Already getting excited for your trip to Oman? Vast landscapes, endless desert roads, beautiful Wadi’s, amazing hiking trails and a stunning coastline is waiting for you. Don’t ruin your trip to Oman by high roaming charges or slow overseas data roaming plans. Staying connected in Oman does not have to be expensive. This is a complete guide for buying a sim card at Muscat Airport on arrival. Find out where to buy a sim card, up to date prices as per August 2023, my recommendation, even a vlog about my experiences arriving at Muscat Airport, info about international sim cards and more.
For me Oman was listed as country no. 121 on my journey to visit every country in the world. Every country I visit I aim to record a vlog and write a detailed blog about the best sim cards for tourist to help other travelers safe money and make the most of their trip.
That is how on Traveltomtom you can already find more than 200 sim card guides from all over the world: Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Istanbul, Turkey, Italy, Milan, Spain, Madrid, USA, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Europe, Malaysia, Hong Kong and many more.
You can also find a guide for buying a prepaid sim card in Oman in 2023 in case you are not arriving on Muscat Airport.
So next time you are planning your adventure abroad come check out Traveltomtom for the best and latest prepaid and e-sim card advice for your holiday destination.
Why buying a sim card for Oman
First of all because it is the best way to save on high roaming costs. Overseas data plans are very expensive compared to local prepaid sim cards and e-sim cards. Also most overseas data plans limit your data speed, that is why Traveltomtom recommends buying a local prepaid sim card in Oman or ordering an Oman e-sim card on the internet.
Traveling with a working data connection on your phone is simply much more convenient. Think about ordering a taxi through an app (there is no Uber or Careem in Oman, but OTaxi works just fine), getting directions from Google Maps, emergencies, etc. Especially since Oman is so vast and road trips are a popular way to travel around the country it is very much recommend to not just rely on WiFi.
Also keep in mind that public WiFi is an unsecured connection, the use of a VPN in these cases is recommended.
The downside of a local prepaid sim card is that you will have to swap sim cards, which is not preferable for some people, but there are 2 solutions for this problem: get yourself an e-sim card for Oman or a portable WiFi device. Traveltomtom is not the biggest fan of pocket WiFi devices, read a complete review of a portable travel WiFi device in the link.
My recommendation
Traveltomtom recommends using an Omantel sim card for your trip to Oman. They have the most extensive 4G/5G network in Oman and one of the best prepaid sim card deals. For $13 you get 8 GB data for 1 week.
Another great alternative is a global sim card with data. Check out Traveltomtom's guide for buying an international sim cards for traveling to multiple countries. These global sim cards with worldwide coverage are slightly more expensive, but come with a lot of benefits.
However, the easiest way to stay connected when traveling to Oman in 2023 is an e-sim card.
Before buying a sim card at Muscat Airport, ordering an e-sim card or an international prepaid sim card for Oman make sure your phone is unlocked. A foreign (e)-sim card only works in an unlocked phone. If you are not sure about this ask your mobile internet provider in your home country.
Best e-sim cards for Oman
If your phone supports the use of an e-sim card then this an e-sim card is the easiest and fastest way to get connected when traveling to Oman in 2023. No more visiting a sim card shop and swapping a physical sim card. You arrange everything online. Order an e-sim on the internet, process the payment, get a QR code, scan it, follow the steps and you are online in no time.
Airalo
- 1 GB data for 7 days = $4.5 USD
- 2 GB data for 15 days = $8 USD
- 3 GB data for 30 days = $10.5 USD
- 5 GB data for 30 days = $15 USD
- 10 GB data for 30 days = $25 USD
- 20 GB data for 30 days = $40 USD
Click here to order an e-sim cards for Oman from Airalo.
The Omancom e-sim cards for Oman are data-only. Incoming and outgoing calls and sms are not supported. Data is only valid in Oman and Omancom operates on the Omantel 4G/LTE network.
SimOptions
There are also international e-sim cards. These e-sim cards are valid in up to 130 countries around the world, including Oman. Check out the following international data-only e-sim cards:
- 6 GB data for 8 days = $19.90 USD
- 6 GB data for 15 days = $39.90 USD
Click here to order an international e-sim card for traveling in Oman on SimOptions.
Sim card stores at Muscat Airport
It is a pretty small but modern international airport and very easy to navigate. There is only one terminal and arrival hall where international visitors arrive. There are 3 mobile phone stores in the arrival hall that are impossible to miss: Ooredoo, Renna Mobile and Omantel.
All these stores sell prepaid sim cards for Oman for visitors. There is now also Vodafone in Oman. However, they are completely new and operate on their own Vodafone Oman network. Therefore Traveltomtom would NOT recommend Vodafone yet as its mobile network is just launched and very limited.
All the sim card stores at the airport are open 24 hours and you can pay with international credit cards so there is no need to get Oman Rials before buying a sim card. A copy of your passport is mandatory for registering a new Oman prepaid sim card.
Prices Oman sim cards Muscat Airport
All the info and prices below are updated in August 2023. Prices are in Omani Rial and $1 USD = 0.39 OMR and 1 OMR = $2.6 USD. Yes, that is correct the Omani Rial is much stronger than the USD.
Renna Mobile
This is a so called MVNO, which means that Renna Mobile operates on the network of Omantel. I asked the friendly guy why he would recommend Renna Mobile over Omantel and he mentioned that the Oman sim card deals for smaller packages are cheaper. All packages are valid for 30 days, see the photo above.
- 2 OMR = 1 GB data + 25 minutes - $5.2 USD
- 3 OMR = 3 GB data - $7.8 USD
- 9 OMR = 8 GB data + 25 minutes - $23.4 USD
- 16 OMR = 22 GB data + 350 minutes - $41.6 USD
Renna Mobile does NOT offer an Oman e-sim card, only physical sim cards.
Ooredoo Oman
Originally a Qatar company but the second biggest mobile internet operator in Oman. They offer a wide range of prepaid sim card deals at Muscat Airport:
- 2.00 OMR = 1 GB data + 500 MB social media + 50 minutes valid for 1 week - $5.2 USD
- 5.25 OMR = 4 GB data + 50 minutes + 50 sms valid for 10 days - $13.7 USD
- 10.5 OMR = 10 GB data + 50 minutes + 50 sms valid for 15 days - $27.3 USD
- 5.00 OMR = 7 GB data + 1 GB social media + 50 minutes valid for 1 week - $13 USD
- 9.00 OMR = 8 GB data + 2 GB social media + 250 minutes valid for 4 weeks - $23.4 USD
- 18.0 OMR = 30 GB data + 600 local minutes valid for 4 weeks - $46.8 USD
In some of the above prepaid packages from Ooredoo there are international minutes included however, these are only to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Ooredoo offers e-sim cards for its prepaid costumers for an extra fee of 1 OMR ($2.6).
Omantel
At Omantel Muscat Airport they offer all the prepaid sim card deals as offered on their website plus one tourist package for 1 week:
- 5.00 OMR = 7 GB data + 1 GB social media + 50 minutes valid for 1 week - $13 USD
The exact same package as Ooredoo, also with flex minutes to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. they also offer the following prepaid sim card deals for tourists:
- 4 OMR = 2 GB data + 500 MB social media + 50 flex minutes - $10.4 USD
- 6 OMR = 3 GB data + 1.5 GB social media + 100 flex minutes - $15.6 USD
- 8 OMR = 8 GB data + 2 GB social media + 250 flex minutes - $20.8 USD
- 12 OMR = 15 GB data + 300 flex minutes - $31.2 USD
- 18 OMR = 30 GB data + 600 flex minutes - $46.8 USD
If you want an e-sim card for Oman instead of a physical Omantel sim card then they charge 2.1 OMR ($5.5 USD) extra.
Best Oman sim card at Muscat Airport
When looking for the cheapest prepaid sim card for Oman then the Ooredoo package for 2 OMR ($5.2) with 1 GB data + 500 MB social media is the best deal you can find at Muscat Airport.
This is the bare minimum and 1 GB of data runs out pretty fast if you use a lot of social media apps. Since most people travel to Oman for about 1 week there is a great deal available. Both, Ooredoo and Omantel offer the exact same package for 5 OMR ($13 USD) with 7 GB data + 1 GB social media.
However, talking about the cheapest sim card for traveling to Oman... there is an Oman e-sim card from Airalo with 1 GB data that only costs $4.5 USD.
Renna Mobile only offers packages for 1 month and they are more expensive than Ooredoo and Omantel. If you want a lot of Gigabytes then buy an Omantel sim card as they are the cheapest for the biggest data packages.
Since prices are more or less the same for Ooredoo and Omantel it comes down to who has the best 4G/5G network in Oman and that is Omantel. Therefore Traveltomtom regards Omantel as the best prepaid Oman sim card at Muscat Airport.
For more info about the best 4G/5G mobile network in Oman I recommend you to take a look at my extensive article for buying a sim card in Oman in 2023.
Interested where to go exactly at Muscat Airport and see my experiences buying a sim card then check out the video below.
Order a sim card for Oman online
If you want to arrange a sim card for Oman before your trip then check out the following. These international sim cards work in Oman and are automatically activated from its first use and will be send to your home address. You just put them in your phone and it works instantly.
- 5 GB for 14 days = $49.90 USD
Click here to directly order one of the above Oman sim card deals online. Also another last reminder that you can arrange everything online with an e-sim card. Within a couple minutes you are all set and you keep your own phone number from home. Click here to order an Oman e-sim card directly online.
My experiences buying a sim card at Muscat Airport
Doing my researching for this article I went to check the prices at all the stores and asked the guys why they would recommend their sim cards. At Renna Mobile and especially at Omantel they were very nice and patiently answering my questions.
This in huge contrast to the arrogant guys at Ooredoo, who clearly had no interest in helping me whatsoever. Therefore alone I would already not recommend Ooredoo, but that is a personal experience/opinion.
At Omantel, the guy was super friendly and set it all up for me within a couple minutes, even offered me water and explained me how to take a bus instead of an expensive taxi. When I put the Omantel sim card in my phone it instantly worked and I enjoyed a data connection straight away.
I hope all the above tips for buying a sim card for Oman at Muscat Airport were helpful. Please leave me a comment if you have any more questions or check out my Youtube Channel or Instagram Account.
Curious what it looks like trying to visit every country in the world? Go check out my Instagram account @traveltomtom and follow along. As of August 2023 I have visited more than 155 countries, so still a long way to go.
Enjoy your trip to Oman!