Oman is a fascinating destination, historic and elegant, in a rather understated manner.
Oman is a wonderful, highly traditional country, with just a handful of international hotels.
Wonderful culture and history, with varied sightseeing opportunities both on land and sea.
From the dramatic fjords of Musandam to the lush monsoon-touched hills of Salalah, Oman’s natural diversity is extraordinary.
The landscape moves from pristine beaches to towering sand dunes in the Wahiba Sands to the rugged peaks of the Hajar Mountains.
Each region tells its own story through distinctive traditions, cuisine, and crafts, making Oman a paradise for both adventure seekers and cultural enthusiasts.
Our main featured hotels
Al Bustan, Chedi, Kempinski, Jumeirah, Mandarin Oriental, and Shangri -La are grouped around the capital of Muscat.
The mountain retreats of Al Jabal Akhdar, Alila and Anantara, are just 2 hours inland.
We can arrange the Six Senses Resort in Oman’s Musandam Peninsula, which is usually accessed via Dubai.
We can also arrange holidays to Salalah in the south of Oman. Flying time from Muscat is one hour. This area is more barren. Home to the “empty quarter”, a vast expanse of desert dunes.
Salalah has super beaches and just a couple of international hotels, including the Al Baleed Resort by Anantara.
If you are staying in Salalah in the south, day tours into the aptly named Empty Quarter can be arranged.
We can also include desert adventures, usually from Muscat—see separate feature on the Star Gate Desert Camp. Can be arranged as day tours but best enjoyed as an overnight experience.
Visa on arrival
UK passport holders travelling for leisure can obtain a visa on arrival (currently without charge as of 07/04/25), allowing a stay of up to 14 nights. You might be asked to show proof of hotel accommodation and/or your return flight details. Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months from your date of departure from Oman. Those travelling for longer stays or Oman business-related activities may have separate conditions that apply.
Air Travel
Oman Air flies several times weekly from Heathrow to Muscat, with a flying time of about 8 hours. You can also travel with Emirates via Dubai transit, Etihad via Abu Dhabi, and Qatar via Doha – all daily flights from several UK airports. Typically, flying time to these points is about 7.5 hours with a further one-hour flight onwards plus transit time. All 3 transit airport options have rather enticing duty-free shopping!
Why Oman?
The hospitality and the sense of really being in Arabia. Oman might share the same weather and religion as neighbouring Dubai, but very little else. The delights here are more simple and natural. Elegant, but in an understated manner, and you actually get the opportunity to meet Omanis. The country has a vision that is considered and planned, so things move at a deliberately slower pace, which actually forms part of the charm.
Take time to travel to the interior to visit towns that have hardly changed in the last 200 years, or spend a night or two either under canvas in the desert or high up in the mountains. Several more internationals are planned, but that has been a discussion point for years!
Ramadan
The Islamic month of Ramadan (fasting/reflection and contemplation ) occurs annually. The dates change each year, and as a guide, in 2026 it will be approximately mid-February for four weeks. The actual dates are only confirmed a few days prior. For 2027 it is probably going to be the entire month of February and so on.
During this time Muslims refrain from drinking and eating in daylight hours. International hotels will offer meals throughout the day to their non-Islamic clients, but some restaurants and most bars will be closed, with alcohol only available for in-room consumption. It is followed throughout the Muslim world; in some places, like Oman and Qatar, more strictly than in Dubai, which is much more relaxed in its implementation.
* This note is intended as general guidance, but exact dates and regulations can change.
Weatherwise
As you would expect, limited rainfall year-round. Most days are hot and sunny with increased humidity during the midsummer months when the temperatures soar. December and January can see occasional cold snaps for a day or two when high winds come in from the desert, particularly noticeable at night, but then normal high temperatures return.
Salalah has a green season (June to September) when it has increased drizzle, and plants and shrubs suddenly emerge. It is one of the few places in the world to charge a supplement for the wet months; such is the regional demand to experience showers and to escape the searing heat & humidity elsewhere.
Note: The beaches in Oman tend to be available to tourists and locals alike. Some hotels are able to rope off a section for their guests.
If we were to be critical…
Shopping would not be high on the agenda unless you are keen on frankincense; neither is nightlife high on the priorities. Restaurant options are limited away from the hotels, but to many, that is all part of the charm and makes it so different from the more openly hedonistic Dubai.
Salalah is particularly popular with charter groups from Northern Europe, whose focus seems to be totally beach-based. Most of our clients select it as a short-stay combination with one of our hotels in the Muscat area.
>> Hotels & Resorts in Oman <<
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All price guides are Per Person Sharing Double Room (Entry level), based on travel between May and/or June when prices are generally at their lowest and include promotional offers. Supplements will probably apply at other times, particularly mid-summer in the Med, and for rooms and/or transfers arranged for single travellers.
For example, the Caribbean and Indian Ocean prices for winter can be approximately double the May - June level and about 50% more in Asia. For the Mediterranean & Canary Islands, Caribbean, Arabia and the Indian Ocean (except Sri Lanka) price guides generally include airfare and transfers.
*For Sri Lanka and Far East we show a per-person, per-night hotel guide, excluding air fare, as arrangements tend to be individually tailored multi-centre itineraries.
Please refer to Travel Advice on our home page or look at www.fco.gov.uk as the Foreign Office may have issued specific destination information on safety and terrorism.
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Some of the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. But ATOL protection does not apply to all holiday and travel services listed on this website. This website will provide you with information on the protection that applies in the case of each holiday and travel service offered before you make your booking. If you do not receive an ATOL Certificate then the booking will not be ATOL protected. If you do receive an ATOL Certificate but all the parts of your trip are not listed on it, those parts will not be ATOL protected.