November Oman (1 Viewer)

[albatross02]

Hello together,

how is Oman for birding in November ?
Temperature seems ok in this time.
How is about snorkelling around Muscat and other areas like Salalah ?
Are there corals near beach ?

My idea was flight to Salalah, rent a car and drive 3 weeks in direction of Muscat. But it seems one way fee is quite high in this case.
Is 4x4 recommended or is normal car enough ?

For bird areas I found this page
https://www.wheretowatchbirdsandotherwildlifeintheworld.co.uk/oman.html

How is possible to find accomodation e.g. booking, agoda or any other possibilities recommended ?

Thank you very much.


Best regards
Dieter

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Birding will be very good in November - maybe almost the best time of year there. You should check this website for information and sightings:
http://www.birdsoman.com/
4x4 would be handy in some places but most sites can be accessed with a regular car. It should be pretty easy to book accommodation using the usual websites. It's basically an easy place to travel in.

 

[andyb39]

I was going to recommend you get a copy of this book but prices are ridiculous - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Birdwatchi...TF8&qid=1540574647&sr=8-6&keywords=birds+oman.

There's some useful new information here, including Jebel Samhan, Raysut Sewage Works, Mudayy, etc. :

http://www.birdsoman.com/guideupdate.html

My late friend Rob Tovey's blog might help too.

http://birdingforalark.blogspot.com/

 

[James Lowther]

Sad news about Rob. I never met him but enjoyed reading his blog regularly.

Eriksen book is excellent. Surely it must be available cheaper somewhere.

Normal car is fine for virtually all sites.

You can take boat trips from muscat for snorkelling (same harbour as the dolphin trips) but is isn’t top notch. It is better either round sawadi or near ras al hadd ( from the beach)

Let me know if you need more details

James

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The Birds Oman site says it still has some copies of the site guide:
http://www.birdsoman.com/publications.htm#BgtO2

 

[andyb39]

You can also PM me for specific info about Grosbeak, Scops and Spotted Eagle Owls, Verraux's Eagle, etc.

 

[albatross02]

Thank You very much for the information.

How is about snorkelling in other areas in the south ?
Are there any coral riffs where is possible to swim from the beach ?
Is it possible to find some food or is it better buy some food in supermarket ?

 

[albatross02]

I am suprised by this pictures
http://www.thehotelspecialist.it/exploring-dhofar-region/#.W9RzyzNwbIU

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Locat...ad_Tours_Oman-Salalah_Dhofar_Governorate.html

Are there only some area green and ionly in short rain time ?

 

[andyb39]

The Salalah area catches the edge of the monsoon, so is cool and wet for around 3 months of the year. Unfortunately it won't look like that in November, although it's still greener than most of the Arabian Peninsula.

 

[James Lowther]

Thank You very much for the information.

How is about snorkelling in other areas in the south ?
Are there any coral riffs where is possible to swim from the beach ?
Is it possible to find some food or is it better buy some food in supermarket ?

I only snorkelled in the north sorry. Restaurant food is easily available in all towns, even small ones. It is normally “Indian” food, rather than Omani though. Obviously in the middle of nowhere it’s not so easy...
If you drive from muscat to salalah the roadhouses (qatbit etc.) have cheap restaurants.

Generally it is a very easy country to travel around as Andrew says. Except.. distances are huge, while sandstorms can make driving and especially overtaking the numerous slow moving trucks difficult. And along the central coast good accommodation is scarce. But it is a beautiful drive with some fantastic birding sites.

Cheers
James