Oman Diving: Scuba Diving in Daymanyiat Island | Things to do in Muscat

One of the main reasons why I visited Oman was to dive in their beautiful and blue oceans. Oman has some spectacular dive sites that are perfect for all divers. These waters are warm and the visibility is awesome.

Oman diving must surely be on your scuba diving bucket list. And snorkeling or scuba diving in Daymaniyat Island is one of the must things to do when you are in Muscat.

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Oman Diving

Oman has a variety of dive sites and each one of them is interesting and beautiful as the other. As the oceans are untouched, the diving is fantastic in these dive sites. You can easily spot turtles, cuttle fishes, Honeycomb Morray eels, Whale sharks, zebra sharks, among others.

Even though scuba diving in Oman can be done throughout the year, but the ideal temperature for diving is in the months between October and May. The ocean is calm during these months as well and hence the ride to the reserve is not as bad as it usually is.

Whale Shark Season - October.

About Daymaniyat Islands

Located around 20 kilometres from Muscat main land (Al Mouj marina), Daymaniyat Islands is a protected and nature reserve. This reserve is home to turtles and Honeycomb moray eels. Considered as one of the most beautiful islands of Oman, Daymaniyat Islands are a group of 9 small islands.

Scuba diving in Daymanyiat Island

Daymanyiat Island has many dive sites that are really good for diving. The reserve has more than 15 dive sites with clear water and lots of varied underwater life. You can expect water temperature of 23 to 25 degree centigrade.

Dive Site 1: Titto’s Run

Considered a bit challenging than the other dive sites, Titto’s Run is a pretty cool dive site. It consists of soft corals mainly and has a variety of marine life.

Dive Statistics

• Type of dive: Boat dive (Giant stride – But we had an option of back roll or getting down the ladder).
• Dive site: Open Sea.
• Maximum depth:
• Suitable for: Certified divers.
• Visibility: Around 12 to 15 metres. But when I visited because of the strong currents, the visibility was only 7 to 8 metres.
• Wet Suit: Yes, 5 mm. The water is cold even though it is quite warm on the surface.
• Current: Strong.

Marine Life

The dive site has abundant marine life. Ranging from turtles to zebra sharks, the dive site is buzzing with life. I spotted plenty of lion fishes, parrot fishes, trigger fishes, and angel fishes. The other groups saw cuttle fishes, turtles and morray eels in this dive site. I was informed by the dive centre staff that they have spotted whale sharks here.

Dive Site 2: Black Tip

Even though this dive site is named as Black Tip, the dive site definitely do not have a lot of opportunities to see the Black Tip reef sharks. The dive site has both hard and soft corals.

Dive Statistics

• Type of dive: Boat dive (Giant stride – But we had an option of back roll or getting down the ladder).
• Dive site: Open Sea.
• Maximum depth: 25 metres. But we were advised to stay between 12 to 18 metres to get good visibility.
• Suitable for: Beginner and Certified divers.
• Visibility: Around 12 to 15 metres. But when I visited because of the strong currents, the visibility was only 7 to 8 metres.
• Wet Suit: Yes, 5 mm. The water is cold even though it is quite warm on the surface.
• Current: Mild (Occasionally Moderate).

Marine Life

This dive site was my favourite as I saw so many different kinds of marine life. I saw a pipe fish, a turtle, two cuttle fishes, and huge Honeycomb Morray eels. Sometimes you can see the Black tip reef sharks at a depth of around 12 metres.

Dive Centre

Mola Mola Diving Centre Muscat

I dived with Mola Mola diving centre. Located at Al Mouj marina, Mola Mola diving centre is a PADI affiliated dive centre. They have daily diving or snorkeling trips to Daymaniyat or Fahal Islands.

I liked diving with Mola Mola diving centre. The staff were friendly and nice. They helped me when I needed help without hesitation and I had a great time with them. The equipment were good and not faulty.

Only my mask kept fogging in spite of using the baby shampoo and cleaning it with fresh water, not sure if it was because of the mask or I had not cleaned it properly. Other than that everything else was good.

Tip: Did you know that coffee power with a bit of baby shampoo and fresh water prevents the masks from fogging?

Cost of diving with Mola Mola Diving centre

The dive centre offer PADI certified courses and recreational diving to certified divers. As I am a PADI certified Rescue scuba diver, I opted for recreational diving. The dive trip, including two dives cost:

• Without equipment is OMR 47 and
• With full equipment is OMR 59.

To hire a dive computer, it is an extra OMR 3.

Safety for Solo Female Divers

Absolutely Yes! The staff members at the dive centre were really nice and friendly. I felt very safe throughout the whole time. They took care of our safety onboard and under water.

Closing Notes

Unfortunately, I did not have the best visibility but I did see a lot of marine life which was very cool. Oman diving can pleasantly surprise you with a lot of different kinds of marine life and dive sites. I would love to come back to Oman to dive and explore more of its ocean. Even if you are not into scuba diving, this is a pretty place to snorkel and see the marine life.

Would I recommend Oman diving, especially scuba diving in Daymaniyat Island? Yes, yes and yes! There is no doubt that Oman is surely one of the best diving destinations in the world. With various shades of blue and great visibility, the dive sites are stunning and breath-takingly beautiful.

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