Sur Maritime Museum
Sur Maritime Museum
3.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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3.5
121 reviews
Excellent
20
Very good
51
Average
42
Poor
7
Terrible
1
robyn r
Melbourne, Australia272 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Here you can see locals hand build dhows. These are traditional boats used for fishing and carrying people between destinations. It gives you a sense of lifestyle. There is also a museum but the best part was exploring the dhows themselves (you can climb up into one that is being built).
Written July 24, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dirk W
Alexandra Headland, Australia10,147 contributions
Apr 2024 • Solo
A very small museum - it really is just 1 room - but it is well presented and most informative. It gives you the history and importance of dhow ship building in Sur. Once spending some time in here, visit the workshop outside for a better appreciation of this art.
Written May 25, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Mummy Travels
London, UK250 contributions
Oct 2018
Wandering around the display of old dhows and other boats is interesting, though you don't need long for this little collection, but it's the chance to see the dhows being built nearby which is most fascinating - traditional techniques are still used and you can see the skeletons of the boats ready to be transformed into luxurious crafts. I doubt we'd have found the boatyard without our guide although you can just wander in to see the collection on the seafront easily enough.
Written March 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Natalie
Muscat, Oman69 contributions
Dec 2017 • Friends
The open air museums contains a few different kinds of dhows and they all have a little board with explinations in front of them.
Walk towards the fence near by the sea and look at the surface of the water for a while. Most of the times there are seaturtles in the lagoon and you can see them whenever they come up for fresh air. Really fascinating!!
Walk towards the fence near by the sea and look at the surface of the water for a while. Most of the times there are seaturtles in the lagoon and you can see them whenever they come up for fresh air. Really fascinating!!
Written July 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
R5760CCSD
18 contributions
Feb 2018 • Friends
I had dreamed of finding the dhow builders for years. The museum was closed on the day of my visit but just along the creek there's a small boatbuilders' yard. This place is a window on a fast-vanishing trade. Among piles of seasoned cedar and teak there are hand-tools, electric drills and workbenches, in the shade of some matting made from date palm leaves. When I visited there were two dhows were under construction by these skilled artisans. A must-visit place for anyone interested in the Silk Road, maritime trade or who just wants to see real artisans at work.
Written April 3, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RossBlake
Cranbrook, Canada913 contributions
Oct 2018 • Couples
A must do in Sur. This is advertised as the last working traditional dhow factory in the world and it’s certainly worth a visit. This isn't the old "Maritime Museum", and the location in TA is wrong here.
We arrived at 1630 on a Tuesday and there was still construction being undertaken. The factory is directly south of the Al Ayjah Bridge, and there is very little signage. We walked through a door where we saw obvious tourists leaving and simply walked around the factory. There was no ticket booth or information guide, it’s a working factory. It’s worth walking down to the water, stepping over sleeping dogs, to see the dhows in the water (if there are any). The craftsmanship is amazing, with numerous styles and sizes of dhow. The sterns vary, the carvings vary and the fittings too.
The whole factory only took about half an hour to walk around taking plenty of photos. There is a small office with historical photos and models that can be purchased, along with other woodwork. The prices vary, but I noted the quality was better than some I saw around town and in Muscat. Other woodwork includes trays and bowls. I purchased a dhow here, as I wanted one from my trip, and I saw many after, none of which were as nice.
We also tried to visit the maritime museum and discovered it is closed. Some people think it’s now a school, others said it was undergoing renovations.
We arrived at 1630 on a Tuesday and there was still construction being undertaken. The factory is directly south of the Al Ayjah Bridge, and there is very little signage. We walked through a door where we saw obvious tourists leaving and simply walked around the factory. There was no ticket booth or information guide, it’s a working factory. It’s worth walking down to the water, stepping over sleeping dogs, to see the dhows in the water (if there are any). The craftsmanship is amazing, with numerous styles and sizes of dhow. The sterns vary, the carvings vary and the fittings too.
The whole factory only took about half an hour to walk around taking plenty of photos. There is a small office with historical photos and models that can be purchased, along with other woodwork. The prices vary, but I noted the quality was better than some I saw around town and in Muscat. Other woodwork includes trays and bowls. I purchased a dhow here, as I wanted one from my trip, and I saw many after, none of which were as nice.
We also tried to visit the maritime museum and discovered it is closed. Some people think it’s now a school, others said it was undergoing renovations.
Written February 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sinan
Muscat, Oman65 contributions
Feb 2019 • Friends
There is small musem insaid the factory . very nice & welcoming staff . You can see how to bulid ship from A to Z
Written February 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AaronAUS2016
Brisbane, Australia44 contributions
Jul 2016 • Couples
Only took about 15 minutes to see all of the Dhows. A good stop in if you're nearby, but don't go out of your way for it. There are about 8 or 9 different designs of Dhows to look at, with a short summary of each.
Written July 27, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Josef W
Bellingham, WA1,149 contributions
Mar 2016 • Friends
For lack of other appropriate topics, this review will fold our experiences at 3 locations in Sur into one. First we visited the Sur harbor area, stopped at the Al Ayjah watchtower/lighthouse, from where you can get a good view over the harbor and surrounding area. Nothing really glamorous here but a good place to start. Then we crossed the big, relatively new bridge and visited the one still functioning dhow construction factory. A recently completed dhow was moored in the water, another enormous dhow was under considerable advanced construction on land and we could observe some workmen in the building process, and were also able to visit the small attached exhibition room with fairly large models of dhows and other boats. Finally, we moved on to the nearby "Maritime Museum", which is an open air affair attached to the side of the Al Quanjah Boatyard. The entrance to the exhibition area is just opposite of a restaurant on the other side of the street. There is no "museum office" and nobody was present, but the boats on display had signs in English explaining their history or purposes. Overall an interesting introduction to Sur, once a major ship building facility, but by no means overwhelming. Come, have a look, don't expect too much and you might be quite content. My preferred rating for these 3 segments would be: 3.5 - good
Written May 3, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
1KFlyer
Anaheim, CA141 contributions
Nov 2023 • Friends
This is a very informative museum. The descriptions are well written and provide a thorough history of Sur's maritime history. The displays are colorful and attractive. We spent 45 minutes. Watch the film too.
Written November 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Not sure. Friday is a holy day in most Muslim countries, so it maybe closed? There are a number of dhows and boats on display in the open, which you can see from the pavement. There are a number of dhow builders on the estuary and these can be visited.
Written October 3, 2017
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