Oman at Christmas and New Year: winter sun in December and January
By Lars Janssen · Co-Founder & CEO ·
Looking for winter sun over the Christmas holidays? Oman in December and January means 25 to 27 °C by day in Muscat, a sea warm enough to swim in and hardly any rain, while the desert and the mountains are at their most comfortable. This article covers the Oman weather in December and January with concrete figures, how the 2026 school holidays fall in England and on the continent, what Christmas and New Year are like in a Muslim country, how busy the high season gets, and a 10-day itinerary over the Christmas days based on our most booked tour.
In short
- Weather: Muscat in December averages 26 to 27 °C by day and 18 to 19 °C at night, with a sea temperature of 25 to 26 °C and only a few millimetres of rain in the whole month. January is a degree or two cooler and is the coolest month of the year.
- Christmas: 25 December and 1 January are not public holidays in Oman. Souks, forts and museums keep their normal opening days; hotels do organise Christmas and New Year's Eve dinners.
- New Year's Eve: the sale and use of fireworks are regulated and bringing them in is a customs offence, so leave them at home. Hotels in Muscat advertise gala dinners and rooftop countdown parties, some with a view of the fireworks displays.
- High season: the weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the year. Hotels in Muscat and the desert camps fill up, so book flights and the tour early.
- Ramadan: falls outside the Christmas holidays. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on 8 February 2027.
Oman weather in December and January
The question we get most often is simply: is it still warm? Yes. The two climate sources below differ slightly in rainfall, but agree on the picture: warm days, mild nights, a swimmable sea and a dry month.
| Place | December by day | December at night | Sea | Rain per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muscat and the coast | 26 to 27 °C | 18 to 19 °C | 25 to 26 °C | 5 to 15 mm |
| Salalah (south) | 29 °C | 21 °C | 26 °C | around 5 mm |
| Wahiba Sands (desert) | around 26 °C | cools quickly after sunset, figures range from around 20 °C down to 10 to 12 °C | dry | |
| Jebel Akhdar (Saiq plateau, about 2,000 m) | around 15 °C in January | around 6 °C, frost possible |
In January Muscat drops to 24 to 25 °C by day and 17 to 18 °C at night, with the sea at 24 °C. The long-term averages come from climatestotravel.com and weatherspark.com (data 1980 to 2016). For the desert, reports on night temperatures vary from one source to the next, which is why we always say: pack a fleece for the campfire. Our page on the Wahiba Sands puts it at 10 °C or lower on the coldest nights in December and January.
The mountains are a different story. On the plateaus of Jebel Akhdar and Jebel Shams it is ten to fifteen degrees cooler than on the coast: 15 to 20 °C by day and around freezing at night in winter. The upside is that the views are at their clearest in winter and the hikes are pleasant in the middle of the day. For the full year at a glance, see our article on the best time to visit Oman.
School holidays around Christmas 2026: when you can go
The Christmas break of 2026 is a generous one in most countries. Term dates in England are set locally, so gov.uk refers you to your council's website, and academies and free schools can set their own dates. The pattern that most councils publish for 2026/27 looks like this:
| Country | Christmas holiday 2026/27 | Source |
|---|---|---|
| England (typical) | Term ends Friday 18 December 2026; holiday Monday 21 December 2026 to Friday 1 January 2027; back on Monday 4 January 2027. Some councils run to 3 January. | Wokingham, Croydon, BCP |
| Netherlands | Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, all regions | rijksoverheid.nl |
| Germany | Per federal state. Start between 21 December (Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saarland, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein) and 24 December (Bavaria), most states on 23 December. End between 31 December (Saarland) and 12 January (Hesse). | KMK |
| Austria | Thursday 24 December 2026 to Wednesday 6 January 2027, all states | BMB via wko.at |
| Switzerland | Per canton; look up your canton in the EDK list | edk.ch |
In practice this gives a window of about sixteen days, from Saturday 19 December to Sunday 3 January, in England and the Netherlands alike. That is enough for our 10-day tour with days to spare, or for the 14-day tour if you travel on the first and last day of the break.
Christmas and New Year in a Muslim country: what to expect
Oman is a Muslim country, and that shapes the festive period more than the weather does. A few things to know before you go.
25 December is a normal working day. The official holiday calendar for 2026, announced by the Ministry of Labour and reported by Times of Oman, lists Accession Day (15 January), Isra and Mi'raj (18 January), Islamic New Year (18 June), the Prophet's Birthday (27 August) and National Day (25 and 26 November). Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha are announced separately after the moon sighting, as Gulf News explains. Christmas Day and New Year's Day are not on the list. For you as a visitor that is good news: Nizwa Fort, the souks, the Grand Mosque and the museums keep their normal opening days.
Hotels do mark the occasion. The international hotels in Muscat have in past years advertised Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve dinners, among them the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah, the Grand Millennium and the Kempinski Hotel Muscat (Times of Oman). Some hotels include a gala dinner in the festive room rate, others charge for it separately. If a festive dinner matters to you, ask about it when you book, and we will check what your hotel offers that year.
Fireworks are regulated. The sale and use of fireworks are regulated, the Royal Oman Police checks all border crossings for smuggling, and bringing fireworks into the country can be punished with up to three years in prison, a fine or both (Oman Observer, March 2025). Leave sparklers and rockets at home. Midnight in Muscat means a countdown party or a gala dinner at a hotel; some rooftop parties advertise a view of the fireworks displays.
Respectful behaviour applies as always. Oman is welcoming but conservative. Modest clothing outside hotel beaches, alcohol only in licensed hotels, and no public displays of festive excess. Friday and Saturday are the weekend. None of this gets in the way of a good holiday; it simply makes Christmas in Oman a calmer affair than at home.
Ramadan is not an issue. Ramadan 2027 is expected to begin on Monday 8 February 2027, subject to the moon sighting (Gulf News). The entire Christmas holiday falls outside it.
High season: availability and prices
The weeks around Christmas and New Year are the busiest of the Omani year, and we see that every season in the proposals we prepare. The hotels in Muscat and the desert camps in the Wahiba Sands are the first to fill up around the turn of the year, and the resorts on Jebel Akhdar follow. Our best-time article already calls December "a busy holiday period, so book early", and that advice holds.
Two practical consequences:
- Flights: book them as soon as your dates are fixed. The outbound flights on the first weekend of the holiday and the return flights just before school starts are the ones that sell out first.
- Tour prices: our tour prices are guideline prices per person based on double occupancy, including accommodation and activities as per the itinerary; flights are not included. Around the turn of the year the actual proposal can come out above the guideline, because hotels and camps price the festive period differently from the rest of the season. We do not quote a surcharge here, because it depends on your hotels and dates. You always receive a concrete, no-obligation price before you decide.
A 10-day Christmas itinerary
This is our 10-day Oman tour laid over the 2026 Christmas dates. Leave on the first Saturday of the holiday and you are home on 28 December, well before school starts and with the New Year still ahead of you.
| Day | Date | Programme | Overnight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sat 19 Dec | Flight to Oman | Overnight flight |
| 2 | Sun 20 Dec | Arrival in Muscat, transfer to the hotel, first stroll | Muscat |
| 3 | Mon 21 Dec | Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Royal Opera House, Muttrah Souq | Muscat |
| 4 | Tue 22 Dec | Bimmah Sinkhole, Fins Beach, Wadi Tiwi | Tiwi |
| 5 | Wed 23 Dec | Dhow shipyards in Sur, by 4x4 into the Wahiba Sands, sunset on the dunes, campfire | Desert camp |
| 6 | Thu 24 Dec | Jebel Akhdar: Birkat Al Mouz and the Three Village Walk; Christmas Eve in Nizwa | Nizwa |
| 7 | Fri 25 Dec | Nizwa livestock market (Fridays), souq, Nizwa Fort, Oman Across Ages Museum | Nizwa |
| 8 | Sat 26 Dec | Balcony Walk at Jebel Shams, Al Hamra, return to Muscat | Muscat |
| 9 | Sun 27 Dec | Boat trip and snorkelling at the Daymaniyat Islands, free afternoon | Muscat |
| 10 | Mon 28 Dec | Flight home |
Christmas Day falls on a Friday in 2026, which happens to be market day in Nizwa: the livestock market in the morning, then the fort and the museum. It is a very different Christmas, and for most families a memorable one.
Prefer to see in the New Year in Oman? Shift the whole plan four days later: depart Wednesday 23 December, spend Christmas Day in Muscat, celebrate New Year's Eve on day 9 at your hotel in Muscat and fly home on 1 January. That still fits the English and Dutch school holidays.
How this fits into our tours
All our tours are private tours: your own 4x4, your own pace, and a route we adjust to your party and your dates. Over the Christmas holidays that matters, because we can plan around the busy nights and the hotels you prefer.
- Ten days: the 10-day tour, from €1,449 per person, covers Muscat, the wadis, the desert, Jebel Akhdar, Nizwa, Jebel Shams and the Daymaniyat Islands. It fits the Christmas break with days to spare and includes the desert night and the snorkelling trip.
- Fourteen days: the 14-day tour, from €2,099 per person, adds a flight south to Salalah. In December the south is the warmest part of the country, 29 °C by day and a 26 °C sea, with empty beaches, Wadi Darbat and the frankincense coast. A good choice if you can use the full sixteen-day window.
- Honeymoon around New Year: many couples marry in the autumn and travel over the holidays. Our Oman honeymoon page shows how we plan that, and the luxury Oman tour shows the desert camps and the resorts on Jebel Akhdar that make a New Year's Eve special.
- Families: the desert night, the wadis and the snorkelling are the highlights for children. Our Oman holidays page explains how we pace a trip with kids, and our article on desert nights describes what a night in the camp is like.
Want something in between, or a different split between touring and beach days? Ask for a tailor-made Oman tour and we build it from scratch.
Practical tips for a winter sun trip over Christmas
- Book early, in this order: tour dates, flights, then the rest. For a Christmas departure, several months ahead is not too early.
- Pack a warm layer. The desert cools quickly after sunset and the plateaus of Jebel Akhdar and Jebel Shams can drop to around freezing at night in winter. A fleece, a hat and a windproof jacket weigh little and get used every evening. The camps provide blankets, but you want long trousers and a jumper by the fire.
- The sun is strong even in winter. Sunscreen and a hat for the wadis and the Balcony Walk, and swim where hotels or locals do.
- Swimming is on. With a sea of 24 to 26 °C the Daymaniyat snorkelling trip runs as normal, and a few beach days at the end of the tour work well; see our beach holiday article.
- Check official travel advice before booking and before departure: UK FCDO travel advice for Oman, and our own summary in Is Oman safe?.
- Festive dinners: if Christmas dinner or a New Year's Eve gala matters to you, tell us when you book, so we choose a hotel that offers one and check whether it is included.
- Emergency number in Oman: 9999.
*School holiday dates, climate figures and the Oman public holiday calendar last checked on 10 October 2026 against the sources linked above.*
➤ Free trip planning call | GoTravelOman.com Sister sites: urlauboman.de · omanreis.nl
