Oman dive recommendations for late November

[ZombieZombie]

Arriving in Dubai late November and I am planning a meandering drive through Oman- eventually ending up in Muscat.

I have already dived in the Khasab area a few times and would be looking to try out other locations- either in eastern Mussandam or anywhere along the coast towards Muscat.

Does anyone have recommendations for dive locations, sites, and operators?


How is water temperature? Will a 3mm suit be ok?

 

[decompression]

I used to work for AL Boom diving and they were very professional. They offered mussandam dives (highly recommended) and many around the east coast and Oman area. 3mm will be plenty, temps were high 70-80s. There are a couple of posters that live in the area and they should post soon.


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[Searcaigh]

I used to work for AL Boom diving and they were very professional.

Mmmm no comment!

In the Muscat area the best diving is at the Damaniyat Islands.

Extra Divers I believe are re-locating or maybe have already relocated to Barka from Al Sawadi Beach Resort, and should be around 15-20 mins away. They use small boats with outboards

Other option is Oman Sail and Dive at the Millennium Hotel just north of Al Sawadi, nice big boat with proper dive platform at the stern, check out other threads in this part of the forum.

For Mussandam, there are lots of choices, I have been invited on one this weekend, which I have to decline as I will be flying on Sunday. This trip is for two nights (Thu/Fri) with 6 dives on Fri/Sat full board for AED3,000.

There are also day trips, with several ops running fast boats to Lima Rock and that general area, however if you are leaving from the Omani side you have to go through a checkpoint that has in recent years got more complicated and requires some serious planning with invite letters and copies of passports at least 24-48 hrs beforehand.

Some days have been absolute shambles with waits as long as 2 hours to cross that border point, so be prepared. Several of the east coast ops run trips to Mussandam, better to choose one that leaves from the UAE side of Dibba if that is now at all possible. Contact Nomad (in Oman), and Divers Down, Blue Planet, Freestyle to name but a few, check this link for your research Dive Centres | Emirates Diving Association

UAE east coast diving is much better than off Dubai, which is mainly wrecks with unpredictable visibility.

The east coast has three wrecks in recreational depths (Inchcape 1 - 30M, Inchcape 2 - 20M and Inchcape 10 - 24M). Other dive sites include, Dibba Rock - 14M, Martini Rock - 19M, Hole in the Wall - 14M, Coral Gardens - 22M, Anemone Gardens - 25M, Car Cemetery - 16M, Sharm Rocks - 14M. I would recommend Blue Planet or Freestyle for Dibba Rock (5 min boat ride) and for the rest Divers Down except for Inch 10 which is off Fujairah, better to use Coastal Technical Divers if they are doing that wreck as they frequently dive the Ines (70M) on a Friday but Saturdays are usually non-technical.

Have a good trip

 

[decompression]

Mmmm no comment!

Ten years ago......I guess things have changed?




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[Searcaigh]

Mmmm no comment!

Ten years ago......I guess things have changed?

Cattle Boats comes to mind, you just don't want to be on Inchcape 1 or 2 when Al Boom dump around 20 of the poorest trained divers on top of you, literally.

Apparently they are only trained to swim in a vertical position and putting air in a BCD is only done at the surface, it would not be the first time I have had their divers actually land on top of me whilst I have been taking photos on both of these wrecks. I don't mean to specifically come down on Al Boom, there are lots of poorly trained divers here in UAE, but since their boats are so clearly marked, it is easy to identify them.

Glenn from CTD banned an independent instructor from using his boat a few months ago when he noticed that on OW Dive 4 all three of the students were doing some skills standing on the sandy bottom.

Apologies for the rant, but I am not alone in my views, there are many other people that I dive with here who agree that Al Boom epitomise the acronym PADI for Put Another Dollar In as they tend to churn out divers with minimal skills.

 

[ZombieZombie]

Many thanks- especially to Searcaigh. Sounds like there are lots of good options and I would use your summary to plan my time.
I just booked my flights today and I am bouncing up and down with excitement. Escaping the cold and getting some diving in. Nothing better.

 

[Searcaigh]

I forgot to mention water temps, should be around 27-28C in Muscat area and as low as 24C up here in UAE / Musandam.

Let me know if you pitch up in UAE, I am usually diving on Friday or Saturday if I am in the country, and since CTD might be closed for a few weeks I will be diving with Blue Planet or Divers Down

 

[decompression]

Cattle Boats comes to mind, you just don't want to be on Inchcape 1 or 2 when Al Boom dump around 20 of the poorest trained divers on top of you, literally.

Apparently they are only trained to swim in a vertical position and putting air in a BCD is only done at the surface, it would not be the first time I have had their divers actually land on top of me whilst I have been taking photos on both of these wrecks. I don't mean to specifically come down on Al Boom, there are lots of poorly trained divers here in UAE, but since their boats are so clearly marked, it is easy to identify them.

Glenn from CTD banned an independent instructor from using his boat a few months ago when he noticed that on OW Dive 4 all three of the students were doing some skills standing on the sandy bottom.

Apologies for the rant, but I am not alone in my views, there are many other people that I dive with here who agree that Al Boom epitomise the acronym PADI for Put Another Dollar In as they tend to churn out divers with minimal skills.

Sorry to hear, I guess some key people have jumped ship. Good to know.


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[ZombieZombie]

Thanks. I will post my plans on here. 28C sounds great.

 

[FTD 83]

Mixed emotions about Al Boom too, it's unfair to totally come down on them because they do have employees that work particularly hard. But ultimately cash rules over everything there, McDonalds diving.

For Musandam, I use Nomad mainly, can't fault them at all but have used Sheesa Beach in the past and happy to recommend them too. Note that for the Dibba side of Musandam, permits need to be made around 4 days in advance. Your dive centre can do this for you but it can be a ball ache on the day if the border guards decide not to play ball.