Nizwa sää — joulukuu

December is the month Oman regulars name as the best of the year, and their figures are almost exactly ours: 27C by day and 18C at night against our row's 26.8C and 18.1C, with full sun and effectively no rain - 8.2mm across 1.1 days. The sea is the part that surprises people. It sits around 23 to 26C, which they compare to the Mediterranean in July, and snorkelling and swimming are comfortable throughout. The one thing to pack against is the evening: a sea breeze comes up after dark and a wrap, a long-sleeved shirt or a light jacket earns its place, especially if you are eating outside. The record: humidity 63 percent, 9.8 hours of sun, a 26.4C sea and AQI 71.

Forum posters are direct that July is really hot in Nizwa, with one poster describing conditions as dangerously and uncomfortably hot given much sun exposure - even at night, temperatures only 'cool' into the mid-30sC. Posters cite daytime highs around 38C in Nizwa itself, with the nearby desert running hotter still, sometimes above 45C. Posters consistently recommend Jebel Akhdar as a real escape valve, sitting some 15-20C cooler than Nizwa at its summit - a genuinely different climate just a short drive up. Posters generally suggest winter, spring or autumn instead for anyone wanting to properly enjoy the region, treating a July visit to Nizwa itself as something to endure rather than savor unless paired with time up the mountain.

Nizwa's forum calls January pleasantly warm, and genuinely a touch warmer inland than on the Omani coast — regulars put the interior a couple of degrees above the coast's roughly 25°C. December and January are the busiest months to visit, so a slightly quieter trip is easier to find in February.