Anyone done any shore tours in Salalah Oman recently?

Any suggestions? We are going there in April and I am not sure if I should pre book a tour or wait until I get there? I read some very old threads on this that suggest waiting, but a lot may have changed since 2008. :D

Hi, tell me which ship you are on and when it will be in Salalah.

I will then look ate the shore excursions on offer and let you know if they are worthwhile.

I a based in Oman at the moment and can also check with my local mates if they think if there is a "must see".

For us, SLL is more a weekend-away destination (1000 kms from Muscat) a looooooong, boring drive or an hour's flight.

Very nice beach (but it can be extremely dangerous during certain seasons) and quite a lot of greenery and palm trees. A bit like Kerala in India.

The Arabs love to go there because of the rains duirng the Khareef season (sort of a mild monsoon). Hotels are expensive for what you get, there are a few simple guest houses and if you do not like Arabic (rice with rice and overcooked meat) or Indian food, you will not be impressed.

and are just not sure if we should book ahead or wait until we get there. It is a Saturday, so I am not sure if that is an issue.

Any help you can provide would be great.

Cat

Saturday should be fine. Nearly all organisations and companies (apart from banks and some schools) stick to the Thursday Friday weekend.

Check out the official Oman tourism website, which gives you a pretty good idea.

Omantourism dot gov dot ***** (***** is for Oman)

From the Oman bar at the top chose governorates and select dhofar. That's the region where salalah is

We were docked in Salalah last December, where the port situation has greatly changed since previous visits in 2007 and 2008. Instead of a disorderly, aggressive bunch of men vying for your business for their taxis or vans, the port now has an orderly queue for vehicles. There seemed to be no bargaining for rates into the town of Salalah. Four of us paid $80 for that trip, and for the driver to wait for us for an hour or so as we explored the shops.

My favorite local sights (beyond Salalah) are the charming Toqah Castle and, further yet, the town of Mirbat and its castle. (Note: "castle" here means fortified home compound, so don't expect the European standard.) I would have returned to either, but it was just too pricey.

Salalah also offers some wonderful perfume shops. You can buy frankincense and colorful handmade ceramic burners. There is also an interesting food market (with a separate area for the camel butchers).

Enjoy!

-Sukey-

We will be visiting Salalah next year and are wondering what you ended up doing and how you enjoyed this port. Thanks.

My husband an d I were in Salalah in March and have booked by bestshoretrips.com. In Salalah we were expected by a driver of Mark tours, so myabe it is better to use directly there homepage. We were very satisfied. The car with driver was waiting in front of the ship and we enjoyed the day tour very much: We have seen : old and new Salalah, the Mosque, the Al Husn Palace, the Frankincense Souq and the Museum, the Mausoleum of Nabi Ayoub ( not really special, but the surroundings are beautiful ) , we had a typical arabian lunch and then we went to the Blowhole sof Mughsayl and climbed up the Jebel Al qamar with the Zig-Zag Road.

We also booked 4 wheel drived cars in Muscat and Musandam and everything worked out fine.

Regards Xnpio

We were just in Salalah - the souq is not much (arabian men's hat, perfume and frankincense mostly). The taxi was $100 for 6 of us (round trip).

You have to ride a shuttle bus from pier to port gates. There you are surrounded by taxi drivers. If you look up the hill to your left you will see a wonderful building - Oasis Yacht Club. Right there is a beautiful FREE beach and you can go to the Yacht Club for a beverage if you wish. The walk is about 200' from where the shuttle bus drops you at the front gate (just walk past the taxi drivers and up the hill). You will enjoy it.

Has anyone been to the Frankincense Museum and the AL Balid (or Al Baleed) archeology site just past town? Are they worth visiting??

It will kill an hour.

Entry is cheap as chips (and more often than not, no-one will be there to collect the entrancd fees). Just walk on in...

We were there 2 weeks ago - Salalah and Muscat - booked half-day tours with

oman day tours - 3 of us in a car with a driver/guide - were very pleased with the tours and experience - it would have been too hot for us to do it on our own.