Entry: 14 days without a visa, and the conditions
Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lists Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium in the first group of countries whose citizens are exempt from an entry visa for up to 14 days. Germany’s Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) adds that, according to the Royal Oman Police website, visitors should in principle apply for an e-visa before entry; for a free visa on arrival for tourist stays of up to 14 days it cites Oman’s embassy in Berlin and foreign ministry. So check the Royal Oman Police eVisa page before you fly, and if in doubt, apply there.
The 14 days cannot be extended or changed into another visa. The Auswärtiges Amt says overstaying costs OMR 10 a day and that entry can be refused at the border. Have these ready at the airport:
- A passport valid for at least six months. Governments count from different dates, so make it six months after the day you leave Oman.
- A return or onward ticket.
- A confirmed hotel reservation. Sleeping in the tent? Read the next section.
- Health insurance and enough money for your stay.
- A passport, not an ID card: for Germans, the Auswärtiges Amt accepts a passport or a Kinderreisepass, not the ID card. Belgium’s foreign ministry says a temporary passport is not accepted, and the Swiss TCS says the same of manually extended passports.
- Once in Oman, carry your passport or a copy with the entry stamp: the Swiss advice says you must be able to identify yourself at any time.
No hotel because you sleep in the tent? What to have on arrival
The visa-free conditions name a confirmed hotel reservation, and the German and Austrian foreign ministries and the Swiss TCS repeat it. We cannot tell you how often the airport checks it. Our booking confirmation is for a car, not a hotel, so do not rely on it for this.
The simple solution is to book at least your first night in a hotel in Muscat. You sleep off the flight, and we bring the car to the hotel the next morning, at no extra cost, between 08:00 and 20:00. The other way is to apply for a tourist visa before you travel on the Royal Oman Police eVisa portal; read its conditions there first.
From the second night you can camp. Read our wild camping rules first: Muscat Governorate has its own permit rules.
Staying longer than 14 days
For more than 14 days you need a visa. NederlandWereldwijd, the Belgian foreign ministry and the ANWB point to the Royal Oman Police eVisa portal (evisa.rop.gov.om): apply there before you travel, and only there, as the Auswärtiges Amt warns.
Our 20-day loop to Salalah and our month-long loop both take longer than 14 days, so sort out the visa before you book flights. Still deciding? Read how many days you need.
In August 2026 Oman also created a free 14-day tourist visa for nationals of countries the authorities designate. In October 2026 we found no list of the countries it covers, and it is not clear yet whether it changes the visa-free entry described above.
Your driving licence: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium
Royal Oman Police lets visitors drive on a valid home licence, or an international one, for tourism or transit, for up to three months from entry.
Our rules: every driver shows a national driving licence and a passport at pick-up, plus an International Driving Permit (IDP) where Oman requires one. Tell us the country of your licence, and we confirm before you book. This applies to every car, from the Jeep Wrangler with a rooftop tent to the Land Cruiser Prado. The minimum age is 21, with no young-driver fee, and up to 2 additional drivers are free, each with licence and passport. Without a licence valid in Oman, no damage package applies: you pay the full cost of any damage.
What each country’s government or automobile club says:
- Germany: the Auswärtiges Amt recommends an IDP as well as your German licence, to avoid problems when renting. The IDP is valid only together with the licence.
- Austria: the foreign ministry (BMEIA) and the ÖAMTC say you need an IDP with your Austrian licence, accepted for up to three months. The ÖAMTC issues it only in Austria, so get it before you fly.
- Switzerland: the TCS says the Swiss licence (Führerausweis) is recognised with a tourist visa and strongly recommends an IDP, from a TCS office or your cantonal road traffic office.
- Netherlands: NederlandWereldwijd says your Dutch licence is valid. The ANWB adds that it is valid for renting too and recommends an IDP (IRB); Dutch residents get one at an ANWB shop.
- Belgium: the Belgian foreign ministry says nothing about tourists driving on a Belgian licence. Bring your licence and passport, and ask us before you book.
Insurance and damage protection: what is covered
The Auswärtiges Amt warns that rental cars in Oman are not always adequately insured, especially for the people inside. Here is what ours include.
Every car has compulsory third-party insurance with Dhofar Insurance, valid in Oman only. It covers injury and damage you cause to others, personal accident cover for the driver and the passengers up to OMR 10,000, medical expenses and 24/7 roadside assistance.
It does not pay for damage to our car. For that, your damage package sets the most you pay per accident; the packages limit what you owe us, they are not insurance. The security deposit is a hold on your card at pick-up, or cash with a signed receipt:
- Basic, included: at most OMR 500 per accident; deposit OMR 500.
- Plus, OMR 5 a day more: at most OMR 250; deposit OMR 250.
- Full, OMR 12 a day more: at most OMR 100, also for a rollover, with up to 2 tyres, 1 windscreen and the underbody included; deposit OMR 150.
- With Basic and Plus, a rollover or an accident with no other vehicle involved costs up to OMR 1,500, and tyres, glass and underbody are paid at cost.
- You pay the full cost where our terms do not allow driving, on tracks, dunes or beaches after dark, in a wadi bed or on a wadi track, in water, with alcohol or drugs, without a valid licence, or outside Oman. The insurance section of our rental contract has the full rules.
- Bring travel health insurance too: it is an entry condition, and Belgium’s foreign ministry calls suitable travel insurance absolutely necessary.
Oman only: Dubai, Musandam and the borders
Our cars may not leave Oman, and the insurance is valid in Oman only, as our rental terms say. That rules out Dubai and the rest of the UAE.
It also rules out Musandam: the peninsula is cut off from the rest of Oman by the UAE and can be reached by road only through it. As of October 2026, the German, Austrian, Swiss, Dutch and Belgian governments all advise against tourist or non-essential travel there.
Flying via Dubai? Take the connecting flight to Muscat: we deliver the car at Muscat airport at no extra cost between 08:00 and 20:00. Leaving Oman mid-trip and coming back is a new entry; the Auswärtiges Amt notes that a single-entry visa does not cover a return from the UAE.
Road rules that catch visitors out
The main roads are mostly good, but the Auswärtiges Amt calls the accident rate relatively high, and NederlandWereldwijd warns that an offence can bring a high fine or prison.
- Speed and phones: Austria’s foreign ministry says speed limits are strictly checked. The Auswärtiges Amt names speeding, phone use at the wheel and driving in danger zones, such as dry riverbeds when floods threaten, as offences that can mean heavy penalties, even prison.
- Alcohol: drink nothing before you drive. The Swiss advice lists drink-driving among criminal offences, and with alcohol no damage package applies.
- Seat belts: everyone wears one, front and back, and children under 4 need a child seat. We rent child seats on request.
- Wadis: never drive into flowing water. Under Article 49 of the Traffic Law, deliberately crossing a wadi in a way that endangers lives can mean up to three months in prison and a fine of up to OMR 500. Leave wadis when a weather warning is issued.
- Night: avoid driving outside Muscat after dark. German and Swiss advice warn of camels and other livestock on the road, and Austria advises against night driving.
- Mountains: on the road up Jebel Akhdar, a police checkpoint lets only 4x4 vehicles continue. Our guide to the Jebel Akhdar checkpoint and the Jebel Shams road has the details.
- Accidents: call the Royal Oman Police on 9999, then us. The Swiss advice says to leave the cars where they are until the police arrive. After an accident with injuries, the Auswärtiges Amt says the driver is detained and the passport held until fault is settled.
- Where our cars may go: paved and mountain roads, and in daylight existing gravel, rocky and sand tracks, open dunes and beaches. Drive on a beach only where the law and local signs allow it: never in a turtle reserve, and never where a sign closes the beach to cars, as on some beaches in Muscat. Never drive in a wadi, in its bed or on a track through or along it; a paved road across or beside a wadi, or to a wadi’s car park, is fine.
Safety and travel advice in 2026
We make no security assessment of our own. What the five governments said on 26 October 2026:
- Germany (Auswärtiges Amt, 26 October 2026): advises against travel to Musandam and the immediate border region with Yemen; calls the regional situation extremely volatile, with a risk of severe air traffic restrictions at any time.
- Austria (BMEIA, 26 October 2026): level 3 of 4 for Musandam and the Yemen border area since 19 August 2026, level 2 of 4 elsewhere. It advises against night driving and urges desert trips only with experienced guides, never alone.
- Switzerland (EDA, valid 26 October 2026): advises against tourist and non-urgent travel to Musandam and urges caution near the Yemen border; expect short-notice airspace closures; desert trips off paved roads only in groups of several off-road vehicles.
- Netherlands (NederlandWereldwijd, last changed 8 September 2026): orange for Musandam and the Yemen border area, yellow for the rest of Oman; the airspace may close; go into the desert with a reliable guide.
- Belgium (foreign ministry, 12 August 2026): advises against all travel near the Yemen border and non-essential travel to Musandam and near military, energy and large port or industrial sites, notably in Duqm, Sohar and Salalah.
- With our cars: in daylight, our rules allow the marked sand tracks to the Wahiba Sands camps and the open dunes, but never wadis. The governments’ desert advice makes no exception for them, so decide for yourself whether to drive in with a second off-road vehicle or with a guide. If you have never driven on sand, start with small dunes or book a trip with a local driver.
- Before you fly: register your trip (ELEFAND in Germany, Reiseregistrierung in Austria, the Travel Admin app in Switzerland, the Informatieservice in the Netherlands, Travellers Online in Belgium) and check the advice again.