Oman's capital and largest city, Muscat is a dazzling city with its spectacular beaches, untouched deserts and unique historical touch. There are direct flights from Turkey to Muscat that last about 4.5 hours. Turkish citizens can enter the country by obtaining a visa at the Oman border. The cost of getting a visa at the Oman border is only 6 riyals.

In general, transportation in Muscat has improved a lot compared to the past years. However, even though city transportation is quite easy, there are not many options in urban transportation. There are bus services between Muscat and Dubai city, the world's leading tourism and trade center. Dubai-Muscat buses are operating twice a day, at 7 am and 4 pm.

This journey lasts about 5 hours, with a ticket price of 55 dirhams according to last year's prices. Apart from that, you can reach Muscat directly from most of the Arab countries. The roads throughout Muscat are very well-maintained and environmental greening work is being done.

All cities in Oman have direct access to Muscat. Oman's capital city, Muscat, which has a population of about 2 million, can be reached also from other important cities of Oman such as Matrah, Mirbat, Suveyh and El-Halva in a short time.

Urban public transport is carried out by Oman National Transportation Company. With the cooperation of Oman National Transportation Company (ONTC) and Muscat Municipality, the public transport in the city has been modernized and the number of means has been increased. Rumi Bus Station is the central point of public transport, which is generally named Mwasalat, and is Muscat's central point. Wadi Adei, Wadi Kabir, Mabelah Muttrah and Al Almrat, which are connected to the main transportation points of Muscat, are easily accessible by public transportation departing from here.

The Muscat district links important cities and towns with well-preserved, well-paved, bi-directional, wide roads and motorways, all of which pass through Muscat. Other districts of Muscat, Madinat Al Sultan, Quaboos, Shati Al-Qurm and Al Aurm, are 15 to 20 kilometers from Muscat city center. Ruwi is the commercial center of the city of Muscat and is 25 kilometers from Muscat International Airport. If you arrive at Ruwi, you will see the big bus station, which has separate buses to all the districts of Muscat. From this station you can make both Muscat inner city and Oman intercity journeys.

There are no railway lines in the city of Muscat or even in Oman. Therefore, trains and subways are not included in public transport. The lack of rail and subway network in Oman causes many traffic problems. The use of cars by both locals and visitors of the country makes driving in the traffic a challenge.

In Oman and its capital, Muscat, there are popular means of public transport. Baiza buses which are like shared cabs and green and red public buses are some of them.

Muscat International Airport, the busiest airport in Oman, is about 35 kilometers away from Muscat city center. The Sultan Qaboos motorway, west of Muscat city center, linked to many cities and towns, passes through the airport route.

Most of the means of public transport going to the Muscat city center from the airport use this highway. The Burj Al Sahwa junction in the west of Muscat Airport is linked to other cities in Oman. From the airport to Muscat city center you can take advantage of the taxi, public buses, Baiza buses and car rental services. You can also opt for a 24/7 operating airport shuttle provided to the passengers of the airport, which is a little more expensive than means of public transport.

The airport shuttle transfer serves with special vehicles designed for 7 adults and tickets are priced for one person. One person ticket at the moment is 21 euros. After you have thoroughly learned the hotel's information, you can use this transfer service.

Bus

In Muscat we can examine the buses that are most commonly used by public transport in two sub-sections. One of these is the baize bus, named after a lower sect of Oman riyal (the Indian subculture comes from the root of paisa), and the other is the normal public bus. Baiza buses are not more expensive than others and serve on all main roads of Muscat. The difference of Baiza buses is that there is no place to show tickets; you pay in advance. You can bargain with the driver just as you would in a taxi.

It takes about 30 minutes to travel from Muscat Airport to the city center by baize buses, which are also called shared cabs. Public buses, which are bigger with regards to passenger capacity, less popular and slightly more expensive, also serve at many points in Muscat. You have to walk a short distance from the airport to go to Muscat city center by public buses in red and green colors. These buses pass through Sultan Qaboos motorway, which is the most important transportation network of Muscat, and go to the city center.

Bus tickets can be picked up at stops or in the bus. The prices are fixed compared to baiza buses and there are certain tariffs and rules applied for public buses. The center of public buses is Mwasalat. Intercity and international buses depart from here. You can also take the bus to the famous Salalah from Mwasalat.

Salalah buses usually depart at 7 am and 10 pm, and the journey takes about 12 hours. Muscat's other important city, Ruwi, also has a big bus station. You can book online for buses departing from Ruwi and going to Ruwi. There are 6 stops on the bus route from Muscat's Seeb district, where Muscat Airport is located, to Ruwi.

The most important of these is the place where the famous clock tower is located, Rusayl. The Roundabout stop, one of the city's major junctions, is also on this route. Another name for public buses is Mwasalat public transportation vehicles. Wadi Adei, Wadi Kabir, Mabelah, Muttrah and Al Almerat can easily be reached from the Ruwi bus station.

These points are linked to the main transportation points such as Muscat's international airport, Port Sultan Quaboos, Burj Shawa, Al Khawir, Gubrah, Al Azaiba, Mawalih and Seeb. Mwasalat public transport departs every 15 minutes on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This is the case for all buses going from the stops near Muscat Airport to the city center.

They operate between 07:00 and 22:10. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are considered holidays throughout Oman. Nowadays, the public transport starts to operate at 08:00 and last until 22:05. Inter-city buses are fewer than urban buses.

Taxi

Many tourists who land at Muscat International Airport and want to go to the city center or the hotel where they want to stay, prefer a non-institutional taxi service at reasonable prices.

Despite the fact that many of the local people have a personal vehicle, some still use public transport. The most important feature distinguishing Muscat taxis from the others is that none has a taximeter. It is a good idea to ask the hotel staff or the local people at the airport about the average price of taxis before boarding one of these. Because the taxi driver will be able to ask for higher fares above the average, make sure that you do the price search before taking a taxi.

Taxi drivers are open to bargaining because they do not have a taximeter on their vehicles. If we need to generalize, you can arrive at the airport from Muscat city center in about 25-30 minutes by car. This corresponds to an average of 13-15 riyals (95-110 TL). There are non-written rules about the taxis in the city of Muscat that they identify among themselves. That's why we recommend that you do not want to pay much less than the average price when negotiating the price.

Apart from this, Muscat taxi drivers also provide transportation to the outside of the city in accordance with the wishes of the customers. Going with taxis to famous cities like Suhar, Buraimi and Dubai can be a bit expensive, but still it can be among the choices.

Places and approximate prices you can go to by taxi from Muscat Airport:

Muscat Airport-Quram, Madinat, Al Khawir/Yemen: 8 riyals for 20 kilometers

Muscat Airport -Barka/Oman: 15 riyals for 52 kilometers

Muscat Airport -Nizwa/ Oman: 30 riyals for 140 kilometers

Muscat Airport -Sohar/ Oman: 40 riyals for 195 kilometers

Muscat Airport -Quarayyat/Saudi Arabia: 24 riyals for 120 kilometers

The white taxis running between Muscat Airport and the city center are a bit more upscale and expensive than the orange taxis in town. If the taxi at the airport ask you to pay more than you need to go down the city, you can take one of the orange taxis at the exit of the airport after a short walk.  

Another convenience that Muscat taxis provide for their customers is that you can reserve a taxi for yourself via internet before you arrive at the airport. Thus you can immediately get on your taxi after your arrival to the airport. When you arrive at Muscat Airport you can call +96824341297 to call a taxi. The Ruwi bus station is an important point in terms of Muscat's public transport and highway connections. The average taxi fare from Muscat Airport to Ruwi Bus Station is currently 10 Riyals. It costs 15 Riyals from Muscat Airport to Barr Al Jissah and 12 Riyals to Al Bustan. It is an average of 7 riyals to go to Al Qurm Beach, one of Muscat's most famous places, by taxi from the airport.

Car Rental

People among Oman and many Muscat residents use their private vehicles due to the low cost of oil in the country. A visitor to the country can also make their travels cheaper by renting a car from car rental companies. You can use your driver's license for 1 month from the time you enter Oman.

You can book your car via internet without going to Muscat Airport. Prices may vary depending on the size and the quality of the car, but on average 1 day car rental is 200 RMB for 200 RMB as of 2015.

Some of the companies you can rent a car at Muscat Airport are Avis, Hert, Eurocar, Budget, Thrifty, Shuram LLC, Value Plus, Sixt Rent a Car and Mark Rent a Car. These are all located at the airport's arrival terminal.

You can get to the Muscat city center in 20-25 minutes by exiting the Sultan Quaboos motorway with the car you rent from the airport.