How many are there? Where are they located? Are they all of the same standard? Do they have cinemas in them? How far from main grand hotels?

The only shopping mall if you can call it that, that has a cinema is Bahja mall. 20 to 30mins away from most hotels. The other mall is city centre near Bahja mall.

The other "malls" are in Qurum all next to eachother.

:)

About the standered it really all depends on the shopper. I prefere the malls in qurum. City center and Bahja comparing to the malls in Qurum are bigger and newer. However i prefere shopping in Qurum because:

a) The malls are all next to each other (just a walking distance) so u can movie from one mall to another easily
b) In my opinion i think the clothes in Qurum are better
c) You will get a variety of things

Oman has malls besides city center?

^^lo0ol ya anything beside city center shouldn't even be called a "mall" :bored:

The only shopping mall if you can call it that, that has a cinema is Bahja mall. 20 to 30mins away from most hotels. The other mall is city centre near Bahja mall.

The other "malls" are in Qurum all next to eachother.

:)
But where is Qurum :os ?
How far is Bahja mall from Muscat? North, south, east or west? Where are most hotels located?

About the standered it really all depends on the shopper. I prefere the malls in qurum. City center and Bahja comparing to the malls in Qurum are bigger and newer. However i prefere shopping in Qurum because:

a) The malls are all next to each other (just a walking distance) so u can movie from one mall to another easily
b) In my opinion i think the clothes in Qurum are better
c) You will get a variety of things

By standard I mean malls like Dudai's.

But where is Qurum :os ?
How far is Bahja mall from Muscat? North, south, east or west? Where are most hotels located?

You don't have to worry about such small details, just come and explore the country yourself, Omani people are friendly you can ask anyone and you will get a free help.

You don't have to worry about such small details, just come and explore the country yourself, Omani people are friendly you can ask anyone and you will get a free help.
As a woman, I love the small details that most people rarely pay attention to! I like to know where I am going and what to expect. And my trip will be veryyy short. That is why I need the help from the locals as well as foreigners who have been there and would give me shortcuts :D

Oman doesn't have malls compared to Dubai. Most visitors go to the Souq in Mattrah or Nizwa.

Dubai's malls are incredible, our malls are not to be compared with them..! But anyhow, Oman is getting improved really fast, I'm sure that they'll make more in the near future..

Masa Mall ---> Useless..

Oman doesn't have malls compared to Dubai. Most visitors go to the Souq in Mattrah or Nizwa.
Not just visitors, how about the locals?
Mattrah, Nizwa and Qurum, how far are they from Muscat? And are they the only places with souqs and entertainment?

Masa Mall ---> Useless..

can never agree more

Mattrah and Nizwa have traditional souqs. Nizwa is 2 hours away from Muscat and Mattrah is in Muscat.

Qurum is also in Muscat, and if you would tell us which hotel you'll be in then we'll know how far it is from ur destination.

Mattrah and Nizwa have traditional souqs. Nizwa is 2 hours away from Muscat and Mattrah is in Muscat.

Qurum is also in Muscat, and if you would tell us which hotel you'll be in then we'll know how far it is from ur destination.
We will come from Dubai by car, drive around Muscat and then probably fly to Salalah for one or two days and then fly back to Muscat, drive around before heading towrds Dubai. It will be a very short visit. So I want to squeeze in it as much as possible.
Do you think that we should stay longer in Muscat than in Salalah?

Oh okay, I think Salalah would be more interesting than Muscat. Since you live in Dubai I don't think you need to go to the malls here, maybe u'll enjoy the beaches instead.

So Nizwa is more deep inside the land.

Are there more things to see in Salalah than the rest of Oman?

If you are coming for few days (like a week), then better not to go to salalah, you can delay your trip to salalah and go in the summer (best time to visit it) and better travel by car instead of flying.

There are many nice places to visit outside muscat, like Jabal Akhdar (green mountain), Nizwa (2 hours drive from muscat). Also you can go to Sharqia region like Sur, etc.

But Salalah is part of my travelling plan!

How many are there? Where are they located? Are they all of the same standard? Do they have cinemas in them? How far from main grand hotels?

Well here in Ottawa, Canada... Malls....are......ghettoooo....no comment on billings bridge ( cute_ting's fav mall :P)..... St.Laurent is the okay one out of all malls in ottawa... BAyshore... is bayshore... Rideau is okay but crowded...

How many are there? Where are they located? Are they all of the same standard? Do they have cinemas in them? How far from main grand hotels?

Well here in Ottawa, Canada... Malls....are......ghettoooo....no comment on billings bridge ( cute_ting's fav mall :P)..... St.Laurent is the okay one out of all malls in ottawa... BAyshore... is bayshore... Rideau is okay but crowded...
Ottawa :omg:
And the temperature in Ottawa now is :think:

How many are there? Where are they located? Are they all of the same standard? Do they have cinemas in them? How far from main grand hotels?

Well here in Ottawa, Canada... Malls....are......ghettoooo....no comment on billings bridge ( cute_ting's fav mall :P)..... St.Laurent is the okay one out of all malls in ottawa... BAyshore... is bayshore... Rideau is okay but crowded...Billings Bridge doesn't qualify as a mall, the only "malls" ottawa has are those three that you mentioned...and that isn't saying much lol.

Ottawa :omg:
And the temperature in Ottawa now is :think:The weather today was f***in awesome!

if your in Muscat for a few hours, you should miss Souk Muttrah... about 40km from the airport...

Cinemas, only Bahja has a cinema, so you could do your shopping then watch a flick... its not as big as the ones in Dubai, so dont plan your whole day in Bahja...

You could spend your whole day in Qurm visiting Araimi Complex, Sabco Center, Khamis Plaza, CCC... also picking from the different places to eat... I suggest Kobys...

This is not the best time to visit Salalah as the weather there isnt as nice as it is in Muscat during this time... Salalah is best visited in Auguest to September... So I suggest you spend more time in Muscat...

When you have a longer holiday, you should go to other places in Oman like Nizwa and visit the Souk there also the mountains, Sur to see the turtles...

Thanks! I do need someone to help me design my trip :) On a side note, when you say 40 Km, I am puzzled: which direction?
GW, I will visit the places you mentioned. So Kobys is your favourite place to eat? Is it Omani, Lebanese, Iranian, Indian, ... ? Any place you can recommend for seafood?
It seems the votes are not in favour of Salalah!! But how bad is the weather there now? Is it too hot, or is it too cold? Heavy showers?

The weather today was f***in awesome!

THE WEATHER IS RIDICULOUS!!!!!! we got 30 cm of snow yesterday and it was almost -40 ...

On a side note, when you say 40 Km, I am puzzled: which direction?


You can check the map, it's clear and you can zoom in/out.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ic/1/en/hotel/MSCHA/transportation

Its not really difficult to go any where in Muscat ... Basiclly we got only one High way which simply can take you to salalah or Dubai.

We got one airport in Muscat which probably you will be landing on if you are coming to Muscat area and its called Seeb Airport.

There are two main mall's are located not far from the airport which are "City Center mall" and "Bahja Mall". and there is one Hotel I can re-call which is " Golden Toleb" ( I dont know its right spelling ).There are few malls which worth to visit,they are located in an area called "Qurum" which is not hard to find.The area got around 5 malls.

The malls and the hotel I mentioned are like 10-15 minutes far.If you ask any Taxi to take you to one of the malls,he will easly re-cognize them by you giving the names.

We got around 5 cinema's in Muscat Area's which are :

1-Star Cinema: Mostly Indian and Bangali Movies and its around 35 minutes from the Airport.

2-Nasar Cinema:Mostly Indian movies and its around 35 minutes from the Airport.

3-Ruwi Cinema: Mostly English movies but it has Indian and arabic shows as well and its 30 minutes away from the Airport.

4-Al Shatti Cinema: Mainly English Movies but they got arabic and indian movies some times. ( its the most populated cinema) .Its located 20 minutes away from the Airport

5-AL Bahja Cinema:Mainly English Movies but they got arabic and indian movies some times.Its located 10 minutes away from the Airport.(The ONLY cinema in a mall.


The HOTELS:
Most of the good hotels are located around "Qurum/Ghubra/Bar al-Jassah" area.Depending on your budget I can recommend you a hotel if you wish.

You can check the map, it's clear and you can zoom in/out.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/ic/1/en/hotel/MSCHA/transportation
That is better than Google! Thanks :)

That is so impressive, Genius. I appreciate it :)
Have you taken the road from Muscat to the borders of UAE North?

If you are a Gulf national then Salalah is best visited in the khareef - if you are not a Gulf national, you may prefer to come now! Khareef is the monsoon - cool (sometimes really cold), wet , damp and foggy. The scenery cannot be appreciated until after khareef as you cannot see anything through the fog. Now in Salalah the temp is approx 28, the sea is fab and beaches are great. Prices and people are good because it is not the tourist season. Fish and camel meat is at its' best at the moment. The roads are not busy and nor are the places to visit (Al Balid, Sumharam, Jobs Tomb etc etc).
If you want shopping malls and life like Dubai - go to Muscat. If you want the real and traditional Oman - go to Salalah.

I was living next to one of the borders for 8 months and I know nearly most of them ,, which one you mean and whats up ? :)

THanks BeachBambi! That is so well summed up :)

I meant the highway from Muscat to the UAE borders.. how good is that road? How is the traffic? Where is the best place to stop and rest? What is the distance? Things of that sort...

If you are planning to go to Dubai then the best border will be "AL wajaja border", you have to cross Sohar then Shinas and after Lewa there will be a roundabout called " Al aqer roundabout" which you take left andyou will reach the border. It will take you around 3 hours if you drive around 120-130 km/hr.and you need around 45 minutes from the border to Dubai.

I never really stop while driving unless I got my family with me ,, there are lots of resturants and petrol station in the road,you can stop any time and rest if you wish.

its not really crowded in the normal days, but its bit crowdy in the weekend side ,You wont face much traffic in Oman Border to UAE but there will be some traffic in UAE border becouse of thair stupid design.


NOTE:

1-Dont forget your passport and make sure that its valid.

2-Make sure that your car is UAE Insured,and if it was not then you still can do it at the border ( they only do third party on the border ).

3-If you are one of the people whom need a visa then make sure that you got Dirhams.. or else you will just have hard time in not getting change or so.

You're Genius :)