Musandam, Oman.

[John-Dory]

Hi
Anyone been to the Golden Tulip Hotel in Khasab and dived with Extra Divers.
The most recent report I can find is over a year old, a group of us were hoping to go there next January. Any feedback or info very welcome.
Cheers

[NeilB]

Ah ha! Forget equipment or deco questions....here is a subject I am an expert on!

I live in Oman and have been to the Musandam 4 times for diving. I have also been to Khasab twice....it is a two horse town and one of those horses is dead.
The Golden Tulip however, is a nice htoel. Sits on a hill top over looking the gulf. On a good day you can see Iran.....it's only 23 miles away. Extra Divers are a professional bunch run by an International company. You shouldn't have problems with them.

However, there ain't a lot to do in Khasab when you are not diving.....nice fort, nice mountain, nice mountains, nice mountains.....bloody mountains!

I would reccomend, as you are coming this far, go to Dibba on the East coast of the Musandam and hop on board a boat from al Marsa charters (AL MARSA Dhow Charters-Diving-Liveaboard-Cruising Musandam, Emirates-Oman Musandam, Oman). They have three boats all of which look like traditional dhows but are in fact fibreglass. The advantage is they have 6 or 7 double cabins with AC, a crew of six to look after you and plenty of relaxing space. The scenery is moved each day and all you have to do is step off the back of the boat.
The cost is about £75 per day fully inclusive of diving and meals.....can't beat that.....and a 7 day trip will take you to the Straights of Hormuz and back. Throw in a days rest (or shopping and partying) in a hotel in Dubai and you have an unforgetable holiday.

More info.....pm me.

ps...I have no connection with Al Marsa other than a regular, happy customer....using them again this November (still have a space or two left if you fancy an advanced fact finding trip).

[SoggyFox]

Have fun there its stunning scenary, divings is pretty good too. Can't help too much on the place as we traveled over from Dubai.

If you hire a 4x4 theres a track up through the mountains thats great fun to drive, as long as your not of a too nervous disposition. (neilb, can't remember the name of it, any ideas)

[NeilB]

You can drive from Khasab to Dibba over the mountains...takes about 3 hours and you cross a UAE checkpoint in the middle of nowhere. If you take the left turn there you end up in Ras al Khaima...just where you didn't want to be (yes, I did it!). Turning right takes you up and over to Dibba. The coast road south from Dibba takes you through Fujairah and Kor Fakkan....another couple of good diving places.

I reccomended Dibba because you can get there in a couple of hours easily from Dubai and al Marsa will collect you from the airport. Once you are in Khasab you are stuck and the one tarmaced road out takes a long time to get anywhere nice - 2 hours gets you to the cement works at Ras al Khaima and then it is industrial estate and lorries for half an hour! An hour later you should have made it to Dubai via Sharjah or Ajman.

If you are in Dibba a 4 hour drive down the coast finds you diving with me and Muscat Divers!

[SoggyFox]

I remember going somewhere called 'Snoopy rock', cos it looks like snoopy lying down, and that was good as a shore dive and had a hotel thing around it. Cant' remember exactly where it was but somewhere on that side.

[John-Dory]

Thanks for the info NeilB and SoggyFox.
Is the diving in Dibba any better or worse in january than the rest of the year, what I mean, is january a good time to go?

[NeilB]

January is cold....well 21 dgeC - for me that's cold these days! The cold water does improve the viz....no plankton blooms.

In the Musandam you take your chance on the weather. We went in November once and the sea was flat calm for the whole 3 days. The week before the TV in the saloon had been thrown onto the floor because of the 2 meter high waves they were going through. When we went in Feb it rained two days out of the 4 (friend had left his Jeep with no roof on parked at the shop - another story altogther) and we had half meter waves. Whatever the weather there is always a sheltered bay to dive in.

Weather is usually much the same on the East or West coast - they are only 10 miles or so apart after all!

Neil

ps. Ramadam Kareem.