Hi Little,
I am the poster tribpot was referring to, I am a very occassional poster and couldn't remember my user name for ages!!
I am currently living in Oman and have been here for 2 years with my husband's job. When we arrived our DD was 3 and my ds 3 months. Oman and Dubai are very different as everyone has said. Dubai has fab restaurants, shopping and hotels and an awful lot of building work. Oman is much more rough and ready with great scenery, beaches, wadis and historic forts. There are a few very good hotels in Oman: Chedi, Crowne Plaza, Intercon, Al Bustan (but this is closing for a year from January 07) and the newly opened Bandar Jissah resort, which,in my opinion, is the best hotel complex here as it is made up of 3 hotels, has loads of swimming pools and restaurants and a lazy river - a great hit with my kids! In our two short years here in Oman we have taken the kids: dolphin watching, camping at the beach, mountains and in a wadi, we have driven across the desert, vsited souks, forts and museums, ridden camels been to the cinema, bowling, the list goes on of things to do with young children. We have regularly visited Dubai since being here as one of my best friends from the UK lives there, and we always have a great time. If you asked me which country I prefer it would have to be Oman, I love it here and it will be difficult to leave here in another 2 years and I was very nervous about coming to live in the middle east! As a place to come with your DD either countries would be great, they are safe and fabulous countries to visit and I think you would enjoy what is on offer. Airlines that come out here direct from the UK: Gulf, BA (with one hour wait on the plane at Abu Dhabi), and Etihad, many airlines fly direct to Duabi. I have loads more to tell but let me know exactly what you want to know.