Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Road Rules
The following traffic laws are strictly enforced, especially in Muscat:
Seatbelt use is mandatory for passengers and there is a fine of OR10 for not wearing one.
You are not permitted to drive while using a hand-held mobile phone.
Drink-driving is completely forbidden.
Most vehicles are fitted with a beeping device for Oman's maximum speed limit of
120km/h and there are many speed cameras to encourage drivers to comply. Punitive fines
for speeding are being introduced in an effort to reduce accidents.
Note that it's illegal to drive a dirty car - the fine is OR5!
Responsible Driving
Before heading off over uncharted territory, it's worth asking if you really need to be the
person who scars this piece of desert. It's better, generally, for your safety and for the en-
vironment if you stick to previous tracks.
HITCHING
Hitching is possible but inadvisable as most roads outside the capital area have low
volumes of traffic. Bear in mind that you may often get left between towns while the
driver turns off-piste to his or her village. You therefore need to be self-sufficient enough
to survive the hottest part of a day - even a night or more in some parts of the interior -
without any prospect of an onward or return ride.
Always carry water and avoiding hitching off-road. It is the custom to offer the driver
some remuneration. If you're driving, you will often be asked to give a ride to locals but
do this with caution.
LOCAL TRANSPORT
Oman has a comprehensive system of cheap but rather slow long-distance shared taxis
(painted orange and white) and microbuses. Oman's shared taxis and microbuses do not
wait until they are full to leave. Instead, drivers pick up and drop off extra passengers
along the way.
To visit certain places of interest, you'll often have to take an 'engaged' taxi (ie private,
not shared) - generally four times the price of a shared taxi as you have to pay for all the
seats. Bargain hard before you get in and try to avoid hailing a taxi from a hotel. Fares
quoted by Lonely Planet for Oman are for shared taxis unless otherwise stated.
Beware that public transport isn't networked, so a bus or taxi may go from A to B and
B to C but not from C to A. This means it's easy to get stranded in a town with no onward
connections.
