I went with a friend who also loves to travel a bit off the beaten path, and this time we ended up in Oman. This trip was actually more her idea. She’d been wanting to go for a while, while I wasn’t that convinced at first. Till finally I finally got the ‘calling’ and we decided to go during the New Year holiday of 2026.
Unlike other Gulf countries that competing to build high rises to draw attention, Oman maintains a low profile and low rise architectural by restricting skyscrapers through its policy. It prefers to focus on cultural preservation by ensuring its white, beige and sand colored buildings blend with its natural, rocky mountainous, and coastal scenery.
People might surprised to find out that it’s currency considered the strongest in the world with 1 OMR = USD 2,6. But actually, price wise, it’s not that bad. A hot meal at regular place can cost 3-5 OMR, in a nice restaurant cost 7-10 OMR. A coffee cost 1.5 – 2 OMR. It’s pretty decent for a West Asia country and slightly more affordable compared to others, like Jordan and Bahrain.
Due to its less popularity, researching to get around in Oman was pretty challenging to figure out. Yes there are some blogs / articles / social posts about it, but still very limited, especially when you don’t drive. At one point I told my friend it caused me a brain damage trying to navigate how to get from A to B in the mountain areas of Oman. Every single answer just led back to the same thing: rent a car and drive yourself, and you’ll solve 99% of your travel problems in Oman. That’s probably true.
But we didn’t do it. Somehow, we still managed to get around. I guess sometimes travel just has its own way of carrying us to places, even when we’re not entirely sure how to get there. lol.
Ok so, How to get around when we don’t drive?
Getting around Muscat is actually very straightforward. We mostly used Uber and Otaxi—it’s easy, and cheap. One thing to note: never order your ride directly from the hotel lobby. For some reason, the price is completely different. Instead, just walk a bit outside and set your pickup point at a nearby shop or building. That way, you’ll get the normal rate—around 1–2 OMR for a short trip.
If you order from the hotel, the exact same ride can cost around 10 OMR. That’s usually why people think Oman is expensive.
While getting around Oman is where things get a bit tricky. There are public buses connecting bigger cities like Muscat to Nizwa or Sur, so moving between main cities is still manageable. But once you want to go beyond that—especially to more remote places—it then becomes a challenge. And this is why everyone keeps suggesting the same thing: rent a car and drive yourself.
And honestly, it makes sense. Renting a small car costs around USD 350–450 for 10 days, and fuel is very cheap (less than USD 0.65 per liter). Meanwhile, hiring a car with a driver can cost that same amount in just 2 days. So yeah, you do the math.
In our case, we got a bit lucky. We met another traveler who was going solo and driving, so we ended up sharing the ride and splitting costs for a couple of days while exploring the mountainous region of Oman – I’ll save it for another story.
In total, we spent 4 days in Muscat. It might sound like a lot, but honestly, there was plenty to do—and most of it ended up being my favorites! It’s a good mix of relaxing vacation and a slice dice of travel adventure
Muscat In-Town Highlight!
1. Muttrah
Muscat is spread out into a few main areas—Muttrah, Al Seeb, Al Khuwair, Qurum, Old Muscat, etc. Some of them located next to each other, but some others stretching along the coast, or tucked between the rocky hills.
Muttrah is an old port town surrounded by the rocky hills, I really liked how the town looks—tidy rows of white buildings stacked along the coastline, with some mosque domes and minarets towering over – so so adorable!
We spent a lovely afternoon there—starting with a simple lunch, then exploring the Muttrah Souq, and slowly walking along the corniche toward the fort. We ended the day at Muttrah Fort, just watching the sun go down over the coastline. They have this tiny coffee shop at the fort, called Fort Cafe – and people were literally lining up for it, well who can resist such a view with a good coffee?
2. Yiti Viewpoint
Most of our days in Muscat, we stayed in an area called Ruwi. There’s nothing particularly special about it, but I liked how close it is to Muttrah. And surprisingly, it’s also really close to Yiti Viewpoint—less than 10 minutes by Uber.
Yiti Viewpoint is pretty much just a viewpoint. You go there simply to enjoy the view of Muscat in a simple but captivating way. It did a good job in sums up Muscat unique landscape, where the white sand buildings look like splashes of white paint scattered across a rocky desert. Super stunning!
3. Qaboos Mosque
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque isn’t an ancient historic site—it’s relatively new, completed in 2001. But somehow, visiting it such an essential when you’re in West Asia, home of Islamic countries. Besides it has also become one of the most important landmarks in Muscat.
The architecture is quite impressive, with a huge prayer hall and a spacious courtyard that gives the whole place an open, calm feel. It’s a nice place to spend a couple of hours just walking around and taking in the details.
Of course, Muscat isn’t limited to just the in-town highlights. But if you only have a day or a short transit stop, those places already give a really good introduction to the city. Staying in the city for more than three days gave me a chance to see a bit more of what the city offers. And like I mentioned before, it really does feel like everything here can be the highlights!
The Super Fun Day Trip : Wadi Shab & Bimmah Sinkhole
As a hot spring avid lovers, the idea of hidden slices of water in the middle of deserted landscapes of West Asia quickly drawn me in. To be completely honest, that’s what makes Oman so inviting to me, because it’s basically a Wadi heaven. The country has too many of Wadis that picking just one felt so wrong… but sometimes, you’ve got to make peace that you have limited resources and you gotta make a choice!
So we went with Wadi Shab— one of the most accessible, but still packed with adventure. It’s not too hard also not too easy to reach… just the right amount of effort to make you feel like you earned the views. Plus, it’s close enough to Muscat for a day trip.
The car journey to the trail head takes around 2 hours, and then there will be another couple of hours of trekking. Don’t worry, the trail will never bore you, it started with boating through a calm water dam, and the next thing you know, you’re surrounded by rising canyon walls. The terrain gets a bit more challenging with a little boulders climbing here and there, then a squeeze through narrow gorge paths, and suddenly you’ll see the canyon starts filling with stunning emerald water.
And at the end of the path, you’ll reach the start of the river stream. This is where hiking shifted into swimming. You just need to float your way through the cool water, and keep going until you got to a narrow passage between the rocks. All you gotta do is to slip through it – and tadaaaa you’ll find yourself inside a hidden cave with a waterfall. WHAT A GEM! and WHAT A WADI DAY!!!!
We spent maybe 6 hours in total in Wadi Shab but still felt not enough. But since I joined an open trip at Get Your Guide, so I had to follow their timeline. But hey, if you drove your own you will have all the time as you like – I highly recommend!
Bimmah Sinkhole was our quick stop on the way back to Muscat. It’s basically a large natural water hole that you can swim in, though compared to places like Wadi Shab, it felt a bit less special.
I personally didn’t even go down to swim—I just stayed at the top and looked at it from above. First because I didn’t feel like getting wet again, and honestly, it also felt more like a geopark-style stop than something I needed to experience up close.
The Casual Coastal Hike : Sidab Trail
I stumbled on this trail after going down a rabbit hole of searching “easy trails near Muscat”—and this one immediately caught my attention. It looked simple enough, but still had that hiking vibe I was craving.
The trail is only accessible by foot, and it starts off with a bit of a challenge. You’ll need to climb over large, uneven desert rocks, which felt quiet intimidating at first. But once you get past that one, it actually gets easier.
Along the way, you’ll come across another rocky hills and a couple of quiet beaches. No one was there when we arrived, it was so calm and peaceful. The end of the trail marked with : a Portuguese cemetery aged 100 years (some said that its the graveyard of soldiers from WWI), quietly sitting by the coast.
At the second beach, I saw a fisherman who had just caught an octopus—he was still in the water unbothered of me who was trying to say hi from the beach. I also noticed a few local boys on the other side of the beach, though I’m still not sure how they got there since the path seemed to end at the cemetery.
From what I had read on my research, there’s usually a boat that can take you back to the fishermen’s village at the end of the trail. But when I got there… nothing. No boats, no people—just us and the realization that the only way back might be to climb all those rocky mountains again. Shoot.
We decided to wait for a bit, trying to taking in the scenery and resting while also mentally preparing ourselves for the long hike back the same way we came. After a while, I spotted a small fishing boat out in the distance. Without thinking twice, I started waving like crazy, hoping—someone’d notice us from that boat. And boy, they did!
The boat turned and started heading toward us, apparently the Octopus fisherman that we bumped into earlier was on that boat! And just like that, we were saved. The fisherman sent us the village and we paid him as a token of thank you for helping us! So relieved!!!
Honestly, I super super loved when I planned on things but it turned to this kind of unexpected event, makes the travel feels more a real travel! Well, as they said the moments we cherish most are the ones we never saw it coming 🙂
The Lovely Beach Stay : Qantab Beach
So after some daring adventures to the Wadis and that little coastal hikes, we wanted to slow things down a bit and squeeze in a proper beach day in Muscat. There are quite a few beaches around the city, but my friend found a cute Airbnb tucked away in Qantab, about 20 minutes from downtown.
The place had a Greek style meets Oman kind of vibe—white walls, soft tones, located in front of the beach but also tucked in behind the rocky hills. We also crazy about the Airbnb little details, like its full collection of teas and herbs and all the knick knacks interior that made the whole house too cute.
We didn’t really do much that day, only a bit of beach dipping, a lot of lounging with tons of tea sipping, and then ending the day on the rooftop watching the sunset. Simple, quiet, and exactly what we needed.
So yeah, that was pretty much our time in Muscat. A really good mix of adventure and rest, enough to satisfy my craving for exploring with a bonus of nice reset at the beach. I loved it!
