Braving the Muscat-Salalah Road! Only for the Adventurous!

Posted on July 25, 2010 | 37 Comments

Most people are wise enough to take a plane down to Salalah from Muscat and then rent a car from there. I never learn. This was my 3rd trip to Salalah by car; driving the 1040 km distance this time by rental car. It’s a pleasant enough drive although some complain that it’s “boring” as there’s nothing but desert in all 4 directions. Depends on which stretch of road you’re talking about. There are actually 9 segments of road (barely passable as a “highway”), each with their own beauty and challenges. The first stretch is Muscat-Nizwa which covers 174 km of trip. Two bonuses of this highway are the smooth, well-paved road and the scenic mountains as one enters Nizwa! The 2nd part is Nizwa-Adam which is only 56kms. (There is always the fear of being stuck in the middle of nowhere without petrol, so I make it a rule to gas up at any petrol station I drive by if I have travelled more than 100 kms since the last one.) 3rd, Adam to Al Ghabah (this is where the excitement of the ride begins to fade off….time for COFFEE!) which covers 119 kms. Al Ghabah to Hayma (4th part) is another 199 kms. After 4.5 hours of driving, it starts to feel like you’ll never make it to Salalah with another 491 kms (or 4 hours of driving) to go! My mind fades in and out of images of me on a comfortable flight to Salalah and slaps to the face are occasionally necessary to keep this Canadian boy alert! I’m not sure where the BAD STRETCH of road starts exactly, but there are ridiculously damaged segments of highway with signs promising “under maintenance” but those PERMANENT signs have been there for the past 3 years with no signs of any improvements. 200-300 kms of the road are so terrible, that you really have to make sure you have strong new tires to brave this adventure! Here is a short video showing you just HOW bad I mean! Sometimes you even get to experience a light sandstorm which is pretty cool to drive through! Here’s a better idea of what most of the undamaged road is like. Hayma to Al Ghaftayn makes up the 5th leg of the journey, lasting only 90 kms. Al Ghaftayn to Muqshin (6th) is even shorter at 65 kms. Muqshin to Qatbit (7th) is another short stretch at only 64 kms. Some visitors chose to shack up at the Qatbit Resthouse before moving on to Salalah the next day. If at all possible, avoid it. There’s nothing there and it’s a boring hole in the wall. That’s why it’s best to leave Muscat nice and early so you’re not tempted to “give in” at Qatbit! Qatbit to Thumrayt (8th leg) is a long stretch at 195 kms but no problem as the realization that you are indeed finally going to arrive in Salalah gets the juices flowing! The most beautiful part of the drive (and well worth the 8-10 hours it took to get there) is the final (9th) part through the Dhofar Mountains coming in to Salalah. Incredible!!…that is if it isn’t TOO foggy to see due to the Khareef like on my drive in on this trip. I arrived at the police checkpoint (at the start of the mountain range just before Salalah) at about 10:30pm. This was my view for the next hour driving in: On a positive note, it was SO refreshing to roll the window down and feel the COLD air of the Monsoon rains! Salalah, oh là là!!!

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37 Responses to Braving the Muscat-Salalah Road! Only for the Adventurous!

Mel | July 25, 2010 at 6:54 pm | Reply

Wow Andy – I have been dreaming about doing that trek to Salalah for 2 years now. We have just put new tyres on Bits of Mishi – so maybe now is the time to brave the drive. However, the thought of being held up in a car with 2 little gremlins is not pleasant. Also, is there anywhere to pitch a tent, and will it be to wet? Keep us informed about your accommodation and experiences down there. Enjoy the cool and I will remain insanely jealous while I sweat it out in Al Ain again this summer.
Cheers
Mel
Omani Princess Not Omani | July 26, 2010 at 5:28 am | Reply

Those “under maintenance signs” were there five years ago too when I last made the trek.
andydbrown | July 27, 2010 at 9:44 am | Reply

Hi, Mel!
It’s an awesome time to go, while the mist is still on the mountains! FYI, I did see a few tents at Wadi Darbat-a gorgeous place to camp! There are many places to stay, from the cheapest of cheap to the most luxury suites at Crowne Plaza. I’m back in Muscat by the way, but I have like 1,000 pics and dozens of vids to sort though. There will be nothing but Salalah coming out of this blog for the next little while! All the best to you and the family in Al Ain!

OPNO,
Thanks for confirming just how old they are! They really do need to do some work on the Muscat-Salalah road!
sculler | July 31, 2010 at 8:19 pm | Reply

what’s wrong with the bus then? I used the overnight bus a few times, when Muscat based pastors helped out in Salalah…
Deebz | September 9, 2010 at 1:39 pm | Reply

Well…..i went to salalah with my family 2 yrs bak…..it was wonderful…..my dad was the only driver…….it was a looooong drive……but worth it……… cuz when we reached salalah it was night and refreshing…….as clouds made their way into our car and raindrops fell on us as we put our heads out……thr was low visibility n it was AWESOME!!
andydbrown | September 10, 2010 at 4:02 pm | Reply

Pastor Sculler,
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the bus system here in Oman! I’ve heard good things about the service. I prefer having a car to come and go as you please though!

Deebz,
I agree wholeheartedly. “A long drive, but worth it!” Awesome indeed!
Michael | March 14, 2011 at 10:23 pm | Reply

Hello Everybody, I would like to ask you how often there are petrol station on this road? Could you please write me that info into my mail address?
Regards from Poland.
Michal
Sandeep | June 23, 2011 at 3:26 pm | Reply

Hey Andy, I’m planning a trip next week to visit my parents down in salalah and your page had the bet info than any other thane slot man !
- andydbrown | August 18, 2011 at 2:24 am | Reply
  
  Sandeep,
  Wow! Thanks for the encouraging message, man! I loved my trips down to Salalah and it was fun posting what I could about such an enchanting place. Hope you had a great trip seeing your parents!
Anonymous | August 2, 2011 at 12:39 am | Reply

Hey, I ll be reaching Muscat airport on Aug 30 along with 2 of my firends from Qatar, Just wanted to know cud we rent a car from muscat to salalah for 4 day trip???? any idea how much it will cost??????
- andydbrown | August 17, 2011 at 11:55 pm | Reply
  
  Yes, renting a car from Muscat to Salalah should be fine as long as you have a drivers license. It’s hard to say how much it will cost. When I rented a car to drive from Muscat to Salalah last August I paid 15 rials a day I think but the company I rented from had cars ranging from 10 rials to 20 rials per day depending on the year and make of the car. The owner tried to make me pay extra as he said the form I signed stated that I’d pay for anything over 250 kms/day. I refused to pay however as it was in Arabic and not in English and he never stated that to me. So I would definitely check if they charge some sort of mileage penalty before renting any car. I hope this helps!
Dev | October 30, 2011 at 7:42 pm | Reply

Hey … Noticed that right at the beginning of the journey you have made a patch of 176 kms sound as 285 …. My man … Muscat-Nizwa is 180 kms only, not 285 kms ….
andydbrown | October 31, 2011 at 12:19 am | Reply

Dev,
Good eye, my man! The sign posted there messed me up. They are giving 2 distances: 1 from Nizwa to Muscat (176 kms) and another from Nizwa to Bureimi (285 kms). Thanks for pointing out my error. I’ve changed it. Thanks.
Anonymous | January 5, 2012 at 12:19 pm | Reply

Awesome road trip. i drove last week from Sharjah to Salalh via Al Ain – Ibri – Hayma – Tumrait – Salalh. The odometer totalled 1290 kms total.I cannot forget this trip in my life. The best is Route 29 from Ibri till Tumrai – 845 kms nothing on both sides except a petrol station at around 100-150 kms away. I will make it once again in July 2012 during monsoon.
- andydbrown | January 9, 2012 at 11:40 pm | Reply
  
  Glad you enjoyed the trip! It sure is rough at spots though!
- doobre | June 4, 2012 at 7:51 pm | Reply
  
  Hey Anonymous – Route 29 from Ibri till Tumrai.. can I ask a Q as you have been there this year. Was there a petrol station on that particular road?..
  
  I went down last year and the petrol station at Al Ghabah (Ghaba) was closed down..?
  so the nearest was at Adam or Hayma.
  cheers
  CD
Paul | April 5, 2012 at 10:16 am | Reply

Hi Andy, is there a follow up piece to this?
- andydbrown | April 5, 2012 at 5:25 pm | Reply
  
  Paul,
  No, there’s no follow up piece but I do try to drive down to Salalah once a year during the Monsoon season so there are other posts related to the highway from Muscat to Salalah if you search around the blog.
satish kolli | June 19, 2012 at 11:05 am | Reply

Hi andy,
will be arriving to muscat on 2nd july. can you pl. tell me if there are any buses from the airport to salalah directly. (andy i was googling for this information….and i have to tell you….your site is quite informative than the rest)
thanks man!!
P.S. can you mail me the information, if any
satish kolli | June 19, 2012 at 11:09 am | Reply

and by the way, andy, is it advisable now to cross over to yemen…???
andydbrown | June 19, 2012 at 9:59 pm | Reply

Hi Satish,
According to this website (http://www.omanet.om/english/useful/transport.asp) there are daily bus services from Muscat to Salalah leaving at 6am, 6pm and 7pm.
I wouldn’t advise going over to Yemen with all that’s going on over there but that’s just my personal opinion. I hope you enjoy your upcoming visit to Muscat!
Suprio Ghosh | August 16, 2012 at 9:38 pm | Reply

Hi Everyone:
I am leaving for Salalah day after from Nizwa with my family. Heard the road and petrol pump situation is much better now. Will update soon as I reach.
Suprio
- andydbrown | August 21, 2012 at 11:55 pm | Reply
  
  Suprio,
  Would love to hear a more recent update. Get back to us when you can, please!
  - Suprio Ghosh | August 24, 2012 at 8:24 pm | Reply
    
    Hi Andy:
    The road trip was in fact better than I anticipated. My wife drove all the way (890kms) and covered it in 8.5 hours. The so called ‘boring stretch’ was quite interesting and different and we quite enjoyed it. The are several pumps along the road no more than 100 km apart, but they are quite crowded probably because everyone still tends to fill up at every station. We did however find it a problem to get clean toilets. The ones attached to the pumps are unusable but you can use the ones in the rest house in Adam (61km from Firq roundabout Nizwa), rest house in Al Gabha (183km) and Himah motel in Haima (384km). These also have restaurants but they don’t look very inviting, so its probably better to carry snacks and sandwiches. The journey is also quite scenic in places.
    Salalah is a big place and we managed to cover only the west part. The first day we took a local omani guide with his land cruiser and he took us to places we could not have known on our own. The next two days we went on our own and followed the map which was easy. We plan to go again this January to see the east part of Salalah.
    By the way we stayed at the Hilton which was a damper and no value for money.
    - andydbrown | August 25, 2012 at 11:34 pm | Reply
      
      Suprio,
      Thanks for getting back to us with this update. I totally agree with the idea of bringing snacks! Yes, there is so much to see and do in Salalah. I’m glad to hear you enjoyed both the drive and your stay in Salalah. Thanks again!
shallicomparethee | August 17, 2012 at 12:04 pm | Reply

Hi Andy, I did the trip two years ago with my sister from London and my 7 year old son, the road was good and local advice I got was to fill up at every petrol station. (This was convenient to also stock up on snacks and even if my petrol tank was not empty we obeyed this simple instruction.)

It was an easy trip, alternating the driving every 4 hours. My only ‘stress’ was not been able to see through the fog on entering Salalah just after the police check point, it was like pea soup and stressful. My FJ Cruiser however did the job well and indicated a drop of ten degrees in temperature.

We had a lovely stay at The Marriot, which be warned is another good 45 minutes out of Salalah. A GPS is a must, the camels were awesome!
- andydbrown | August 22, 2012 at 12:53 am | Reply
  
  Kerry-Lynn,
  Glad to hear you enjoyed the trip down to Salalah as well. It must have been nice to alternate drivers! Entering the “pea soup fog” along the Dhofar Mountains was one of my favorite and most memorable moments! My wife dreams of staying at the Salalah Marriott Resort Hotel someday. God willing!
  And yes, camels are awesome!
Saulat Ali | January 8, 2013 at 11:56 pm | Reply

It has always been a pleasure reading your blog…really fantastic feeling! All the contributors are doing awesome! Loads of information; credible, communicative and so easy to digest We are based in Salalah and I am writing now as we are planning to visit muscat this time by car! We will be grateful if our WHATs be answered; WHAT to do, see, stay (budget)…All the best again to carrying up the good work
- andydbrown | January 27, 2013 at 3:09 pm | Reply
  
  Saulat Ali,
  Thanks for the kind words. SO glad to know you are getting some use out of this blog! In fact, with people like you in mind I’ve created the “Tourists Sites” page (link found at the top of the page) for you to quickly be able to find what it is you’re looking for by clicking on Muscat (for example) and then seeing the sites available (well at least the ones I’ve visited and blogged about) and info on a few hotels we might have stayed at or visited. I hope this helps you out!
Suprio Ghosh | January 9, 2013 at 7:48 pm | Reply

Hi Saulat:
I am from Nizwa so can’t advise much on Muscat. A visit to the Opera House is a must. Need to book in advance (www.rohmuscat.org.om)
- andydbrown | January 27, 2013 at 3:22 pm | Reply
  
  Suprio Ghosh,
  Great advice!
John Stewart | March 15, 2013 at 5:44 pm | Reply

I found your comments very interesting as it appears that the road has deteriorated since the last time I drove to Salalah. That was in January 1989 and the distance from our house in Al Khoud (near Seeb) to Salalah was 1,012 km, which we drove in one day (0600 to 1630) with a couple of comfort stops. The road was absolutely perfect all the way and it was probably not long after it was laid. There were a couple of small sand dunes encroaching on the road at one point but that was all. On the edge of the absolutely featureless Empty Quarter, a tin can blown in the wind hit the side of our car. God knows where that came from. We stopped at Haima for petrol and coffee and at Qitabit for a curry lunch. There were only three men there and the Omani manager said he didn’t know how long he could stand the isolation. We found the overall drive interesting in fact probably because it was so unique. Where else would one drive on a tarmac road for an hour or more and never see another vehicle? While in Salalah, we stayed in the Holiday Inn, which was the only ‘western’ style hotel in Salalah at that time. One of the trips we did while down there was to the old city of Samaran, where Queen of Sheba was supposed to have her palace. Others were to Marbat and to the springs at Ayn Arzat. On our last day there we drove west to the Yemeni border on a road that was still being laid. We left just on sunrise for the return journey to Seeb and were amazed that at the top of the climb to the plateau there was still frost on the ground. We spent half an hour looking for geodes but had to get back in the car to warm up!
my wife and I were back in Oman only last month and we made our first drive up to Maglis al Jinn, over the top and down the other side to Ibra – 60 km from Fins to ash-Shariq, which took us four hours in a Toyota Land Cruiser on ‘challenging’ roads up to 2,000m. We plan to go back again in a year’s time and I have already planned a route up Wadi bani Awf, over Jebel Akhdar and down to Niza. Wadi Bani Awf 28 years ago was a dusty wadi: last month we drove the first five km in on a brand new concrete road! Unbelievable!
- andydbrown | March 21, 2013 at 1:41 pm | Reply
  
  John Stewart,
  Thanks for the detailed comment, describing your experience way back in 1989. Seems that we share the same feelings about the uniqueness and beauty of driving the Muscat-Salalah road. I must say that the road seemed to be much better when I drove it back in November of 2012. I think they have patched up the worst parts of the road I described! Like you said, it’s unbelievable how the roads (and so much more!) have improved. I think those who truly appreciate it the most are folks such as yourself who were here “back in the day”. Thanks for stopping in and commenting. It’s appreciated!
derilize | March 21, 2013 at 12:52 am | Reply

Try the coastal road via Sur / Duqm…..totally worth it. Just ill up petrol every place you see but I didn’t hve a problem getting petrol all the way. In love with Oman.
- andydbrown | March 21, 2013 at 2:12 pm | Reply
  
  derilize,
  Thanks for the update. I hope to drive that coastal road someday…Bought myself an extra petrol can so I’m all set! Kind regards from another lover of Oman.
Christie Swart | March 26, 2013 at 12:16 pm | Reply

Derilize
I am very interested in doing the coastal road. Do you perhaps know if the road works from Shuwaymiya toward Salalah have been completed?

Any
Thanks for a well written and informative blogg.
Cheers
Christie
- andydbrown | March 31, 2013 at 4:08 pm | Reply
  
  Christie,
  Thanks! Glad to know it’s been of use to you.