Socialising in Muscat

Hi,

Oman is very conservative country....and  here local people follow custom and tradition and all other expat respect their culture. Here no free culture and man & women has to follow the same

Hi ! Nothing much to worry unless it is offensive. Muscat is full of life other than activities you mentioned above. Beautiful places ,nice people and obviously variety of cousins and on top of that clean beaches.
Welcome To Muscat
Kashif

LoveOman, I am aware of that and as I said before, I did some research before. I was asking for more precise information such as above.

Kashifna, thank you! From what I`ve seen and read I`ll definitely like the country, especially Muscat and its surroundings.    Are there any public/hotel`s beaches where you can wear normal bikini? If not, what kind of swimsuit do Western people (tourists or expats) wear on beaches as I have no idea what to buy.

Bikini in public beaches is not common here but definitely in beach hotels like Shangri La you can wear of your kind.

There are beaches where you can use BIKINI and Bar-be-Que etc also many hotel & resort where they have bar on beach side also in-house disco and late night Friday -Saturday night party only you need the same kind of mind set people and friend whos is looking out with and party out there is many beaches & wadi where especially foreigner like you venture out  what as if you need more write me to guide you more.

Hi
Nothing to worry expect the best and prepare for the worst. that should be our expatriates theory when we leave our country and go to strange land for life make peaceful. If you reach a place where eat snake you eat the middle part.
best of luck and be courageous.

There's nothing to be worried about. Oman is not as strict as it is in saudi. You can go out and party at night or go out on a date. They have bars and pubs here. In hotels, they start serving liquors at 3pm. Bikinis as acceptable in hotels but I'm not sure for public beaches. There are areas where you can wear short skirts or sleeveless tops like Al mouj as it is where most expats resides. But when you're out in public it is always better to cover up.

Nejavu wrote:

Hi everyone!

Soon I`m moving to Muscat where I`ll be working for an airline and even though I`ve lived abroad for a couple of years (in US and Germany and I come from EU) I`m getting a bit nervous about this one as this time it`ll be a completely different environment and culture. :-)

I`m very excited but I have so many questions/concerns at the same time. I already did some research on this topic but I still couldn`t find some specific information concerning socializing in Muscat especially for Western expats who have different habits/culture.
For example, can a single woman go out on a date with a man/hold hands and take the same cab without any problems? I remember reading something about this for Qatar/Abu Dhabi where you were supposed to take a cab with another woman but not a man, be careful in general for not ending with a penalty/in prison etc. Please correct me if I`m wrong,

Also, are there any beaches in Muscat where you can wear a normal bikini? So in general, what does socializing in Muscat look like in general? The majority of expats are from far East and Africa from what I read, right?
I`m not a huge party girl but I do like to go out sometimes, for a dinner and then a couple of drinks with friends (mostly with women but sometimes we are mixed group of friends), so I`m not quite sure if there`s anything I should know before meeting new people down there. I can be quite a social "butterfly" when meeting new people and it doesn`t matter whether I`m talking socializing in bars/doing sports/adrenaline activities/you name it, but I`m affraid some people can get this wrong in Oman.

Talking dating I`m not even sure if there`s any dating scene in Muscat at all. Don`t get me wrong it`s just that I haven`t found a single article/group on social networks or elsewhere where you could find any expats experience with life in Muscat.
I`d be really happy to hear any experience from expats, men/women I don`t care, just to get a picture of Muscat`s social life before I head down there. ;-)

Thanks a lot and have a nice weekend!

Hello Nejavu,

It a clear understanding of the western culture from your background, as people said above some beaches are fully crowded in weekends.... I mainly go for beach walks in early morning where the beaches are much fresh with out public, but with local culture its very rare to find a public beach where people are in bikini ... and for dates im not sure but all the pubs / bars are open till 2 to 3 am.. where you can catch up good people of our kind :-)

There are lots of places in muscat to meet new people and socialize but oman is still conservative if u compare it to their neighbors the U.A.E or Bahrain. why not joining internations oman u can find lots of friends from different nationalities who meet up and organize social gatherings. if your a late night party lover there is the rumba lattina and the oak at the cave darsait, on the rocks at golden tulip, samaa terazza rooftop lounge at radisson muscat and some more.  There is traders vic, feeneys and many if u wanna go in for a karoake evening much like a traditional english pub. trust me u can make lots of friends in oman and there is always something up.

helloo...it depends upon your group

Hi, First of all welcome to Oman. I am just a week old here. Honestly speaking, initially you may find it different from what you are used to, be it booking a cab , transportation, weather, etc. But you will surely get used to it. I felt home sick first 3 days and still feeling a little bit but i am getting used to it. The Omani people are very nice and it has clean beaches and of course good food. You can make friends and go out but at the same time you should respect their culture and should not offend anyone. Hope you enjoy your stay here.