Diving in Oman: Ultimate List of the best Diving Sites

You are travelling to Oman and you’re keen to go diving? Go for it! Oman is still relatively undiscovered for diving – but offers healthy marine life, warm waters and amazing dive sites. Keep on reading to discover the best places to dive and the best dive sites!

Go for Daymaniyat Island

There is no better place to dive around Muscat than Daymaniyat Island. The nature Reserve protected by the Omani government offers everything you are looking for:

Whalesharks during the summer months, lots of turtles, rays and Zebra sharks all year around. Colorful hard and soft corals, lots of Lion- and pufferfishes and huge moray eels. The islands are about 40 to 50 minutes away by boat from Al Mouj Marina, where MolaMola Diving Center is located and the ride to the island is a joy for itself. Surrounded by the blue ocean, getting a little ocean breeze before arriving at the place who is also called “the Maledives of the Middle east”.

We have more than 20 dives sites at Daymaniyat island, but here are some of our favorite ones:

Aquarium: One of our favorite dive sites is located 15 minutes before Daymaniyat Islands. This is an underwater rock and you start your dive at about 7m down and then either swim south or north along the wall, depending on the current. To the north your dive brings you over a sand chute and then along the wall to a small plateau down about 22-24 meters. Turning south you swim along a wall and then over an area of sand and coral blocks. All the walls as well as the whole plateau is loosely covered with blue coral bushes, some soft corals and small sponges. Look down to the sand, sometimes there are leopard sharks, lemon sharks or rays.
Blacktip reef: This dive site impresses with the huge coral blocks at the very beginning. You continue the dive to a wall with a large plateau on about 18 meters covered with coral bushes at the end. Keep an eye out as you might always see Rays, Black Tip Sharks and also Moray Eels hidden in the caves below the rocks.
Three sisters: This dive site lies on the eastern side of the bay. You dive along a wall with lots of large rocks nicely covered with hard and soft corals. On the flatter parts you will find coral gardens with table corals and lots of small reef fish. Don’t miss the large cave which reveals itself about 10m down with lots of Sweepers in it.

Fahal Island is good for diving as well

Next to Daymaniyat Island we do visit Fahal Island as well from time to time. We do prefer to dive at Daymaniyat Islands – but Fahal offers healthy corals and lots of huge Honeycomb moray eels that are worth a visit. We did spot a Zebra shark at Fahal as well, and lots of big Cowtail stingrays.

Next to Fahal you can also dive in Bander Khairan – but to be honest with you: if you have the choice between Bander Khairan, Fahal or Daymaniyat Islands: go for Daymaniyat. You won’t regret it.