PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH
10 Jul 2023 || MIDDLE EAST | OMAN
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Salalah, Oman’s second city, isolated on the far-south coast near the Yemeni border, feels a world away from, well, anywhere. It could be an independent nation, surrounded by the utterly inhospitable Rub al Khali desert, the vast oil plains of central Oman and thousands of kilometres of entirely empty, breathtaking coastline. If you choose to travel via the desolate, 1000-plus-kilometre trail from Muscat, Salalah’s impact is especially significant.
Despite this description, Salalah, the foremost city in the governorate of Dhofar, has plenty of things to do for any visiting tourist – its diversity is astounding. The city itself, unlike much of Oman, is covered in fruit trees rather than date palms. During the Khareef summer season, the surroundings are a deep, fertile jungle green, with waterfalls spilling over melting travertine cliffs. In the winter, Salalah is perfect for camping and outdoor adventures, with clear skies and some of the best beaches on the planet. The Dhofar Mountain landscapes are as spectacular as the Hajar range in the north, with craggy, precipitous ridges jutting up against the remarkable turquoise of the Arabian Sea. For the most intrepid, the deep, almost glowing, burnt orange of the Rub al Khali desert sports some of the largest sand dunes on the planet.
Although Salalah often comes up second fiddle to Muscat, receiving significantly less visitors than its capital to the north, this does not do justice to the city’s beauty. Having spent many weeks in the region, this is our exhaustive, enthusiastic list of the best places to visit in Salalah, Dhofar.
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IN THIS GUIDE //
Places to Visit in Salalah, Oman
WHY VISIT SALALAH?
GETTING TO SALALAH
– DRIVING FROM MUSCAT TO SALALAH
— THE SCENIC ROUTE
– MUSCAT TO SALALAH BY BUS
– MUSCAT SALALAH FLIGHTS
– DUBAI TO SALALAH
WHERE TO STAY IN SALALAH
BEST TIME TO VISIT SALALAH
MAP: PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH
PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH
– PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH CITY
– PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH – OUTSIDE THE CITY
FINAL THOUGHTS
WHY VISIT SALALAH?
Salalah is simply a little different to the rest of Oman. Even if you’re well-acquainted with the northern part of Oman, it is worth revisiting the country to experience the uniqueness of its southern coast. Here are some reasons:
♦ There is a heavy Yemeni influence in the region – it feels like entering an entirely new country (it’s still wonderfully Omani though!). A resident we met there was explaining how, in the south, they even speak a different, pre-Arabic language.
♦ Khareef season and Salalah Tourism Festival – if you are visiting in the summer months of late June to early September, the monsoon season really puts on a show, with temporary waterfalls flowing ubiquitously and the scenery turning an uncharacteristic green. The tourism festival has a range of events on throughout the summer in the city.
♦ Exquisite camping locations – we think that some of the best wild camping in the world can be found in the region surrounding Salalah.
♦ Frankincense trade history – the UNESCO recognised locations in Oman were some of the most important and oldest caravan trade routes in the ancient world.
♦ Lack of tourists – Salalah has so few international tourists. We’ve never spent time at the best places to visit in Salalah with other tourists, unless they were Omani.
♦ Diverse landscapes – for outdoor enthusiasts, it’s all about the deserts, beaches, mountains, waterfalls and coastlines. All of which are spectacular.
GETTING TO SALALAH
Salalah is a small, isolated city with a population of around 450,000. It is situated on the southern Omani coast in the governorate of Dhofar (the largest in Oman), bordering Yemen and Saudi Arabia. This governorate is made from ten wilayats, or provinces, including the wilayat of Salalah. To reach this region, the options are to drive, take a bus or fly.
⋅ DRIVING FROM MUSCAT TO SALALAH ⋅
The distance from Muscat to Salalah is around 1000 kilometres, when taking route 31, the fastest highway through central Oman. This can be driven in one long day and takes around 9.5 hours. It’s an easy, comfortable drive, mostly frequented by lorries. Often, during certain sections, you’ll have miles and miles of road all to yourself (if you discount the camels!). This is the quickest way to travel from Muscat to Salalah by road.
There are services along this route, including gas stations, bathrooms and shops. The journey can be begun from the beautiful ancient city of Nizwa too, which cuts off an hour or so of the total travel time.
Oman is not a particularly public transport-friendly country so we’d suggest renting your own vehicle, plus Oman is very safe and easy to drive in. Check out our guide to driving in Oman for more information.
THE SCENIC ROUTE
It is also possible to drive the Muscat to Salalah coastal ‘scenic’ route. This will take, at minimum, several days but is well-worth the detours if you have the available time.
The route can include as many of the following as you’d want: the coastline before and after Sur, Ras al Jinz, Masirah Island, Duqm, Ras Madrakah, Miji, Ash Shuwaymiyyah, Hasik, Sadah and Mirbat. Including all these stops is time consuming, but for the ultimate Oman adventure, we’d absolutely recommend it!
CAR HIRE FOR THIS SALALAH ITINERARY
We always rent our vehicles all over the world, including our recent trips in Salalah, Oman, with Discover Cars. They’re often the most affordable, plus they paid out immediately on an insurance claim we made when our car took some heavy damage in Sicily. We fully recommend them.
If you book through the link below, we make a small profit, at zero cost to you, which helps us write these posts with no advertising! We only endorse products and companies we *actually* use regularly. For more information, read our position on affiliates.
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TAKE A LOOK → BOOK CAR RENTAL
⋅ MUSCAT TO SALALAH BY BUS ⋅
To travel by road from Muscat to Salalah, another option is the public bus. It is then simple to rent a vehicle in Salalah directly if you don’t want to drive the 1000-kilometre journey yourself!
Buses run from Muscat to Salalah using the Mwasalat service. These are decent quality intercity services, run by the Omani authorities. As of mid-2023, the intercity route 100 operates between Muscat and Salalah three times a day at 07:00, 18:00 and 19:30. A single ticket costs 8 OMR (about £16) and a return ticket is 12.5 OMR (about £25.50). Tickets are reservable online via the website (when the website works) and the timetable can be found on the Mwasalat website. The journey takes around 13 hours.
⋅ FLIGHTS FROM MUSCAT TO SALALAH ⋅
Direct flights from Muscat to Salalah operate multiple times daily with SalamAir and Oman Air. These cost from around 30 OMR (about £60) each way and take around 1.5 hours.
We use Skyscanner to research and book all of our flights.
⋅ DUBAI TO SALALAH ⋅
There are no direct buses from Dubai to Salalah, Oman. Two buses are needed to travel the Dubai to Salalah route by public transport. First, take the Al Khanjry bus from Dubai to Muscat, then the Mwasalat service from Muscat to Salalah. This could potentially mean an overnight stop in Muscat.
It is also possible to fly directly from Dubai to Salalah with Flydubai or Emirates. Emirates often costs double the price of Flydubai.
If you are looking for the cheapest flights possible from Dubai to Salalah, consider flying from Abu Dhabi instead. Wizz Air fly directly from Abu Dhabi to Salalah, often for as little as 100 AED or 11 OMR one way (about £21).
Check all the routes mentioned in this section on Skyscanner – it’s the cheapest place to book flights and the only site we personally use and vouch for.
FLIGHTS TO SALALAH
We exclusively book our flights through Skyscanner. It’s the cheapest way to book flights from anywhere in the world.
If you book your flights to Salalah through our link below, we make a tiny commission that helps to keep this site running, at zero cost to you. Thank you!
WHERE TO STAY IN SALALAH
Salalah has a myriad of accommodation options depending on your budget. There are numerous upscale, luxury resorts along the beaches and coast, budget apartments within the city and affordable business-style hotels in the centre.
For a mid-range business hotel that we have stayed in a few times, we recommend the Salalah Gardens Hotel. It’s in a mall with an attached Carrefour hypermarket and is near a Lulu hypermarket. The hotel is central, has tonnes of free parking, access to shops, the rooms have small kitchenettes and there is an exceptional breakfast.
Another fantastic budget option is to wild camp. There are so many incredible spots with unimaginable views; it’s truly a camper’s dream. To learn more about camping, take a look at our guide to camping in Oman, plus our favourite camp sites across the country.
BEST TIME TO VISIT SALALAH
Salalah can be enjoyed all year around, although daytimes are always hot, between 28 and 35 degrees throughout the year. The nights in Salalah are more moderate during the winter months, perfect for camping, with no rain and clear skies.
The Khareef (monsoon) season runs through the summer months of June to September. In other countries, many would avoid the monsoon season, but it’s actually the most popular time to visit Salalah. The verdant landscapes and incredible waterfalls are only present during this time. Temperatures drop significantly during July and August too, making outdoor pursuits tolerable!
Personally, we love visiting Salalah during the winter months of December to February for its clear blue skies, lack of rain and warm temperatures. This season is also perfect for camping, diving and dolphin and whale spotting from the coast!
After March, until around the Khareef season in June, the day and night-time temperatures rise to the low-thirties and upper-twenties respectively.
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PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH - MAP
Below is a saveable Google Map of everything around Salalah mentioned throughout this post.
To save this map, click the star icon next to the title.
Places to Visit in Salalah
⋅ PLACES TO VISIT IN SALALAH CITY ⋅
The city of Salalah is where most people will base themselves on a trip to southern Oman. It has all the normal mod-cons such as malls, cinemas, hotels, supermarkets, plus an international airport. The city also boasts the biggest seaport on the Arab peninsula, so expect to see some industry! To counter this, it has manicured, palm lined boulevards, beautifully crafted roundabouts and is frankly just an incredibly attractive city!
