Photos: Muscat by Alli Khalil, CC BY 4.0, cropped; Newport Beach by Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped.
Muscat or Newport Beach?
Our verdict in twelve categories, each scored against the same fixed benchmark cities, and the climate month by month, so you can choose for your trip.
Choose Muscat for
- culture and sights
- prices
- wellness
What lies behind each score is written up on Muscat’s own page.
Choose Newport Beach for
- families
- shopping
- nightlife
What lies behind each score is written up on Newport Beach’s own page.
Scoreboard
Twelve categories on one fixed scale from 0 to 100. The shaded stretch is the gap between the two.
What lies behind each score is written up on the two cities’ own pages: Muscat and Newport Beach.
Your match
Pick a travel style or drag the sliders, and both match scores follow your weighting.
Too close to call, level with your weighting
Wins on culture and sights and prices with your weighting.
Wins on families and shopping with your weighting.
What matters to you?
When should you go?
Pick your month. The climate figures are measured averages, not a forecast.
Muscat in July
Newport Beach in July
Daytime high, °C
Rainfall in the month, mm
Where the figures come from
Muscat's sunshine is measured 32 km from the centre, at Seeb, International Airport.
Temperature and rainfall are climate normals, averaged over the years shown. Muscat: 1991-2020 normals, Qaboos Port (3.4 km from centre). Newport Beach: 1991-2020 (rainfall 1981-2010) normals, Santa Ana / Paularino (7.1 km from centre).
Before you go
| Measure | Muscat | Newport Beach |
|---|---|---|
| Official language | Arabic | - |
| Currency | Rial Omani (OMR) | US Dollar (USD) |
| Sockets | CG240 V, 50 Hz | AB120 V, 60 Hz |
| Driving side | Right | Right |
| Time zone | UTC+4 | UTC-8, UTC-7 in summer |
| Emergency number | 968 | 911 |
| Elevation | 69 m | 3 m |
| Main airport | Muscat International Airport (MCT)31 km from centre83 non-stop destinations | John Wayne Orange County International Airport (SNA)7 km from centre53 non-stop destinations |
| Public holidays this year | - | 13 days |
By the numbers
| Measure | Muscat | Newport Beach |
|---|---|---|
| City population | 1,421,409 | 85,239 |
| People per km² | 406 | 622 |
| Museums within 10 km | 10 | 4 |
| UNESCO World Heritage sites within 50 km | 0 | 0 |
| Swim season, months above 21 °C | 12 months | None |
Where else could you go?
Every comparison below shares a destination with this one, so you can follow Muscat or Newport Beach somewhere new.