Jeep Grand Cherokee · 2025
fromOMR 57/per day≈ $148
Winter rate
Salalah in winter: sun, empty beaches and the desert
Salalah from October to April: 25–30°C, calm beaches, Empty Quarter and Wadi Darbat without crowds. What to do, flights, and a car from OMR 15/day.
Why winter
Khareef brings the crowds. Winter brings the beaches. From October the cloud lifts, the sea calms, the roads dry out and the temperature settles in the high twenties by day. The hills are still green into October and brown slowly through November. This is the season for Mughsail and Fazayah, for the Empty Quarter and for the frankincense country around Wadi Dawkah, with a fraction of the August traffic.
Winter rates apply from 16 September to 14 June. Minimum rental is 4 days.
Weather by month
Typical values; check a forecast before you travel.
| Month | Daytime high | Sea | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | ~31°C | Calming, swimming returns | Hills still green early in the month; charter season opens |
| November | ~30°C | Calm | Oman National Day holidays; the Empty Quarter opens up |
| December | ~28°C | Calm, clear | Peak European and UAE winter-break arrivals |
| January | ~27°C | Calm | Coolest month; best desert camping |
| February | ~28°C | Calm | Empty Quarter and Mughsail at their best |
| March | ~30°C | Calm | Last strong charter month; Eid al-Fitr falls here in some years |
| April | ~32°C | Warming | Heat building inland; coast still pleasant |
Rain is rare in these months. Nights in the desert can drop below 10°C in January; bring a layer.
The beaches
- Mughsail: 50 km west on the coast road, tarmac all the way. Long sand, the blowholes, and the road up to the Fazayah turn-off.
- Fazayah: the coves below the cliffs west of Mughsail. The descent is a steep track; take a 4x4 or walk down.
- Al Haffa and Dahariz: the town beaches, minutes from the hotels.
- Mirbat and Sadah: east along the coast, quieter, with the old port at Mirbat.
The Empty Quarter
From Thumrait the road runs north to Shisr, the site often linked to the lost city of Ubar, and on to the edge of the Rub al Khali. December to February is the season: cool days, cold nights, firm sand in the mornings. Take a 4x4 with low range, Premium cover, a full tank from Thumrait, extra water and a plan you have shared with us. We recommend a guide for your first time on dunes. Wadi Dawkah, the UNESCO frankincense grove, is on the way and open to any car.
Flying in on a charter
Between October and May, direct flights bring winter visitors to Salalah from Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Belarus and, from late December, Moscow. If you arrive this way, give us your flight number and we meet you with the free shuttle to our office ten minutes from the terminal. If you prefer, we deliver to your hotel in Salalah for quoted on request. Most charter guests take a car for three or four days in the middle of a longer hotel stay; the minimum rental is 4 days.
Combining Muscat and Salalah
Winter is the season for the Oman round trip. Fly into Muscat, see the north, then drive Route 31 south and leave the car at our Salalah office with no relocation fee. Fly home from Salalah. The reverse direction, Salalah to Muscat, carries a one-way fee of OMR 125.
Cars and lead time
In winter some of our cars are based in Salalah and others in Muscat. If your car has to be brought down for you, a positioning fee of OMR 50 per leg plus two days of that car's daily rate applies and is shown before you confirm; a car already in Salalah costs nothing extra. Outside khareef we need 72 hours' notice for a Salalah pickup.
For the beaches and the coast road, any car. For Fazayah, the Empty Quarter or Jebel Samhan's tracks, a 4x4 with low range.
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
Yes, for different reasons than khareef. Calm sea, dry roads, empty beaches and the desert season. The hills are not green after November.
No. The green fades through October and November. December is dry, clear and warm, with the mountains brown and the sea at its best.
Daytime highs around 27°C, cool nights, almost no rain. The coolest and most comfortable month for the desert.
Only for the Empty Quarter, the Fazayah descent and the Jebel Samhan tracks. The beaches, Mughsail, Wadi Darbat and the frankincense sites are on tarmac.
Yes. Give us the flight number. An out-of-hours handover fee of OMR 50 per vehicle applies outside 08:00 to 18:00 and is shown before you confirm.
Yes, with no relocation fee when you drive it yourself. Return the car at our Salalah office and fly home from Salalah Airport.