Meow

Does anyone have any recommendations? Thinking of taking a short break there and like a bit of luxury.

Thanks


EDIT - I'm not really going mad. I want to go to Salalah, not Sana'a but was talking to someone whilst writing & now can't edit the title! How annoying.
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weasel central

I have a luxury 3 ed apartment in Sana'a that you can have for a month

you can have it cheap

Meow

Um, thanks

Blue Cat

Atilla was there before christmas, I will find out from him where he stayed.

Hello.Kitty

I know this sounds daft, but is it safe there now? I've heard it's lovely and want to go to Oman, but what with the unrest and whatnot...

Blue Cat

Salalah is hours away from Muscat. Meow the Crowne Plaza

desertmum

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza - not Dubai-style luxury but a really interesting place to visit. Best to go July/August during/after the rains - it's stunning.

hnd

But where in Oman do you think you'd like to visit - Salalah or Muscat or somewhere different? Would you drive or fly?

Hello.Kitty

well, I haven't been to either yet - just Mussandam, which was lovely. Mr Kitty's been to Muscat for work and I have a friend who drove from Muscat to Salalah, camped there and loved it. I'm just a curious character - I love exploring new places... the only problem is, there are too many places to fit into one lifetime!

Where would you recommend? We've obviously got 2 small children, so days trekking through mountains aren't an option, but "family friendly" holidays give me the shivers - they're happy (well, have no say in the matter) to tag along on more cultural visits. Some ideas for a short break of "must sees" would be great!

Meow

Kitty, do go to Muscat for a few days. Plenty of decent hotels, some sights (museums, lovely mosque, mountains), the lovely old souq, friendly people. It's a fair old drive from Dubai, but bearable and with small children probably easier than flying.

It's also usually a bit cooler than Dubai, so nice to escape to as it starts heating up here.

Hello.Kitty

smashing! Thanks for that. We have in-car DVD players to hypnotise the nippers anyway.

Besides - have you seen today's GoNabit deal?! [rubs hands together]

desertmum

We drove to Salalah with two young children - we listened to Harry Potter on the way there and back - long drive but easy as it's straight and flat. Our kids loved Salalah - the difference from there to Dubai is huge. We saw Dolphins plaing in the waves, the sea fountains, hundreds and hundreds of camels (we ADORE camels) and lots of other stuff. It was a fun trip.

We drove down via Nizwa with an overnight stay and then had a three day at Al Suwaidi on the way back - there is an amazing hot river not far from Al Suwaidi which again the kids loved.

A great trip.

Blue Cat

We drove down to Muscat with an 18 month old, we flew the next time ....
I think that says it all

Hello.Kitty

that sounds fab - just our kind of thing! I'll have to look into it a bit more. Thanks!

fezzer

Just come back from a long weekend in Salalah. You couldn't get further from the protests if you tried! We stayed at the Crowne Plaza which is a decent place to stay surrounded by coconut palms. During the winter the majority of the guests are from Sweden bizarrely on some package for them to escape the cold winters. The food was average, but ok. Around Salalah there is plenty to see if you have a hire car, and most of the roads have been upgraded to tarmac over the last few years so certainly in the winter a 4x4 is not essential. Grab the Oman Offroad guide and it covers most of the sights. There are little gems like the little Baobab forest, some huge sinkholes (if you're into geology stuff), and plenty of historical sites.