General Information » Money » Local Currency

The monetary unit is the Oman rial (RO or OR). It is divided into 1,000 baisas (also spelt ‘baiza’). Notes come in denominations of rials 50, 20, 10, 5, 1, 1/2 (500 baisas), 1/4 (250 baisas), 200 baisas and 100 baisas. Coin denominations are 50, 25, 10 and 5 baisas. Denominations are written in Arabic and English. It is best to take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the currency, although shopkeepers are generally honest when giving you your change.

The way prices are written can lead to some confusion. An item may be marked ‘RO/OR.1,500’ – the price could be one thousand five hundred rials or one rial and five hundred baisas The value of the item will usually be obvious.

For clarity in this book, prices are shown in a standard way: one rial and 500 hundred baisas will be shown as RO 1.500 and one thousand five hundred rials as RO 1500, while 15 rials will be RO 15.

The rial is tied to the US dollar at a mid-rate of approximately US$1 ~ RO 0.385, which has basically remained unchanged for a number of years. To get an idea of exchange rates with other currencies, see the table on p.XXX.

For up to date information on foreign exchange, call 1106 (English) or 1107 (Arabic) 24 hours.





Tipping practices are similar at all hotels, bars and restaurants around Muscat. The tips are probably shared among all the staff working, although it is unclear if whether this ever sees the inside of your waiter’s pockets! The usual amount to tip is 10%, despite the fact that most places have already added 17% under the guise of service charge, tourism tax or other charges. It is however entirely up to the individual whether to tip and it is not a fixed expectation like in some countries. You will not be expected to tip your petrol attendants or bag packers, but hairdressers and taxi drivers will appreciate the gesture of a tip (usually around 10%).