What's on in Muscat (Oman), Oman through the year

Busy — Muscat Nights, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Muscat Nights

  1 Jan – 5 Feb · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The municipality's winter festival: markets, funfairs and stages spread across parks and beaches through January, aimed squarely at Omani families rather than visitors. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Ramadan

  18 Feb – 19 MarClosures

  Eating in public during the day is not done, offices work short hours and the souq trades after dark. The coolest month of the year to be here, with the timing to work around. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Muscat Nights, Ramadan

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Muscat Nights (1 Jan – 5 Feb (usually)), Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Peak crowds — Ramadan, Eid al-Fitr

• Holiday

  Eid al-Fitr

  20–23 MarRamadan & EidClosuresCrowded

  Three or four days of visiting; museums and offices close, the corniche at Mutrah fills in the evening and the mountain roads out of town are busy with day trips. Source ↗

Still on: Ramadan (18 Feb – 19 Mar)

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Eid al-Fitr (20–23 Mar)

Quiet — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Nature

  Turtle nesting at Ras al-Jinz

  15 May – 30 Sep · usuallyBook early

  Green turtles come ashore all year on the eastern cape, but the summer months are the peak and the reserve runs its night and dawn walks accordingly. Book the night before.

• Hazard

  Arabian Sea cyclone season

  15 May – 15 Nov · usuallyClosures

  Two risk windows, before and after the Indian monsoon, and most years pass without one. When a system does come in it closes the airport and the wadis fill in an afternoon. Source ↗

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  The humid summer

  1 Jun – 15 Sep · usuallyExtreme heat

  Coastal Muscat swaps the dry heat for humidity that makes the evening no better than the afternoon. Hotels run at their lowest rates and the wadis inland are the escape.

Still on: Turtle nesting at Ras al-Jinz (15 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Turtle nesting at Ras al-Jinz (15 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually)), The humid summer (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Turtle nesting at Ras al-Jinz (15 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually)), The humid summer (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Turtle nesting at Ras al-Jinz (15 May – 30 Sep (usually)), Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually)), The humid summer (1 Jun – 15 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Oman National Day

• Holiday

  Oman National Day

  18–19 NovNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  Flags on every building and two days of public holiday around 18 November, with fireworks on the corniche and the roads out of the city solid on the evening before. Source ↗

Still on: Arabian Sea cyclone season (15 May – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.