Muscat, Oman

Natalie Poat on 25 October 2009
I have been lucky enough to visit Oman twice this year, once on the Gold Travel Counsellors Conference in June and again with my family over the October half term holiday, and had a marvellous time on both occasions.

In June we stayed at the Al Bastan Palace Intercontinental just out side Muscat at Al Bustan. It is a very impressive hotel located on a lovely beach and I would have considered returning in October, but the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort suited our needs better on this occasion as they have a dive centre on site.

The conference stay included hotel visits to the Chedi and the Grand Hyatt (both very different hotels but each delightful in their own way), a city tour with visits to the Grand Mosque, the national museum and the Sultans Palace and Forts in Muscat. We also ventured further afield to Jebel Aktar (Green Mountain) which was a long drive but well worth it for the cooler air and the stunning scenery! It was a real insight in to the way the locals live outside the city. The temperatures in June reached as high as 50C during our stay and the sea was like a bath! In October the air temperature was closer to 36C which was much more comfortable.

In October our family holiday was more sports based as we wanted to take advantage of the fantastic scuba diving - I wanted to see a whale shark as it was still migration season but I had to satisfy myself with Sting Rays, Electric Rays, Honeycomb Moray Eels, Hawksbill Turtles, Cuttle Fish, Spiny Lobsters and the most glorious reef fish and corals. Tim and Alistair also had two mornings deep sea fishing and had a marvellous time returning will tales of their catches - Mahi Mahi, Tuna and Benito – they were two happy boys even if they did not get the Sail Fish they were hoping for. Although we did see one Sail Fish in Muscat at the Fish Market - we hired a car and a driver for the morning and had a private tour of the fish market, fruit and vegetable market and the Mutrah Souk. Our guide, Issa, was great at negotiating prices for us.

He also took us to the Aquarium which was a little disappointing after the open ocean and to his village and home for Omani Coffee with his family, which was really special! We did manage some relaxation round the pools and the 500m lazy river and I had a morning in the Chi Spa at the hotel (massage, facial and pedicure) which was wonderful. We also took full advantage of all the great bars and restaurants at the hotel including Tapas, Italian, Fish and Moroccan restaurants, Piano Bar and Long Bar for great cocktails at 2.80 Rials!

With daily direct flights from the UK I would definitely recommend Oman!