Oman Explorer Trip Recap 2025
Oman Explorer Trip Recap 2025
The Boat
The Oman Explorer is the only boat offering liveaboard diving in Oman. Previously one of the Red Sea Aggressors, she was last remodelled in 2015 and, 10 years on, is starting to show her age. Although the boat is comfortable, the fixtures and fittings are worn and dated and there is a general lack of care for the living areas. For example, sections of the wall where hooks and pipe work have been removed have not been filled or painted over, curtains hooks broken so curtains don’t hang properly, cushions missing from the upper deck seating. While none of this is essential to the safe running of the boat, it does make for a less than impressive first impression.
We were a group of 15 divers and the boat can accommodate up to 22. With our number, the saloon and dive deck felt spacious and there was plentiful seating for all guests. However, with a full compliment I imagine the boat would feel quite crowded. The cabins are a good size with plenty of space between the twin beds. There is a good amount of storage space in the cabins for bags, however, no hanging space. There were only 2 hooks on the wall in our cabin. The en suite bathroom is a reasonable size and there was always plenty of hot water.
The food onboard was very good, and a mix of Arabic and western dishes. We enjoyed three meals a day served buffet style, with snacks between the third and night dive. There was an impressive range of different fresh fruit and vegetable choices each day, with at least 3 meat or fish dishes, 3 salad choices, rice, pasta, fries, and 2 or 3 vegetable options. Coffee, juice, and snacks were free of charge. The afternoon snacks ranged from finger sandwiches to sushi to rice pudding. I thought the food was one of the better elements of the trip.
The staff onboard were professional but quiet. The dive deck crew did their jobs well and I felt the zodiac drivers were skilled and careful when they picked us up after each dive. We had 2 dive guides for our group of 15 - any more guests per group would have been a problem in the poor visibility. While the dive staff were polite and helpful, I never felt that they went above and beyond in any way. There was very minimal interaction with the guests between dives and they spent their time in their cabin or sleeping on the fly deck. The steward was friendly and enthusiastic, but the boat was never particularly tidy or clean. Many of the handrails were very greasy and I never felt our bathroom was properly cleaned for the week, other than emptying the bin.
The Diving
There are 2 main seasonal routes in Oman. From May through to November, the boat explores the Dimaniyat Islands in the north of the country, embarking from Muscat. For the opposite season, the boat spends its time in the Hallaniyat Islands to the south of the country, embarking from Mirbat. While Dimaniyat is reputedly the best diving area in Oman, our guides told us there is very little difference between there and the route we did around Hallaniyat.
Firstly, I was very impressed with the volume and diversity of marine life. Every dive site was full of life, mainly medium and small reef fish and critters, but with the occasional larger ray or pelagic popping in from the blue. We came to expect large schools of yellow-tailed fusiliers, jack, sweetlips, and batfish, as well as smaller schools of barracuda and trevally. The reefs were mostly rock and boulder, but covered in a healthy patchwork of soft corals, large anemones, table corals, and urchins. This supported a surprisingly varied range of critters and macro subjects, with a selection of different nudibranchs and shrimps, gobies, crabs, and lobsters found on every dive. Most notably were the huge numbers of scorpionfish and moray eels, ranging from the stunning honeycomb and yellowmouth morays, to the striking dragon moray.
Unfortunately, the visibility was not good, and in some cases quite bad. Ranging from 2m to 12m, the water was full of algae and particles, often green and especially in the top 5m. This prevented a lot of light reaching the dive site and made it quite challenging to keep the dive group together. On almost every dive, at least 1 buddy pair was lost from the main group and surfaced independently. This wasn’t such a problem, other than missing subjects of interest that the guide spotted. Chatting with the dive guides, the visibility can often be poor and unpredictable, and is a contributing factor in why Oman has not developed as a popular dive destination.
Travel to Oman
Depending on the boat’s itinerary, guests will need to arrive into Muscat (north) or Salalah (south). Both airports receive international flights, and the most common route is through Doha. This makes Oman quite a simple destination to reach from Europe or north America. Once in Oman, the boat will pick you up from your hotel (or the airport) on embarkation day and drop you back at the end of the trip.
