Muscat

Is Muscat safe to visit?

Yes, and on crime alone it is among the safest capitals we cover. Oman recorded 0.14 homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people in 2023, a rate in the same range as Doha. In Gallup's 2025 survey, 94% of people in Oman said they feel safe walking alone at night, one of the highest shares in the world.

The risks sit outside the crime figures. The 2026 Iran war keeps a US Level 3 advisory on the whole country, and the capital itself saw a deadly shooting near a mosque in 2024. On the ground, the bigger everyday dangers are fast driving on the expressways, summer heat and floods after heavy rain. We score Muscat 80, just below Doha (81) and Abu Dhabi (82).

The regional war and terrorism

Oman has stayed out of the fighting, but not out of its reach. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says Iran and others have carried out strikes across the region since early 2026 against civilian and US military infrastructure, and warns that airspace can close at short notice. Our Oman page covers the drone strikes on Omani ports and the attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.

The US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary, reissued on 23 October 2026 at Level 3, cites armed conflict and terrorism. It tells Americans not to travel to the Yemen border area, Duqm city or Musandam province; none of these is near Muscat. It also warns that attacks can come with little warning, especially around holidays, at tourist sites, markets, malls and transport hubs.

That warning has a local example. In July 2024, six people were killed and others injured in a shooting near a mosque in the Wadi Kabir area of Muscat, which the FCDO lists among significant terrorist incidents. It was an unusual event for Oman, but it is why we take a few points off violent crime.

If the authorities tell you to shelter, the FCDO's advice is to go to an interior room or stairwell with few windows and wait. Falling debris from interceptions is the main danger, so do not go out to film and never touch fragments.

Crime, laws and the real traps

Theft from visitors is rare, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists no tourist scams for Oman. The trouble foreigners get into in Muscat is usually legal rather than criminal:

• Alcohol is served only in licensed hotels, restaurants and clubs, from age 21. Being drunk in public is an offence, and so is drink-driving with any alcohol in your blood.
• Swearing and rude gestures are illegal, including at other drivers.
• Unmarried couples sharing a hotel room is illegal under Omani law, and so is same-sex sexual activity.
• E-cigarettes and vapes are banned.
• Unpaid traffic fines, hotel bills or car-hire charges can stop you from leaving the country.

Dress modestly in souqs, malls and mosques, with shoulders and knees covered. Beachwear is fine at hotel pools and tourist beaches.

Is Muscat safe at night?

Yes. Oman's 94% in Gallup's survey is above the UAE (90%) and Saudi Arabia (93%). The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's caution is the standard one for the Gulf: sexual assault on foreigners is relatively rare but happens, so take care walking or travelling alone at night and keep the same awareness you would at home.

Roads are the main everyday risk

Traffic is where Muscat's numbers turn worse. The National Centre for Statistics and Information counted 89 road deaths in Muscat governorate in 2025. With about 1.53 million residents at the end of 2025, that is about 5.8 per 100,000, higher than Dubai and about double Abu Dhabi. Nationally, accidents fell 17% in 2025 but deaths did not, and 107 of the 595 people killed were pedestrians.

Practical points:

• On foot, cross big roads only at bridges or signalled crossings.
• If you hire a car, keep to the limits, wear seatbelts in every seat and never touch your phone; penalties include fines of up to 3,000 rials or prison.
• After a serious crash, stay with the car and call 9999.
• Drive the mountain and desert roads by day, in a four-wheel drive, and carry water.

Heat, air and storms

From June to September the heat is extreme, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says it has killed people in Oman through dehydration and heat exhaustion. Plan walks for the early morning or evening, and do not hike in summer.

Muscat publishes no annual average for fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary (PM2.5), and IQAir names Oman among the countries missing from its 2024 report. Satellite-based estimates, which include desert dust, put Oman's exposure at 47 µg/m³ in 2023, well above the WHO guideline but lower than the UAE (57) and Qatar (108) on the same model. Healthcare is similar to the UK's, the FCDO says, but visitors must use private hospitals and pay, so carry insurance.

Storms are the hazard people forget. Cyclone Shaheen made landfall north of the capital in October 2021, flooding streets in Muscat and killing 11 people in Oman, most in the Batinah region. The FCDO says cyclones sometimes reach Oman in July and August, and wadis flood suddenly after heavy rain from October to March. Skip wadi trips on rain days and for at least a day afterwards.

How we scored it

Walking at night (91) and theft and scams (90) are Muscat's strongest factors. Natural hazards (62) is the weakest, for cyclones, flash floods and heat, followed by health and environment (64), which we scored with medium confidence because Muscat has no published PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary average. Violent crime (87) includes a deduction for the 2024 shooting and the regional war; without them it would be in the mid-90s.