General Information » Getting Around » Bus

The state-operated Oman National Transport Company (ONTC) runs a national network of buses and coaches all over Oman and to the UAE. Buses operate to all areas of the capital and timetables, destinations and route numbers are found at bus stops (marked with a red bus on a green sign) at the side of the road. Most trips cost a few hundred baisas, making this the cheapest method of getting around. Fares are paid to the driver when you board, so try to have the correct change ready.

Coaches leave from the bus station in Ruwi (just off Al Jaame street, along from the Sheraton Hotel) and Muttrah Fish Market for long distance trips to Salalah, Al Buraimi, Sinaw, Yankul, Ibri, Sur, Fahud-Yibal, Marmul, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They are comfortable, air conditioned and generally on time. The daily bus service to Salalah (four times a day) costs RO 16 return and RO 8 one way, and takes a bottom-numbing 12 hours. There are also daily buses from Ruwi to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and from Salalah to Dubai. Tickets from Muscat to Dubai cost around RO 9 return and RO 5 single, and the journey takes five hours each way. Check the daily newspapers or the ONTC website (www.ontcoman.com) for coach schedules.

Other contacts: Oman National Transport Company (24 490 046), Ruwi ticket office (24 708 522), head office hotline (24 492 948), Salalah (23 292 773).

A private bus company, Comfort Line (24 702 191), offers a service from Muscat to Dubai twice a day. Its buses are not air conditioned. Tickets cost around RO 6 one way and RO 10 return, and the ticket office is located behind the Sultan Qaboos mosque in Ruwi.



Airport Bus

While there is no official ‘airport bus’, the ONTC runs a daily bus service (Number 24) from Mutrah Fish Market to Seeb Souk, with a stop at Seeb International Airport. The bus leaves Mutrah every hour from 06:00 to 09:00, at 14:00 and then again hourly from 16:00 to 21:00 and takes less than an hour to reach the airport. The return route departs from Seeb Souk every hour from 06:30 to 10:30, at 15:30, and then again from 17:30 to 19:30, and takes about 15 minutes to get to the airport. For more information, see the ONTC website (www.ontcoman.com).