hop on hop off muscat Abu Dhabi and Dubai

[sheba2008]

I want to do the hop on hop off bus in Muscat, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, online I can get a combi ticket for the 3 cities for 135$, on the ship you have to buy 3 separete tickets witch is more expensive. Question : what will be the price if I buy in Muscat on the bus itself for combi (3cities), I don't want to buy on the internet because you never know what happens, the ship can change route or something els can happen. Is ther maybe something else I need to know about the bus tour in de 3 port, thanks

 

Linda

[buchhalm]

The price for the Muscat "Big Red Bus Tour" is just under USD 60 if bought on the day. The tour covers a lot of distance but does not have all that many stops. The website claims that buses run every 30 minutes. Hmmmmm.

that seems to be quite ambitious. I have never noticed 2 buses passing the same spot in one hour. Often they are few and far between, and then 3 buses show up within 5 minutes.

The Muscat operation is NO WHERE NEAR as organised (or value for money) as in other cities (such as London or Paris).

I'd be VERY careful with the schedule, as it can take a long time getting back to port from the further places such as SQ Mosque or the Opera House. If you really want to do this, go to the furthest places first and then the places closer to the port later.

On week-days (Sunday to Thursday) traffic can be very, very heavy and you spend a lot of time admiring the local driving habits, stuck on a main road.

If you have a LONGER stay in Muscat, this tour is not a bad option, but if you have only a few hours in port, you are safer (time-wise) to take a ship-organised tour.

[lilybob]

Totally agree with Buchhalm on the Muscat Big Bus HOHO...

 

Dubai and Abu Dhabi may be worth your while....but Dubai is easy to do on your own with the help of metered taxis and metro along Sheik Zayed Rd. Decide what you want to see and how long you will be in port. You may see more of what you want on your schedule than you would on the bus.

[Gig103]

I wasn't a fan of the Dubai BB Tour. It had a large network but not all the routes were particularly interesting, and the commentary was repetitive and light.

 

Taxis and the metro are very affordable in Dubai and didn't seem slower than the bus.

 

Oman was an expensive place to tour. The taxi stand had fixed rates for private tours (at $2.50-$2.60 per OMR):

10 Rial/hour for 1-3hrs

7 Rial/hour for subsequent hours

 

In 5 hours we felt like it was a whistlestop tour; but since we split the taxi with some folks on the ship it ended up costing half the Big Bus. If I returned I think I would just take a ship excursion.

[Keith1010]

We negotiated a tour with a taxi in Muscat and it was wonderful. Just saying.

 

Keith