Oman is a wonderful country to explore by car. From a practical perspective, many of the sights and attractions are spread throughout the country. Unless you’re on an organised tour (which can be incredibly expensive) hiring a car is an excellent option. This helps you maximise your trip to Oman. Driving in Oman is a really enjoyable experience. It lets you take some extra time at a stunning wadi. Sit a little longer on that beach. Or take solace in munching down on some delicious dates.
Every country we’ve visited has had its own nuances. And Oman is no different. Having spent a week driving in Oman, we’ve pulled together our top tips. Here’s to you going in eyes wide open on your Omani driving adventure.
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Driving in Oman – our top tips
The roads are pretty good
Oman is investing significantly in its road infrastructure. Three to four lane highways are being constructed or improved between Muscat and Sur and Nizwa and Muscat. The newly built highways are smooth and as good as you’ll find just about anywhere.
The road infrastructure upgrades are also seeing new petrol stations and shopping centres popping up along the way. The infrastructure is almost being built ahead of demand. Many of these newly built shops were extremely quiet, as were some of the stretches of road. A nice change from driving miles with nowhere to stop!
Out of Muscat and off the main highways, the older, smaller, one lane roads can be an interesting challenge. They’re generally OK, but you’ll find pockets where the roads end suddenly or become narrow. In time, I’m sure these will be improved too, but something to be wary about. Don’t expect the same quality of roads in towns and villages compared with the highways.
Need to hire a car for you trip to Oman?
Check out Skyscanner for a great range of offers.
Watch out for those speed bumps
One of the key reasons for the challenges with some back roads is the plethora of speed bumps. Never before outside of a car park have I experienced so many speed bumps! We counted 32 speed bumps on the stretch between our hotel in Sur and the Raiz al Jin Turtle sanctuary. That’s a trip of only around 40 kilometres!
Better still, signposting of these speed bumps is variable. In my best estimate, I’d say around 75% of the speed bumps are clearly signposted. It’s that other 25% you’ve got to really look out for!
It’s my opinion that these are creating a lot more danger for drivers rather than the intended effect. I’m not the Oman roads authority, so we’ll all just have to live with it!
Night driving can be an interesting challenge
Much to my horror, one of those aforementioned speed bumps was poorly signposted and on a 100km/h zone. Driving in the dead of night, I didn’t even have a chance to slow down. Somehow we miraculously made it across unscathed at around 100km/h. Driving like a daredevil wasn’t ever my intention. But who would have thought there’d be a speed bump on a road with that speed limit?
Lighting can be very poor on the backstreets, so stay vigilant and aware when driving in the evening.
Speed cameras are everywhere
After the speed bumps, the next thing you’ll find plenty of are speed cameras. These tend to be on the main highways and throughout Muscat. You wouldn’t know it from the way some drivers operate, but these are located literally every 2kms through Muscat to Nizwa and to Sur. If you’ve got a car with cruise control, I strongly recommend setting it to avoid a speeding fine. On the highways, the speed limit is 120km/h, but some reading suggests there is some lenience of around 10%. I didn’t push the limit to test it out, but it’s most worthwhile being aware of and not getting a nasty surprise via the car rental agency.
If you’re visiting Oman, you’ll no doubt find yourself in Muscat at some point.
Check out our one day in Muscat itinerary here.
Driving skills of local Omanis are variable
Oman unfortunately leads the way in terms of the number of road accidents in the Middle East region. This was evidenced by some of the erratic and inconsiderate driving we witnessed during our stay. The speed cameras and bumps suggests an attempt to improve this. I’d say the jury is out on whether it is having the intended impact. Omanis generally are lovely people, help with directions or share an Omani coffee or date with you. Put them behind the wheel of a car though and the cool, calm demeanour is often replaced with a haphazard, impatient approach.
This was exemplified by the many drivers who overtook me whilst turning the same direction. It wasn’t uncommon to have 2-3 cars were creating an imaginary lane inside of where I was driving causing all sorts of chaos.
Those speed bumps saw similar experiences. Slowing down to take a speed bump, I had several drivers drive on the opposite side of the road to take the speed bump. Almost annoyed at my slowing down, it’s like they don’t realise you’re slowing down for the bump. Maybe they should have been behind me when I cleared that one at a hundred clicks! On each occasion, they didn’t end up overtaking, but did cause oncoming traffic to slow down and have to stop.
In short, vigilance and high awareness is required.
It’s not unusual to see cars pulling over for prayer time
At certain points in the day, you may notice several cars pulling over seemingly at random. Don’t’ despair, this is simply prayer time. Like other Muslim countries, prayer time is a pillar of Islam. If they’re unable to get to a mosque, they’ll simply pull over and conduct prayer time on the side of the road in their car.
Petrol is cheap
Often one of the chunkiest expenses when hiring a car, your prayers have been answered driving in Oman. You’re in the Middle East, so oil prices are on your side. I filled up with Unleaded 91 for 0.198 OMR rial or roughly 50 US cents per litre. It’s cheap, so your cash goes a lot further when driving.
You also won’t see prices marked outside service stations. Petrol prices are regulated by the Government and are reviewed monthly. You’ll find prices the same price everywhere.
Rental cars are easy to come by
All of the usual car rental suspects can be found at Muscat airport – all able to be booked through Skyscanner. The major difference I found in Oman was the enforcement of the archaic mileage limit. Something that tossed out long ago in other markets, most of the rental agencies provide only a 250km per day limit. Each kilometre thereafter is charged. We booked through Europcar, and the charge was 0.05 OMR for each kilometre over. It’s not an exorbitant rate and petrol is cheap. It is something to be aware of if you plan on really ramping up the mileage. By pure good fortune, we ended up driving 2 kilometres under our limit for the week. No extra charges for us!
Parking is mostly free
Another benefit of driving in Oman, is that parking at most hotels and towns is free. The only place we found a charge was at the Muttrah Souq as it can get quite busy when open.
Do you need a 2WD or 4WD?
The big question for most considering hiring a car in Oman is whether to book a 2WD v 4WD. This ultimately will come down to your itinerary. If you’re considering a visit to Jebel Shams, Jebel Ahktar or the deserts of Wahiba, you’ll need to consider a 4WD. If you plan on tackling those yourself, you’ll definitely need a 4WD.
There are solutions if you want to visit these places without a 4WD however. In the mountains, there are ‘4WD taxis’ where you can drive to a point and they’ll take you the rest of the way. In the desert, some accommodation has a car park where they will shuttle you in a 4WD.
We decided on a 2WD and comfortably drove around Muscat to Sur and onto Nizwa without issue. The desert and the mountains were not in our itinerary. If they were, we would have considered a 4WD. Do note that a 4WD isn’t a guarantee against getting bogged in the sand. There are lots of stories where even a 4WD gave a false sense of confidence in the desert sands!
Driving in Oman is a wonderful way to see this beautiful country. In our opinion, it’s a country best explored with your own vehicle to really take in the best of the country.
Are you thinking about driving in Oman? We’d love to hear your questions below!
I have stayed in Oman for 18 sweet year’s the Omanis are very good and cooperative.
If there would be no age limit for retiring I would have worked till my last breath
Pradeep Bhatia
It’s a lovely country with very warm people. How lucky to have 18 years in Oman!