UKC

I am planning a climbing trip to Oman next Christmas (main objective Jebel Misht, but want to climb in various areas and see a bit of the country including a sand desert area). It seems that flights to Dubai or Abu Dhabi are probably cheaper and with more choice than flying to Muscat and posssibly car hire cheaper too(?). Can anyone give advice on the idea of hiring a car in the UAE and driving across the border into Oman. The distance looks very reasonable, but might red tape be a problem? Would not having a 4x4/high clearance vehicle be restrictive for climbing in Oman? Grateful for any advice.

not sure about driving over the boarder, but i heard its illegal to transport alcohol into oman via the road without a licence (fine via air), so watch out there.

You can get to some crags without 4x4, i think you will need one for Jebel Misht + another vehicle for the walk off is useful! Also there is no shade on route and it is south facing.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Hi,

the drive from Dubai to Muscat is about 5 hrs. The red tape is very easy nothing to worry if you have a British passport, you get 30 days visa. It will be cheaper to rent a car in the U.A.E. and drive just make sure that the insurance covers Oman as well, most do.I have never climbed in that part of Oman but check ascendme.com, and there is a facebook group both for the UAE (uae rock climbing) and for Oman, people there should be able to give you more info.
Let me know in you need anything else.

Cheers

In reply to Robert Durran:

Got a partner? Was planning the same!

Have just done that exact trip, hiring a car in Dubai, then driving over to Oman and climbing in a few locations. Car hire was cheaper and red tape minimal. A wonderful couple of weeks.

I hired a 4x4 and was glad of it - even if just for the drive up to Hadash. However, it meant peace of mind when trundling over sandy tracks, somewhere to sleep if necessary, and meant all the areas were easy to access. It also meant we could explore some of the other amazing parts of Oman - stunning wadis, beautiful coastline. What a place.

I did a bit of asking around on here and on Ukb so check those threads, but although it's all doable in a much smaller car, the ease of a 4x4 was worth every penny.

Will drop you an email when I've a little more time - happy to answer any questions.

In reply to Robert Durran:
Contacts for the UAE based guys via https://www.facebook.com/groups/UAE.Rock.Climbers/ They will have the latest info.

Although flights may be cheaper to Dubai / Abu Dhabi than to Muscat, you'd need to factor in additional cross border visa costs - and border check point delays - and make sure that the car hire covers travel insurance for both countries. The border is more rigorously enforced than when I was there almost 15 years ago!

Whilst a 4wd is essential if you're heading off in to the sand ( and the ability to drive on soft sand as well -- not as easy as it looks - you will get stuck!) Certainly most of the UAE climbing areas are accessible (to within a few hundred metres anyway) in a normal 2wd car.


PS - I wrote this before seeing Motown's reply -- he certainly has got some good relevant info.

PPS -- Omani visa costs apply if you happen to have a UAE residence visa in yur British Passport as opposed to 30 day tourist visa.

In reply to Robert Durran:

We weren't climbing but we hired a 4x4 from www.offroad-zone.com, who were very good. This was about 4 years ago. Border crossing is easy (but take your own pen to fill in the forms). You should check if you need an international driving licence.

In reply to Robert Durran:

If you contact Habrich (toby) on UKB He wrote the guidebook and can probably give you some really good advice.

Also this thread may be useful: http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,23275.0.html

In reply to Robert Durran:

When I drove up Jebel Akhdar in October there was a checkpoint which you only got past with a 4x4. They also want to see passports so I had to blag and beg a little without mine. I don't know if this practice is widespread across Oman.

In reply to fairweatherclimber:

yea i had the same thing on the way to jebel Misht. I didn't have my passport, but had a photocopy of the photo page and visa page. the men on the check point with guns seemed to want the real passport.. but let us go though in the end.

In reply to Robert Durran:

Hello there! I lived out in that area for a while and pased over the border north and south on many occasions. When hiring a car make sure that it is allowed to cross the border as many car hire places wont allow it, or the border people won't let you through without papers showing it is allowed over the border...was caught out by this.

you wont need a 4x4 for jebel mischt, the dirt roads are pretty solid and a tarmac road runs along the bottom (approach). A straight drive from dubai will be abvout 5 hours but there are loads of places to stop at on the way...I would. it's an amazing place! Allow an extra 2 hours from abu dhabi.

crossing the border it's self is painless (no more than an hour at worst, normally 20/30mins) but may cost you depending on the size of your car and number of people.

happy to help with any more information if you want it...french pillar is a great route on Jebel Mischt. you can find topo's online, or you can buy a guide book from Adventure HQ in Dubai. either or!

Have fun!!

Thanks to all for fantastic response so far. Lots to look into!

In reply to Robert Durran:

Daft though it sounds I took 2 days off work one weekend last winter and climbed 4 days in UAE/Oman. To be honest I was really glad of the 5 hour drive from AD to Muscat since it meant I could catch up on the sleep I hadn't really got on the overnight flight from Manchester (I wasn't driving

We climbed Bandar Jissah I think the first two days then Wonderwall then Hatta. Then back at in Manchester for work Tuesday morning.

Have you checked out Lufthansa? They were the cheapest flights I could find to AD and I remember the plane continued on from AD to Muscat afterwards, so it may have been reasonably cheap.


Whilst there are so many UAE devotees on the thread, I was wondering about a DWS trip in March some time for which I really need to get more people together.

Anyone fancy joining us on our* boat for a few days checking out some of the routes in the redarmada update?


*obviously not ours. A hired boat I mean.

In reply to TheGeneralist:

Slight hijack

Out of curiosity what routes did you do at Wonderwall? Trad or sport -- though in all honesty I have no first hand knowledge of the sport routes - they were done after I left!