complik8ted
New
Has anyone been diving here and can you tell me the good, the bad and the ugly?
Hi. Anyone Been Diving Musandam, Oman?
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@complik8ted
Yup! I dive the Mussandam every month.
Its very off the beaten track so not commercialised at all. Dive boats are Arabian Dhows. They are okay but not luxury
Guided groups tend to be small if guided at all.
Vis can be up and down, currently it's quite green with maybe 10m Vis but it can improve to very blue with 25m+ vis
Currents can be unpredictable depending where you dive. A DSMB is a must with a spool of at least 20m line and be practiced in using it
Water temps at the moment are 23-24C Aug - Nov it goes up to 30C. Air temperatures are high in the summer as is the humidity, right now the Highs are 30C and the overnight lows are 20C in July Aug the Highs will be in the mid 40's and lows the high 30's with 70%+ humidity
The fish life is fab, over the last 3 trips we've had whale sharks and mola mola as well as devil rays. No Manta's and very few sharks. tons of reef fish, Moray eels, turtles, and macro life too. The Red Sea, Philippines, Maldives and Asia might have better vis but they have a lot less life.
If you tell me when you are thinking of visiting and where I can help you more.
Yup! I dive the Mussandam every month.
Its very off the beaten track so not commercialised at all. Dive boats are Arabian Dhows. They are okay but not luxury
Guided groups tend to be small if guided at all.
Vis can be up and down, currently it's quite green with maybe 10m Vis but it can improve to very blue with 25m+ vis
Currents can be unpredictable depending where you dive. A DSMB is a must with a spool of at least 20m line and be practiced in using it
Water temps at the moment are 23-24C Aug - Nov it goes up to 30C. Air temperatures are high in the summer as is the humidity, right now the Highs are 30C and the overnight lows are 20C in July Aug the Highs will be in the mid 40's and lows the high 30's with 70%+ humidity
The fish life is fab, over the last 3 trips we've had whale sharks and mola mola as well as devil rays. No Manta's and very few sharks. tons of reef fish, Moray eels, turtles, and macro life too. The Red Sea, Philippines, Maldives and Asia might have better vis but they have a lot less life.
If you tell me when you are thinking of visiting and where I can help you more.
OP
complik8ted
New
Thanks. Thinking January. How do you get there and who do you/have you dived with?
January will be the coldest and worst vis...
We dive as a club thus organise our own dhow's
There is a commercial operation in Khasab, Oman Extra Divers is teh commercial operation you can find prices etc on the link given.
To get to Khasab Fly to Dubai and drive...
We dive as a club thus organise our own dhow's
There is a commercial operation in Khasab, Oman Extra Divers is teh commercial operation you can find prices etc on the link given.
To get to Khasab Fly to Dubai and drive...
Or.. You could go from Dibba which on the UAE Oman boarder, a 2 hr drive from Dubai. Sheesa Beach is the dive operator and they arrange 1 day to 4 day dhows. The Eastern side (dibba side ) is better than the north and where we dive. There is no whale shark season we get them all the time
OP
complik8ted
New
what do you mean about Jan being cold and worst vis? How cold and how far? Which is the best month in your opinion?
Thanks for the headsup re whale sharks.
Thanks for the headsup re whale sharks.
Bear in mind "cold! is relative.
In Jan the water temps are only 22C without any thermoclines. The air temps are maybe 20-25C alos the sun loses it heat by 4pm and in the morning anything before 8:30 and it''s stil a bit dark in the water because of the low angle of the sun (7am sun rise) The Vis is max 10m
Around now the air temp is warming up So for us who live here April and May are nice with Air temps in the high 20's and water maybe 25C the vis starts to improve.
The Summer has great vis, but you have high humidity and air temps in the high 40C - not great if your not used to it. But a 5am dive with the sun quite high and the fish feeding is magical and very busy, often the water is thick with life
My fav time would be September through to November. The air temps have fallen back to the low 30's but the water is still warm 27 degrees. and the Vis is still good - 20-30m and the Sun is still high enough in the sky to get good daylight early on in the mornings
As the water cools the plankton blooms rise so the warmer water is better for clearer vis. You can have a whole weekend of perfect vis, it can just be a couple of dives of good vis, or they can all be green, depends on the currents and tides.
Yo uhave to make a personal decision how warm is too warm
In Jan the water temps are only 22C without any thermoclines. The air temps are maybe 20-25C alos the sun loses it heat by 4pm and in the morning anything before 8:30 and it''s stil a bit dark in the water because of the low angle of the sun (7am sun rise) The Vis is max 10m
Around now the air temp is warming up So for us who live here April and May are nice with Air temps in the high 20's and water maybe 25C the vis starts to improve.
The Summer has great vis, but you have high humidity and air temps in the high 40C - not great if your not used to it. But a 5am dive with the sun quite high and the fish feeding is magical and very busy, often the water is thick with life
My fav time would be September through to November. The air temps have fallen back to the low 30's but the water is still warm 27 degrees. and the Vis is still good - 20-30m and the Sun is still high enough in the sky to get good daylight early on in the mornings
As the water cools the plankton blooms rise so the warmer water is better for clearer vis. You can have a whole weekend of perfect vis, it can just be a couple of dives of good vis, or they can all be green, depends on the currents and tides.
Yo uhave to make a personal decision how warm is too warm
OP
complik8ted
New
thanks so much for all the info. That seems like enough to start making some decisions about when to go. reckon 21 22 C water temp is nearly too cold!
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