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| Oman: The Bradt Travel Guide | 
 enlarge | Authors: Diana Darke, Sandra Shields
Publisher: Bradt Travel Guides
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $6.62
You Save: $17.33 (72%)
Buy New/Used from $6.35
Avg. Customer Rating:  (2 reviews)
Sales Rank: 242723
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 296
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 1841621684
Dewey Decimal Number: 915.35304
EAN: 9781841621685
ASIN: 1841621684
Publication Date: February 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Focusing on the needs of both the traveler and the expatriate worker, this new guide is the definitive book on travel to and within Oman, providing the most in-depth and up-to-date information possible. The modern coastal city of Muscat provides a gateway to scuba diving, dhow cruising, and turtle watching among other vacation pursuits, while the ancient inner regions provide ideal terrain to take a 4WD through wadis or desert to explore this home of frankincense. Some of the most luxurious hotels in the Middle East are in Oman, so this guide is suitable for wealthy travelers and backpackers alike. Features include: *Oman's history, region by region *Local culture and traditions *Accommodations and restaurants to suit all budgets, including resorts and spas *Exploration of the whole country, including areas with only limited coverage in other guidebooks
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| Customer Reviews:
 Extensive Local Travel Information August 18, 2008
I'm a former Peace Corps volunteer in Oman, 1974-1976 (before they got wealthy). I'm planning a return visit there and found the the Bradt Guide quite useful. I worked in the interior: Ibra, Buraimi, Sohar, Nizwa, Bahla. The book refreshed and supplemented details about the interior. I checked out the Lonely Planet Oman guide from my local library and will supplement that budget travel information with the greater local depth here.
 Useless - Unless You Are Another Wealthy Expat! January 3, 2007
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
Despite claiming to be written for expats and backpackers alike, this book is one of those poorer quality Bradt guides that were written only with wealthy expats and maybe package tourists in mind.
There is extensive info on sights and endless lists of very expensive, upmarket accomodation options and tour-operators - even those hotels put into the "budget" category often costing over 100 USD/night!
There is almost NO information whatsoever on public transport in the country. The author listed some companies running buses to the UAE and to a grand total of four (4!) Omani cities in the introduction chapter, and then gives no information at all about how to get to to destinations she describes without your own car (which she obviously has and can't imagine living without) throughout the rest of the book. Such is her ignorance of public transport that the locations of bus stations and shared taxi stands are not even marked on the town maps! As for the shared taxis, the true workhorses of Omani transport serving most towns throughout the country at fixed, low fares, she won't even tell you of their existance - never noticed them herself, maybe???
About crossing the country's border with Yemen, she claims it is impossible as the border is closed. In reality it has been open for many years, with regular buses connecting the two countries - but you wouldn't know from this book.
Activities? Oman has an excellent system of marked trekking trails in various parts of the country, one of its main highlights actually, but this book won't tell you a thing about any of them.
So if you are an expat living in Oman and looking for info on where to drive your car for the weekend, this book may be OK for you.
Anyone planning to explore this fascintaing country on their own should look elsewhere - I found the 66 pages on Oman in Lonely Planet's Arabian Peninsula guide contained far more useful, practical info than this entire 280 pages long book. That book gives fares and details of buses and shared taxis, and hints on camping and other important tips for budget travellers, too.
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