Muscat · Nightlife

InterContinental Muscat, open 5pm-2am and to 3am on Thursday and Friday, with a Cuban band Monday to Saturday from 8.15pm. Smart casual; no sandals or sportswear.

The souq trades until about 10pm and the waterfront fills with families once the heat drops. Cruise ships light the harbour. Nothing to pay.

The waterfront development west of the centre: a walkable promenade of restaurants, cafes and shisha lounges around the marina and Al Mouj Walk.

Garden restaurant in Madinat Sultan Qaboos serving Omani dishes and shisha in a lantern-lit courtyard, busy long after other kitchens close.

Alcohol is served almost only in hotels and a handful of licensed restaurants. It is not sold in supermarkets, tourists cannot use the bottle shops, and drinking in public, on beaches or in a car is illegal.