KM 00 · Muscat, Oman
36 cars out of Muscat and Salalah, from OMR 12 a day. Tell us the route before the model — Jebel Akhdar has a checkpoint that turns back anything without four-wheel drive, and that one fact reshuffles the whole list.
Suggested
Toyota Corolla
2WD · 5 seats · OMR 15/day
KM 01 · Where you're going
Same country, wildly different demands. Three of these you can do in the cheapest sedan on the lot. Two of them will turn you around at a checkpoint if you arrive in the wrong thing. Drag through, then jump to the cars that actually qualify.
01 · Muscat Governorate
Any car in the fleet
The Corniche, Mutrah Souq, the Royal Opera House and Qurum. Parking is tight in Mutrah — the small sedans are the easier car here, not the harder one.
Sealed dual carriageway and corniche
02 · Ash Sharqiyah North
Any car in the fleet
Highway 17 is tarmac to both car parks. The swim and the walk into Wadi Shab do the work — the drive does not. Wadi Al Arbeieen nearby is on NAB's approved off-road list.
Sealed the whole way on Highway 17
03 · Ad Dakhiliyah
Any car in the fleet
Three forts, one of them UNESCO-listed, on flat tarmac all the way. The climb is gradual — a Corolla does this route as well as a Land Cruiser does.
Sealed expressway to the interior plateau
04 · Al Hajar al Gharbi
4WD required by law
There is a police checkpoint about 6 km past Birkat Al Mawz. Anything that is not a 4WD is turned back — the rule exists because small-car brakes overheat on the descent, not the climb. Have licence, ID and the insurance papers ready.
Sealed, then 32 km of switchbacks from Birkat Al Mawz
05 · Al Hajar al Gharbi
4WD strongly recommended
Oman's highest mountain is 3,009 m, but the summit is restricted — the road tops out near 2,000 m at the canyon rim. The final graded section changes completely after rain.
Sealed, with the last 7 km unsealed gravel
06 · Al Wusta edge · Bidiyah
4WD only — and no dune bashing
NAB permits approved tracks and the run to the camps. Dune bashing and any extreme desert driving voids the cover entirely, whichever protection tier you took. Most camps will meet you at the tarmac and drive you in.
Sealed to Bidiyah, then soft sand
07 · Dhofar
Any car — or start from the Salalah desk
1,000 km each way from Muscat. NAB keeps an office and an airport desk in Salalah, so the sensible version is to fly down and collect there. The monsoon greens Dhofar from June to September.
Sealed Highway 31 across the Empty Quarter edge
KM 02 · The fleet
Daily rates, published. Every car is automatic, comprehensively insured and available for delivery to three offices, two airports, a cruise port and 23 hotels. Filter by drivetrain if you already know which road you're taking.
36 cars · from OMR 12 a day
KM 03 · If something happens
Every car is comprehensively insured before you add anything. What the three tiers actually change is how much of a fault claim lands on you — and on a gravel road above Al Hamra, that is the number worth reading twice.
Excluded on every tier, without exception
KM 04 · The terms, up front
Everything here is NAB's own published policy. It is on this page rather than eleven questions deep in an FAQ because these are the eight things that turn a good rental into an argument.
Minimum age
0years
Licence held, no exceptions.
Transmission
Autoonly
Every car in the fleet.
Included mileage
0km / day
Or take the unlimited option.
Over-mileage
50–80baisa / km
By vehicle class.
Extra driver
0OMR / day
Named on the agreement.
Child seat
0OMR / day
Baby and booster, on request.
Fuel
Samelevel back
Charged if it returns low.
Cancellation
Free
Tell us as early as you can.
KM 05 · Where we hand it over
Two airports, a cruise port, three offices and twenty-three hotels across Muscat, Mussanah, Sifah and Salalah. One-way between any two of them, including the thousand-kilometre Muscat–Salalah run. Hotel delivery carries a surcharge; the offices don't.
Main counter
Ruwi
Behind Sheraton Hotel
Arrivals desk
Muscat Airport
Near Muscat International
Dhofar branch
Salalah
NAB office + Salalah Airport
Terminals
Hotels & resorts on the delivery run
Somewhere else in Muscat or Salalah? Ask — "other hotel" is already an option on NAB's own booking form.
KM 06 · The handover
Most rental disputes are decided before the car moves — over a mark on a door nobody photographed, or a card in the wrong name. Here is exactly how it goes, and what to have in your hand.
Not the car — the route. Where you are going decides the drivetrain, and the drivetrain decides the shortlist.
A reply on WhatsApp with the car, the total and the protection tier. Cancellation stays free right up to collection.
Licence, ID or passport, and a credit card in the driver's name. Extra drivers are named on the agreement here.
Fuel level, existing marks, tyres and the spare, photographed together. This is the five minutes that prevents every argument later.
Breakdown line, the off-road rules for your route, and the return time. Delivery back to any point on the network.
What to bring
Tourists and short-stay visitors
The credit card has to be in the driver's name. It is the single most common reason a collection stalls at the desk.
If it stops on the road
Call NAB before you call anyone else. Arranging your own recovery is what invalidates a claim.
KM 07 · Get a rate
No account, no card, no waiting on a form. This writes a WhatsApp message to the desk with everything they need to quote you in one reply — and nothing leaves your phone until you tap send.
Message preview
→ +968 9223 0697Hello NAB Rent A Car — I'd like a rate. Collecting from: NAB Office Near Muscat Airport Dates: to confirm Car: open to suggestions Could you confirm availability and the protection options?
Your estimate
—
Pick dates and a car to see the rate-card total.
Six questions the desk answers every week. Anything not here, ask on WhatsApp — someone reads it.
Ask the deskOnly in a 4WD. There is a police checkpoint past Birkat Al Mawz and anything else is turned back — the rule is about brake fade on the descent. Every Full-Size SUV and most Mid-Size SUVs in the fleet qualify.
Yes, on approved routes: Jebel Shams, Jebel Akhdar and Wadi Al Arbeieen, in a 4WD. Dune bashing and extreme desert driving are prohibited and void the cover on every protection tier.
Call +968 9259 6615 or +968 9885 3794 straight away. Do not arrange your own recovery — that is what invalidates a claim.
Credit card. It also has to be in the driver's name at the counter, which is the single most common reason a collection stalls.
Yes, once the team confirms the swap. Rates move with the class, so a change from a sedan to a 4WD changes the total.
Both. One-way works right across the delivery network, including Muscat to Salalah. Monthly and long-term leases are quoted separately — ask on WhatsApp.
