With a coastline of 1700km, Oman offers some of the cleanest, most stunning beaches a visitor could hope to see. Few beaches are private, except some attached to the beach resort hotels, or those adjoining military or official property. Weekend picnics and barbeques are popular on the beach.
Many coves are perfect for snorkelling and with fairly gentle shelves, are good for children.
A four-wheel drive vehicle is necessary to get down to the water's edge. It is abundant in starfish, crabs and exotic shells. Qurum Beach, below the Crowne Plaza Hotel, is well set up for visitors and has a number of picnic areas and palm shades. When the tide is low, one can take a 4km walk towards the Embassies' area in Shati Al Qurum. Approximately half way along this stretch of beach is the Muscat InterContinental hotel.