Why Hire a Car in Oman?

Hiring a car in Oman is the best way to see the country if you are planning to travel beyond the capital, Muscat. You will have the flexibility and freedom to visit incredible natural and historical places independently and at your own pace. 

Moreover, Oman ticks all the boxes when it comes to road tripping—the petrol is one of the cheapest in the world, car hire rates are very reasonable, and the roads are in great condition with incredible scenery along the way. 

Public transport in Oman is not that frequent or common and is limited to connections between the main towns only. Meanwhile, the best sights in Oman, especially natural ones (gorges (wadis), beaches and mountains, and desert), are reachable only by private car. 

If you do not drive, you still have the option to join tours to the popular destinations in Oman or hire a private driver (but this option can be pricey). Tours are available to only the most popular attractions like Jebel Akhdar, Nizwa, Jebel Shams, Wadi Bani Khalid, and desert, to name a few. 

Oman is one of those countries in which renting a car and driving is easy and enjoyable. Most of the roads are in excellent condition, road signs are in Latin characters and navigation is easy, traffic is generally very light, and the majority of the drivers conduct overall a well-mannered road behaviour.

Poorly maintained roads could only be found in remote locations, but even those are often easily manageable. Only wadis (gorges), some of the mountain roads, and dirt tracks will require driving a 4×4 car. 

Meanwhile, on well-maintained highways, people tend to drive fast. However, the roads are wide and have multiple lanes to accommodate both slow and fast drivers. Also, Omani drivers are fairly chilled compared to the ones on the UAE roads. 

There are several international car rental operators in Oman (and at Muscat airport). I usually find the best car rental rates.

Discover Cars is a search aggregator that compares prices between international car suppliers. Discover cars always have some of the cheapest deals in the market, and even offer additional discounts on some rentals. 

It also allows filtering out the vehicles according to different criteria (car type, transmission type, price range, etc). The booking process is clear and straightforward, requiring a small deposit which is refundable in the form of credit in case of cancellation up to 48 hours before the rental date. You can check the full rental terms & conditions  

To make sure that I am getting the best car hire rate, I also cross-check with Rental Cars. It used to be my go-to car rental site before, and although I use it less nowadays, it may also have good deals. Thus, always worth double-checking. 

Note that Rentalcars does have a free cancellation for up to 48 hours policy as well. However, if you are required to leave a deposit for a specific booking, it will not be returned even when canceling 48 hours before your rental date. You can check the full terms and conditions.

Although there is no shortage of petrol pumps in Muscat, gas stations in Oman might be sparse outside bigger towns. 

For example, the new highway between the UAE Hatta Al Wajajah border and Muscat only has one petrol station closer to the UAE border, and then there is none until you reach the outskirts of Muscat. 

The same applies when driving from North to South of the country through the desert area- petrol pumps are very limited. Also, along the southern coast of Oman in the Dhofar region, petrol stations are located more or less every 100 – 150 km at best.