Skip to main content
TheSkylane
Post a role →
Layover guideMuscat · MCT

Eating near the crew hotels in Muscat

Alcohol only where it is licensed, and VAT of 5% on top of the menu price.

Sakibnb / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
All of Muscat

VAT is charged at a standard rate of 5% on most goods and services.

Restaurants, hotels and tourism establishments pay a 4% tourism tax to the Ministry of Heritage and Tourism under the Tourism Law, on a quarterly basis.

Alcohol is available to visitors only in licensed venues such as hotels, restaurants and clubs, and only from age 21. Being drunk in public is an offence in itself.

During the daylight hours of Ramadan, eating, drinking and smoking in public are forbidden for Muslims and non-Muslims. Meals move indoors or after sunset for the month.

  1. Oman Tax Authority: VAT FAQs · checked 2026-09-03
  2. Government of Oman: Pay the 4% tourism tax for restaurants and hotel establishments · checked 2026-09-03
  3. Oman Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Travel advice for visitors · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Muscat

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportTaxis and the Mwasalat bus stand are both on Level 0 now; nothing walks from this airport.Ride-hailingStreet taxis and apps are now the same system: five licensed platforms, fares set by ministerial decision.Local laws that catch crew outDrink, dress and public conduct are all governed by law here, and vapes are illegal to import or use at all.Staying connectedA local SIM is registered against your passport at the counter; an eSIM skips the counter.WeatherJune normals put the daily maximum at 40C with a mean nightly low above 30C, so summer layovers are an indoor proposition.What to buy5% VAT on what you buy here; on the way into Oman, an RO 300 exemption and a cigarette allowance cut in August 2026.