Buying a SIM Card or eSIM for Travel in Oman

Virtually unknown to all but intrepid travelers until quite recently, Oman is starting to open up to tourism. And what a gift that is to the travel world: the country is a delight for the senses.

All mosques, souks, and stunning small towns, Oman is the Arab world without the opulence of the rest of the region, offering a glimpse of Bedouin hospitality and tradition with a fierce sense of national pride. 

Believe us: you won’t want to keep your discovery to yourself. If you’d like to share your Oman experiences in real-time, here’s all you need to know about buying a travel eSIM or local SIM card and staying connected during your stay. 

There are two providers in Oman: state-owned Omantel, and Qatari operator Ooredoo. Omantel has the best coverage and speeds, and the majority of customers.

Qatar-based operator Ooredoo is somewhat cheaper if you’re only staying in Oman; its tourist SIM offering is slightly better than Omantel’s.

Omantel’s tourist package is still reasonably priced and fits most requirements, it’s just not quite as good value as Ooredoo’s offering. That changes if you’re planning to visit other nearby countries as well, though: Omantel has better roaming options.

If you don’t need a local phone number (most travelers don’t), I’d suggest not bothering with the tourist SIM cards from either company, and just going for a travel eSIM instead.

You’ve got more flexibility about how much data you buy (and it generally has a longer expiry), with similar pricing per gigabyte. Added bonus: you don’t need to line up at the booths at the airport!

Most of the companies I regularly use have similar pricing, although aloSIM and Nomad were fractionally cheaper at time of writing. Any of the options below should work fine, though: I’ve used them all around the world without issue.

Prices and details are updated every week, most recently on 5 Oct 2026.

Note that due to recent government internet blocking, the apps you use to install and monitor eSIM usage likely won’t work in Oman. The eSIMs themselves work fine, however: you just need to make sure you install them before you arrive in the country.

As with most travel eSIMs, these are data-only services with no phone number included. While apps like WhatsApp, Facetime, and Messenger work fine for voice and video calling, you’ll need to Yadaphone or one of the alternatives to make calls to other numbers.

New to eSIMs? They offer big benefits to travelers in terms of how quickly, easily, and (often) cheaply you can get connected when you arrive in a new country. Most recent phones support them, and you can read all about them here.

If you’re visiting other countries as well, make sure you check out our worldwide eSIM finder before you go. It has real-world recommendations for every trip, only takes a few seconds, and could save you a lot of money!

Omantel, Ooredoo, and reseller Renna all have 24-hour booths in the arrivals hall at Muscat’s international airport, making it easy to buy a SIM card even before you’ve really set foot in the country. 

To sign up, you’ll need your passport and a method of payment. I wasn’t asked for a local address, though I’ve heard it’s sometimes required. If so, your hotel details should work just fine.

The staff member spoke perfect English and took care of everything, entering my information and taking a photo of my passport on a tablet. I paid cash, though international credit cards are also accepted. 

Omnatel

Omnatel and Ooredoo tend to have quite similar offerings for visitors.

I signed up for Omantel’s Tourist Pack, which offered 8GB of data, 50 domestic or international minutes, and 50 texts. Valid for 14 days, the pack cost ﷼5.

Other flavors of the tourist packs are also available, with more or unlimited data, calls, and texts. They’re all listed on the above page.

You can also add individual extras, like 10GB of data to use at night (﷼2), 2GB of extra daily data (﷼1.50) , or 50 domestic calling minutes (﷼0.50).

If you’re traveling elsewhere in the region (say you’re heading to neighboring UAE for a few days) and don’t want to keep buying local SIMs in each country, it’s best to buy a roaming package (“Jawazak”) while still in Oman.

These passes start at ﷼2 for 2GB valid for three days in Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). You can also pay ﷼4 for 5GB valid for seven days; in both cases, you’ll also get a small number of roaming calling minutes.

If you forget to do it in advance, you can sign up for a roaming package while abroad by calling a special number, but you’ll need a minimum of ﷼2 in your account to do it.

Ooredoo

Since my visit, Ooredoo has improved its tourist SIM offering. It now comes in three varieties, the first valid for 10 days and providing 8GB of data for ﷼5.

The second costs ﷼10, lasts 15 days, and offers 18GB of data, while the last costs ﷼20, lasts 20 days, and has unlimited data. Like the Omnatel pack, all three come with a certain amount of national and international calls and texts as well.

Ooredoo’s roaming packages aren’t quite as good value, however: you can get a a one-day pass for ﷼3 that gives 2GB of data in the GCC, a three-day 4GB pass for ﷼5, a one-week 7GB pass for ﷼8, or a 30-day 14GB pass for ﷼14.

Topping Up

Omantel

Topping up can be done online on the company website or app, and international credit cards are accepted.

If you’d rather use cash, you can do so at an official store, of which there are several in Muscat and elsewhere.

aloSIM or Nomad

Topping up with any of the travel eSIM companies is done by logging into the website or app. You just select your Oman eSIM, hit the top-up button, and buy the same package again.

The top-up packs have exactly the same pricing and duration as the original eSIMs: there’s little difference between topping up your current eSIM and buying a new one, other than not having to activate it.

Even though the internet is somewhat censored in Oman, it didn’t seem to affect Omantel’s data speeds. 4G/LTE downloads were up over 60Mbps around the country, from Muscat to Sohar, with upload speeds around half that.

Note that many Voice over IP (VoIP) calling services are blocked and officially illegal. As with most such censorship, using a VPN will circumvent it, but you do so very much at your own risk.

Both aloSIM and Nomad use the Omantel network as well, so you can expect the same coverage whichever option you go for.

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Check out our guides to SIM cards and eSIMs in 65+ other countries here.

Images via Robert Haandrikman (feature photo).