Oman is an incredibly beautiful country. There is a reason why they say: “Beauty has an address – Oman“. Snorkeling and diving is a must do if you love the sea. The coastline is almost untouched in Oman which means there is a lot to explore underwater.
In this blog the following things will be discussed:
There are different diving locations but not many diving centers. Oman is an underrated country with not much tourism yet. Now it’s starting to get known by travelers and tourism is growing which makes it perfect to visit this country and learn about the culture and the history. Besides that, if you’re a diver you will be amazed about the beauty under water.
When you dive in Oman, you can dive in the Gulf of Oman or in the Arabian Sea. There are not many diving centers, and most diving centers are located around Muscat (in the North) or Salalah (in the South).
If you decide to go diving in Oman, then the best time is from October through May because the water is warmer and the sea is calmer during that period. Also, if you want to enjoy some beautiful marine life and untouched reefs than you should dive in Oman.
Diving in the Gulf of Oman
The Gulf of Oman is between the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea is more to the East of Oman and in the South-East of Oman there is a city called Salalah. It’s possible to dive near Salalah in the Arabian Sea but there is no diving from June to September because of the monsoon season. The monsoon is called the ‘khareef’ in Oman.
Diving in the Gulf of Oman is possible all year round and most dive centers are in Muscat. So, it’s best to look for a dive center near Muscat. There are many dive sites where they can take you to the underwater world. In May there is better visibility and in September to November are the best months to spot a whale shark but in the Omani waters anything can happen.
During a dive in the sea of Oman there is a lot of sea life you can encounter like whale sharks, sea turtles, clown fish, zebra sharks, humpbacks, sperm whales, blue whales, dolphins and even a pod of orcas.
The most popular dive sites in the Gulf of Oman are near the Fahal Island, Daymaniyat Islands, reefs of Bandar Kharyan and the AI Munassir wreck.
MolaMola Diving Center
We were searching for a diving center on Google and came across MolaMola. This diving center has good reviews and it’s a PADI five-star dive center.
They have daily snorkeling & diving trips to the Daymaniyat & Fahal Islands from 8am until 3pm. During the trip they provide drinks, snacks and a BBQ/vegetarian lunch. For MolaMola it’s safety first which is an important aspect of diving.
Our scuba dive experience in Oman
Diving in Oman was unbelievable. We did two dives with MolaMola Diving Center at the Daymaniyat Islands. Just seeing the islands already made our day (yes, it’s that stunning).
The first dive was at the dive location ‘Black Tip’. This dive didn’t quite go as planned. In the middle of the dive, I couldn’t equalize my ears. I tried many times, but it didn’t work which really irritated me. If you can’t equalize your ears, diving is not that relaxing, it’s just annoying. We dove with a group of people and a diving instructor, I felt bad that I constantly had to say that I have problems with the ears (there is a hand signal for problems with the ears so you can ‘talk’ under water).
Luckily there was a girl who was doing her course to become a diving instructor. She stayed with me while the rest finished the dive. We still had air in our tank, so we went on a less deep dive were the people normally snorkel. The reef was unreal, many colors and so much life. Besides that, the visibility was way better where the people snorkel. Still, I felt bad for slowing down the group we left. After the dive they gave me some tips to equalize my ears.
There are many equalizing techniques. The most used one is pinch your nose and blow or try to swallow. It’s better to avoid the first technique if it’s possible. For me this doesn’t work so I use the first technique. If you feel pressure on the ear and you cannot equalize, then you have to ascend until you can equalize. It’s really important that you can equalize, otherwise you can damage the ear so don’t descend further if you don’t feel comfortable. Some other equalizing techniques that may help you:
- Pinch your nose and swallow
- Pinch your nose, close the back of your throat and make the sound of the letter “K”
- Yawn
Tips that I got if you have problems to equalize your ears:
- Before the dive: use saline solution to clear the nose (sea water). Make sure you hear the ‘click’ in both ears even before you start the dive because that means the Eustachian tubes are open. A few hours before the dive, gently equalize your ears every few minutes.
- During the dive: don’t wear the mask too tight, equalize before you go under the water, go down slowly and equalize often enough (around every half a meter of descent). Try to descend with your feet first and heads up and look up to extend your neck so the tubes open up. Use a descent line so you go down slower and can stop when necessary, stop if it hurts. If the ear begins to hurt, ascend a bit and equalize again.
- After the dive: between two dives take some chewing gum.
Enough information about equalizing, even though my first dive didn’t go as planned I was already glad that I could finish my air tank and dive in a less deep place. I saw some beautiful corals and many different colors.
The second dive was at ‘Juno’s Trade’ and went great. After a break and a lunch on the boat we jumped in the water and enjoyed our second dive which was less deep so, perfect for me. We saw many colorful corals, a shark, a turtle, a lot of morays, lionfish, clown fish, puffer fish, star fish, etc.
We decided last minute to go diving in Oman and we are glad we went. I already wrote about my previous diving experiences in other countries. Every dive is an amazing and beautiful experience. We already dove in Aruba, Egypt, Malaysia, Croatia and now in Oman. Currently we have done 22 dives, the Open Water Diver course and the Advanced Open Water Diver course.
We can’t wait to go diving again and expand our knowledge. Oman was definitely one of our favorite diving destinations. We wanted to do more dives but unfortunately diving is not that cheap, but we hope to be back in this amazing country.
