Diving in Oman

[WebFoot]

Hello monkeyfish,

I don't think any of the dive operators are still going in Salalah. I've been diving pretty regularly in the area recently, and I think the last one closed when the Holiday Inn converted into the Crown Plaza. I'm hoping that they'll open back up soon since the kharif season is now over.

All the seaweed that flourished during the kharif is dying off right now, so the vis isn't the best, but the sunny day guarantee is in full effect

James

 

[Ian T]

I live up in Sohar (northern part of Oman) so I do diving from al Suwaidi. The few times I''ve been there, the vis was down and we had some horrible currents, but I'll go back there.. The diving off the Dimaniyat's (Arb='string of jewellery/pearls') is IMO among the best in the Middle-East. Visibility, conditions, marine life (like AbuK said, it's protected - unless you have an uncle in the Coast Guard), etc. DivEco at the hotel also organizes clean-ups. Get in touch with the manager, Abdullah, and he will tell you when the next one will be.
If you're in the area and need a buddy, I'm usually available.

 

[Ian T]

well, that message was full of errors...is it my cpr or my fingers - all 4 of 'em..
what I did want to say was: Dimaniyat is great!

 

[WebFoot]

Hey bubble, I'll be up in Muscat for my AOW in Feb. Maybe if you're not busy you can show me some of the sites up there. I'll be up during the Eid holiday, but I'm not sure what dates I'll be doing the AOW dives.

James

 

[Ian T]

Webfoot - I'd be more than happy to do that, though for me, Muscat is a long early morning drive... I have only done a few dives down there, so the centers there would probably do a better guiding job than I.
If you want to dive the Dim's, no problemo. The dive center at Al Suwaidi Beach Resort can help you with the AOW. If they are better or worse than the Muscat DC's, I don't know, they are good enough for me. I'm doing my DM course for them right now so chances are that if you go there, I'll probably be on one of the boats.
Send an e-mail to me and we can discuss it, I might be off diving for Eid. The Maldives, insh'allah.....

 

[WebFoot]

Thanks Bubble,

Insh'allah... lol... I know what u mean ;-P

I'll look into Al Suwaidi. I'll probably stick with Bluzone though since they took good care of me on my last trip up there. They got me a good discount on a hotel, and the instructor (Andrew) actually picked me up everyday in the morning.

What kind of transportation would I need from the airport to get to Al Suwadi? I'll do some searching online, but any info would be appreciated.

Thanks,
James

 

[WebFoot]

"27C?? Geeesh - that's cold!!"

25 in Salalah today.... Where's all this cold water coming from??? hehe

 

[Ian T]

howdy James...
http://www.alsawadibeach.com
Tel: 895545
I'm sure they have a transfer bus, otherwise a taxi would be about 3-4 riyals unless you're a better haggler than I am...(c8
just came back from the Dim's today and the vis was terrible, good dives though, lots of turtles and different schools..but yup - cold

I think we should boycott Antarctica just to get even...

/ian

 

[WebFoot]

Thanks for the info man,
They're gonna get back with me about the availability. I guess they're already pretty booked for Eid, but they're going to try to get me in.

I'm with you on the boycott of Antarctica. I just gotta figure out how to keep all that water out of the area... hmmm.... science project???

James

 

[BoobooFish]

Hello, everybody...hope you don't mind my butting in on your thread (old though it may be...you may never even read this...). I've been looking for Oman diving info with little joy and thought maybe y'all could help. We may be moving to the Shalalah/Thumrait area in the next few months, and knowing about all the great diving there may help me to adjust to the idea! James, you mentioned that there are no dive centers in Shalalah any more...how far away is the nearest centre? The photos of the area I have managed to find on the net look stunning, and it's always nice to hear about amazing diving...please tell me more!

Cheers,
Kathy