How many days should you spend in Muscat?
Give Muscat enough time to land gently, then move on. Two or three days can work well for the mosque, Mutrah, the coast and a calmer arrival, but Oman’s deeper rhythm usually begins beyond the capital.
Answer
Muscat is not a dense, walk-everywhere capital where the sights pile up block by block. Its appeal is more spread out: sea roads, white buildings, Mutrah’s harbour, the mosque, museums, cafés and a slower Gulf rhythm. That makes it a good arrival base and a useful reset, especially after a long flight. But if the whole itinerary sits in Muscat, Oman can feel smaller and more suburban than it really is. Use the city to understand the pace, then let Nizwa, mountains, wadis and desert do the widening.