Jeep Grand Cherokee · 2025
fromOMR 57/per day≈ $148
Winter rate
Eid al-Adha in Salalah: book the car before the flights fill
Eid al-Adha 2027 falls around 15–18 May. Salalah Airport is our busiest week of spring: 7-seaters and 4x4s go first, so request early. No card needed.
Eid al-Adha dates and school breaks
Eid al-Adha moves about eleven days earlier each year. The dates below follow the expected sighting of the moon and are confirmed by each government only a few days before.
| Year | Expected first day of Eid | Oman public holiday | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 27 May | around 26 to 29 May | timeanddate.com |
| 2027 | 16 May | around 15 to 18 May | timeanddate.com |
| 2028 | 5 May | around 4 to 7 May | timeanddate.com |
In 2027 the Omani school break runs from about 7 to 22 May and Saudi schools break from 7 May. The UAE gives Arafat Day plus three days.
Weather in May and what to do
May is the last month before the monsoon. The coast is about 32°C by day with rising humidity, the sea is warm at about 29°C and the sky is still mostly clear. The first cloud settles on the mountains in the final days of the month in some years.
- Mughsail beach and Marneef Cave in the morning, before the heat.
- Wadi Darbat: the lake is low but there is water, and the drive through Taqah is on tarmac.
- Ayn Razat and Ayn Athum springs, shaded and cool.
- Al Baleed park and the Museum of the Frankincense Land in the late afternoon, then the Haffa souq after sunset.
- Boat trips from Mirbat for dolphins.
Cars families book first
Seven-seaters first, then anything with a Toyota badge. A Prado or Fortuner carries two adults, three children and the cool box; a Land Cruiser does the same with more room. Families who want the Samhan tracks or the beach descents take a 4x4 with low range and Adventurer cover at OMR 15 per day for a zero excess.
Our rates follow the two-season calendar, khareef from 15 June to 15 September and winter the rest of the year, so an Eid al-Adha rental in May is priced at the winter rate; there is no separate Eid rate. Four days is the minimum rental. What changes at Eid is availability, not price.
Airport capacity: meet and greet with flight number
The three days before Eid are the airport's busiest of the spring, with extra flights from Muscat and the Gulf. Our cars are at the Salalah office, about ten minutes from the terminal, and a free shuttle collects you at arrivals when you have given us your flight number. Normal handover hours are 08:00 to 18:00; an out-of-hours fee of OMR 50 per vehicle applies outside them and is shown on the quote. Bring your licence (with an International Driving Permit if you are not an Oman resident), your passport or ID, and a card in the driver's name for the OMR 100 deposit. Hotel delivery is available for quoted on request.
Driving down from Muscat or the UAE for Eid
From Muscat, collect at Al Azaiba or Shatti Al Qurum and drive the 1,000 km of Route 31; leave the car at our Salalah office at the end and there is no relocation fee. From Dubai or Abu Dhabi, we bring the car to you for OMR 90 plus one day's rate, with the OMR 30 cross-border pack covering the paperwork and cross-border insurance; we need 72 hours' notice. Border posts are slow on the first and last days of the holiday, and your own entry permission for Oman is your responsibility.
Request now, pay nothing until we confirm
Send the request with your dates, car and flight number. We check the car is free and reply on WhatsApp or e-mail within a few hours. Only then do we ask for a card to place a hold. If your first choice is gone, we propose the closest alternative in the same class before you lose the dates.
Rent a car
All cars
Jeep Wrangler JL 4-Door · 2024
fromOMR 57/per day≈ $148
Winter rate
Toyota Land Cruiser 300 GXR Twin-Turbo · 2023
fromOMR 67/per day≈ $174
Winter rate
FAQ
Eid al-Adha 2027 is expected to begin on 16 May 2027, with the Omani public holiday running from about 15 to 18 May. The exact dates are confirmed by moon sighting a few days before. Omani schools are expected to break from about 7 to 22 May and Saudi schools from 7 May, so the busy period in Salalah is longer than the holiday itself.
Our daily rates follow two seasons: khareef from 15 June to 15 September, and winter for the rest of the year. Eid al-Adha in May falls in the winter-rate period and there is no separate Eid surcharge. What does change is availability: 7-seaters and 4x4s are requested weeks in advance. The 4-day minimum, OMR 100 deposit and 5% VAT are the same as any other week.
No. In May the mountains are still brown and the heat and humidity are building ahead of the monsoon. The khareef cloud arrives in late June and the hills turn green from late July. May is a beach, spring and heritage month: Mughsail, Ayn Razat, Al Baleed and the souq after dark, with the sea at about 29°C.
As soon as the expected dates are known, which is usually months ahead; the Islamic calendar is predictable to within a day. Our 7-seaters are the first cars to be requested for every Eid. Requesting costs nothing and needs no card, so there is no reason to wait. If you leave it to the week before, expect to be offered a 5-seat 4x4 or a Muscat pickup with the drive down.
Yes. We work through the holiday. Give us your flight number and the shuttle meets you at arrivals and brings you to our office about ten minutes away. Handovers between 08:00 and 18:00 are at the normal rate; outside those hours an out-of-hours fee of OMR 50 per vehicle applies and is shown before you confirm. Bring your licence, ID and the deposit card.