Oman Travel Forum

Hi there,

my partner and I have a 10 day stopover in Dubai, and I would like to spend most of that time travelling in Oman as I have heard wonderful things about the country.

I have been unable to ascertain whether it is appropriate for an unmarried couple to be travelling together in Oman?

If so, would being engaged or staying in separate rooms solve any problems?

It has been surprisingly difficult to get information about this, so any advice would be really appreciated!

Cheers,
Lara

I think no one will bother unless you will specifically declare "unmarried". I have no experience staying overnight with "someone", however I can relate a friends experience here. My Greek friend visisted Pakistan, where unmarried couples staying or travelling together is a taboo, and he was travelling with his girlfriend. Women especially foreign women are given a lot of respect as long as they are dressed "well". When ever my friend checked in a hotel declaring "girlfriend" on the reservation form, he can "only" feel a bit of discomfort on their faces and nothing else. So my friend started writing "wife" and both were getting a lot of respect and care.

hi there,

I have visited Oman with someone for a long weekend and had NO problems. I wouldn't be too openly romantic in front of locals, but people within the UAE and oman are trained very well to accomodate tourists.

It is not crucial that you cover, but I would advice not wearing any skirts too short, etc just out of respect. Muscat has some great little galleries and historical spots- enjoy yourselves!

Bobbie rightly said, don't be overly romantic and be appropriately dressed

HI
I have been there last year,
and as far i can see, it is a very ''liberal'' country...
GO
It is a fantastic country
Pierre

You can stay in 1 room, nothing wrong with that, they will ask for your passports for security and safety, but i know this may sound a bit rude but no sex on the beach sorta stuff that happened in dubai! Dress and act in modesty and there will be no problem! however people of Oman are very nice to foreigners apart from when they try to rip you off with higher prices in the shops so a little bit of bargaining. However the answer to your question is stay in 1 room and save yourself the hassle and money!

Dear Lara,
I hope this answer will not reach you too late.

Two years ago, I experienced the nightmare of my life, when I was naïve enough to believe that I could spend a romantic weekend with my boyfriend in Dubai.
We stayed at the Hilton Dubai Creek, when suddenly about 10 guys stormed our hotel room in the afternoon and arrested us. I do not even want to describe to you what happened in those over 8 hours of interrogation (simply to pathetic) and how they tortured my boyfriend. The totally dysfunctional trial went on for 1.5 years and we both got sentenced to three month prison for "unmarried sex" without any evidence whatsoever – being in one hotel room was enough for them.
Thank God we were both able to leave the country in time, but several other German citizens and many other Europeans were not that lucky. Please, please be careful and I just hope that you managed to not become one of those cases in the UAE.

As far as Oman is concerned – this is a totally different political set-up. I agree with previous comments that you should be reasonably safe there, even if your actions will be officially against the law.

I hope that my story will help to warn others about having a vacation in Dubai – please read all those warnings on the Internet, presented by respectable sources. The country pretends to be safe, but it is not! Unfortunately there is still not enough information for tourists and a reasonable amount of safety warnings. Moreover, in case somebody will jump to conclusions – I am over 40, am fairly educated (with a Ph.D.), absolutely respect the culture to the extend that I would never drink alcohol or wear a T-Shirt in an Arab country (this alone will be an insult to their culture!) and my only mistake was that I was naïve enough to believe that what I do in the privacy of my hotel room should be respected as a basic human right! Wrong – not in the UAE