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Muscat

Introduction

Guarding the country

Muscat (مسقط) is the capital and the biggest city in Oman and has about 750,000 inhabitants. It is located in the northern part of the country along the coast roughly where the Indian Ocean meets the Persian Gulf. The city is one of the oldest cities in the entire Middle East and people have been living here for almost 2000 years. Nowadays it is one of the busiest places in a country with lots of open space, and also the city itself keeps a relatively slow pace, with green parts and few highrise buildings compared to for example Dubai. The people are a welcome mix of Omanis and expats. More and more luxurious hotels are opening, but a few cheaper places are still available for travellers, although accommodation stays relatively expensive. From the capital, good roads (a rental car is recommended) lead in all directions but the city deserves a few days before exploring all the great scenery the country has to offer.

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Sights and Activities

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Souq and Medina
Mix of Hindu temples and Christian churches

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Weather

Warm or hot, that are basically the two options you have in Muscat and unlike the south around Salalah it doesn't have a rainy period (July/August in the south) at all. Winter obviously is the best time to visit, but expect to bake in the summer oven with temperatures well into the fourties on some days.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg Max	25.1 °C	26.4 °C	29.5 °C	34.7 °C	39.6 °C	40 °C	38 °C	35.6 °C	35.6 °C	34.6 °C	30.3 °C	26.8 °C
Avg Min	16.7 °C	17.8 °C	20.3 °C	24.2 °C	28.7 °C	30.3 °C	30.1 °C	28.2 °C	26.8 °C	24.2 °C	20.8 °C	18.3 °C
Rainfall	13.2 mm	14 mm	16.4 mm	11.3 mm	0 mm	10.9 mm	3.4 mm	1.6 mm	0 mm	0.8 mm	1.6 mm	16.5 mm
Rain Days	3.2	2.7	1.9	1.4	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.6	0	0.2	0.7	1.4

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Getting There

By Plane

Muscat International Airport (MCT) (formerly known as Seeb International Airport) is located 15 km from the main residential localities and 30 km from Old Muscat. Oman Air, the national airline of Oman, is based here. It has flights to mainly the Middle East destinations and also to several cities in India, Bangkok and London.

Indian Airlines and Air India Express also fly into Muscat from several cities in India.

By Car

Good tarred roads lead to and from Muscat all the way to the south at Salalah, to the north at the Musandam Peninsula and into the United Arab Emirates. It takes about 10 to 12 hours to the southern tip of the country from Muscat.

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Sleep

Budget

Property	Address	Type	Popularity
Al Bhajah	Sultanate of Oman	Hotel	72
Coral Hotel Muscat	Hay Asaruj, Shati Al Qurum Governorate of Muscat 112	Hotel	-
Ramee Guestline Hotel Qurum	P.C. 114, Muttrah	Hotel	-
Ramee Dream Resort	Muscat Oman,	Hotel	-
Lanavilla Oman	Al Gubrah 37 street	GUESTHOUSE	94
Green Oasis Hotel Muscat	Muwaileh Street Opposite Oman Medical College	HOTEL	-