Rent a car in Oman

Our Oman car rental services put the whole Sultanate within reach. Avis has offices at the major gateways, including Muscat International Airport and Salalah, along with locations in the country’s coastal towns and mountain gateways. And because Oman shares a border with the UAE, it is one of the few destinations you can reach directly in a car collected here at home.

Few countries in the region reward a driver quite like Oman. Within a few hours the road takes you from a flat coastal plain to the fjords of Musandam, the rose terraces of Jebel Akhdar and the rolling dunes of Wahiba Sands. Highways are modern and signposted in Arabic and English, and once you leave Muscat the roads are gloriously empty.

Driving in from the UAE? Cross-border rentals are arranged in advance by our team here, with the documentation and insurance you need handled before you set off. Speak to us at least 72 hours before travel.

YOUR TOP RENTAL LOCATIONS IN OMAN

Muscat International Airport · Muscat · Salalah Airport · Salalah · Sohar · Nizwa · Sur · Duqm · Khasab · Barka · Seeb · Ibri · Rustaq · Bahla · Ibra

Oman was a maritime power long before it was a modern state, its dhows trading frankincense and dates as far as Zanzibar and India. That history is still visible in the forts that guard nearly every town and in a coastline of working harbours rather than resorts. The result is a country that feels lived-in rather than staged — and one best seen at your own pace.

Muscat makes a natural base. The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, the Royal Opera House and the twin forts of Al Jalali and Al Mirani frame a capital that has resisted the high-rise. Spend an evening bargaining in Mutrah Souq for frankincense and silver, then walk the Corniche as the fishing fleet comes in.

Head inland and the Hajar Mountains take over. Nizwa’s round-towered fort and Friday goat market anchor the interior, with the UNESCO-listed Bahla Fort nearby. From there the road climbs to Jebel Akhdar, terraced with pomegranate and Damask rose, and to Jebel Shams, where the Wadi Ghul canyon has earned the nickname the Grand Canyon of Arabia. Some of these ascents require a four-wheel drive, and checkpoints enforce it.

The coast south of the capital is a string of wadis and beaches: the emerald pools of Wadi Shab, the swimming holes of Wadi Bani Khalid, the improbable blue of Bimmah Sinkhole, and the dhow-building yards at Sur. Continue to Ras Al Jinz to watch green turtles nest on the beach after dark. Inland lie the Wahiba Sands, where desert camps sit among dunes that turn deep orange at sunset.

In the far north, the Musandam Peninsula is barely two hours from Dubai — a landscape of sheer cliffs dropping into fjord-like khors, best explored by dhow from Khasab with dolphins alongside. In the far south, Salalah is a different country altogether: from June to September the khareef monsoon turns the Dhofar mountains green, with waterfalls at Wadi Darbat and blowholes at Mughsail, while the UNESCO-listed Land of Frankincense sites tell the story of the trade that made Oman wealthy.

For everything in between, October to March delivers the best driving weather. Distances are long and fuel stations thin out on desert routes, so fill up when you can — particularly on the run between Nizwa and Salalah.