October and March.
Deleteyour travel post always make me want to leave my house ! lol This mosque looks gorgeous omg :)
ReplyDeleteHaha :-) The mosque is very beautiful both from the outside and the inside.
DeleteI have never travelled outside of Australia, but its posts like these that make me want to. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed a wonderful experience. I have been to several countries but haven't been to Australia yet.
DeleteWowzerz. Those photos are beyond beautiful. And those Mosque are a work of art. Thanks a ton for sharing your experiences. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
DeleteI've never been there but this post really makes me want to go! Or pretty much travel anywhere, I'm having quite bad wanderlust right now.
ReplyDeleteWhere are you based? I might be able to recommend something. :-)
DeleteIt looks beautiful! I have only visited Dubai and I have to say it looks very different than Oman. I would love to visit Oman and follow your guide on what to see and where to go.
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely plan a trip to Oman. :-)
DeleteBeautiful architecture structure of the Grand mosque. I've never been to middle east but I love the pictures. Makes me want to take a visit to Muscat. The place looks so clean and travelers friendly.
ReplyDeleteYes, Muscat is very clean and tourist friendly. :-)
DeleteWow, I didn't know Muscat was so beautiful.Thanks for sharing this post.
ReplyDeleteHey hi! Now you know it. :-)
Deletethe architecture is beautiful <3 It looks like a wonderful place to visit
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely beautiful. Loved it! :-)
DeleteWhat a stunning place to visit. I travel through blog posts like this! I am terrified of traveling and will probably never get out of the United States! Looks like you had a beautiful time!
ReplyDeleteOh what makes you feel terrified of travelling?
DeleteSome truly beautiful views and the Grand Mosque is stunning
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment.
DeleteThis is beautiful masha'Allah. I would love to visit one day :) xx Thank you and jzk for putting this list together.
ReplyDeleteThank you! :-)
DeleteI wish you have a wonderful trip to Muscat.
Thanks for the enlightenment. Would love to visit Muscat now... didn't know such great sights existed so close to Dubai.
ReplyDeleteYup! There is another city called Salalah in Oman which is also very beautiful.
DeleteMashaAllah.....a place to visit....
ReplyDeleteHey Lubna! Thank you for your comment.
DeleteThis is a nice post. I love travelling and seeing new places, but I don't get a chance to do and here by chance I mean money :p
ReplyDeleteMutrah Corniche looks fantabulous, simply mind blowing.
http://www.ThatGrlInHighHeels.blogspot.com
Yeah! The beaches in Muscat are awesome! Thanks for stopping by. :-)
DeleteAnd yes, travelling definitely needs faloos/paisa! :D
Thanks Fati,
ReplyDeletethe MUSCAT looks awesome, quiet and serene, the tentacles of stupid urbanization has Alhamdolillah spared it yet.
the beaches are good but the Mosque is worth visiting
Hey hi! Yeah, a very relaxing place. The Qantab beach wasn't also crowded so it was peaceful too. Sultan Qaboos mosque is just so gorgeous.
Deletei can't wait to go visit Oman, I have an uncle living there who's been inviting me years now!
ReplyDeleteYou should definitely go then! :D
DeleteThanks for the review and Mashallah the pictures look so amazing and convincing.
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by. Glad you liked the post.
DeleteWhat beautiful views and the interior of the mosque is amazing! Would love to visit there inshaAllah :)
ReplyDeleteThe interior is truly amazing and the lovely chandeliers add to its grandeur.
DeleteMuscat looks amazing!! I will have to add this one on my places to visit list too!
ReplyDeleteO yes, it does! Maybe you can plan the trip when you visit UAE next time. :D
DeleteGreat post, love the pictures Muscat looks Amamzing 😙
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteI didn't thought Arab countries were as good as is described here. The pictures look amazing, specifically the mosques, beaches and the hotels. This article seems to change my disposition regarding Middle East. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYou can enjoy most luxury in the Arab countries. Their 5 stars are actually where you get the real luxurious feel, and yes, the views are amazing too. Try to plan your trip in the winter months as summers there are really hot!
DeleteGreat images and very interesting read! :)
ReplyDeleteHey Jessica! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThis looks like a stunning place to go. Right up there for my Middle Eastern travels in sha Allah
ReplyDeleteThe architecture is simply stunning! And is that a giant clam on the beach or just a rock?
ReplyDelete