What the sources list for Nizwa, Buraimi, Sur and Ibra
This page reads two sources. The first is the ielts.org test centre finder for Oman, whose city filter offered exactly six cities when it was read: Buraimi, Muscat, Nizwa, Salalah, Sohar and Sur. The second is IDP Oman's test dates page, which has its own list of towns and centres. Muscat, Salalah and Sohar have pages of their own: Muscat, Salalah and Sohar. This page covers the rest of the finder's list, plus Ibra, which only IDP's page names.
Both sources were read in October 2026, and lists change, so open the linked page before you plan a journey. This page quotes no exam fee and no test date. Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutor, not the exam board or a test centre: it does not register you for the test, hold a place, set fees or choose dates. You book the test with IDP or the British Council.
Which source names which town
| Town | ielts.org finder | IDP Oman's page |
|---|---|---|
| Nizwa | In the city filter. Three results: two cards for one venue, at the University of Nizwa, and an IELTS Online card. | Has an entry, but its list of centres names no venue there, and its Nizwa city page showed no sessions. |
| Buraimi | In the city filter. One venue on the University of Buraimi campus, listed under a training institute, and an IELTS Online card. | Not among the ten entries read. |
| Sur | In the city filter. Two results: one venue, listed under an English-language centre, and an IELTS Online card. | Has an entry and names one venue, at the same address. Its city page listed many sessions, and those shown were all at that venue. |
| Ibra | Not in the city filter. | Has an entry, and its list of centres names a University of Technology and Applied Sciences venue. Its Ibra city page showed no sessions. |
| Barka, Ibri, Mawaleh, Musandam | Not in the city filter. | Each has a city page, which showed no sessions when read. |
| Muscat, Salalah, Sohar | In the city filter. | Each has an entry; the list of centres names venues in Muscat only. |
The two lists do not match. ielts.org has no filter for Ibra, Barka, Ibri, Mawaleh or Musandam, and IDP's page has no Buraimi entry among the ten read. Treat the table as a map of what each source says, not as a statement of where IELTS can or cannot be taken.
Nizwa
On ielts.org, Nizwa returned three results. Two are cards for the same venue, headed "British Council, University of Nizwa", with an address in Birkat Al Mouz, in the Al Dakhilia region. The third is an IELTS Online card (see the labels section below). The venue is shown with the tags Computer and One Skill Retake, so Nizwa has one venue on the finder, not two.
The finder's page for the University of Nizwa centre lists the Academic test on computer. It lists no General Training test. A missing listing does not prove a test is unavailable, so if you need General Training, ask the provider before you plan around Nizwa. IELTS Academic vs General Training explains the difference; which one you need is for the organisation asking for your result to say.
IDP Oman's page has a Nizwa entry too, but its list of centres named no venue in Nizwa when read, so of the two lists the finder is the only one that names a venue there. IDP's Nizwa city page also showed no sessions when read.
Buraimi
The finder's Buraimi results include a card for a venue on the University of Buraimi campus, listed under a training institute (the finder shows its full name). The venue is tagged Computer and One Skill Retake, and an IELTS Online card sits beside it. IDP Oman's page had no Buraimi entry among the ten read, so if you live in Buraimi and want to compare providers, check IDP's booking tool directly rather than assuming either answer.
Sur
Among the towns on this page, Sur is the only one where both sources name a venue, and they name the same one. The finder shows two results: one venue, listed under an English-language centre and tagged Computer and One Skill Retake, and an IELTS Online card.
IDP Oman's Sur page, read in October 2026, listed many test sessions in Sur, and the sessions shown were all at one venue. They included both IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training, and their labels included results in 1 to 5 days, IELTS on computer and One Skill Retake available. Results timings are typical rather than promised, and the sessions on that page change, so this page prints no count.
Both sources name the same venue at the same address in Sur (Al Murtafa, Ash Sharqiya South), so for Sur the finder and IDP agree. IDP's session cards show the venue name but not its address, which appears in its list of centres, so confirm the address with the provider before you travel.
Ibra
Ibra is not one of ielts.org's six cities, but IDP Oman's list of centres includes a University of Technology and Applied Sciences venue in Ibra. When read, that list showed five centres in Oman, with venues in Muscat, Sur and Ibra only. The entry gives little more than the venue's name and address, and IDP's own Ibra city page showed no sessions when read, so check the booking tool to see whether any sessions are offered there before you rely on it.
Barka, Ibri, Mawaleh and Musandam
IDP Oman also has city pages for these four towns. When read in October 2026 they returned no sessions, and the Nizwa and Ibra city pages did the same. That is a dated observation, not a statement that nothing is offered there, and the booking tool shows what is actually on offer. None of the four is in ielts.org's city filter.
Reading the labels on a finder card
- Count venues, not cards. The finder showed Nizwa's venue twice, so count the addresses rather than the cards.
- The IELTS Online card is not a venue. The Nizwa, Buraimi and Sur results each include an IELTS Online card. It is a separate card, not a tag on the venue next to it, so do not read it as a sign that the venue offers IELTS Online. Our page on IELTS Online in Oman covers that test.
- Computer. The venue cards read for Nizwa, Buraimi and Sur are all tagged Computer, and IDP's Sur sessions were labelled IELTS on computer. Confirm the format on the session you book. Our page on computer-delivered IELTS in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman compares how the providers word it.
- One Skill Retake. All three finder venues carry the tag, and IDP's Sur sessions said it was available. A tag on a card is not a promise for every session, and a missing tag does not prove a service is missing. For when a retake makes sense, see One Skill Retake or a full retake.
Before you book a test outside the big cities
General advice from a teacher, not guidance from IDP, the British Council or ielts.org:
- Pick the provider first, then the session. The finder and IDP's page are separate lists, and a town on one may be missing from the other.
- Match the building, not just the town. Compare the venue name and address on the provider's page with what you expected. In Sur the finder and IDP name the same venue and address; in Nizwa and Buraimi only the finder names a venue, and in Ibra only IDP does.
- Check the test type on the session. If you need General Training, ask about it, especially for Nizwa, where the centre page lists only Academic. The Sur sessions IDP showed included both Academic and General Training.
- Check the format and any retake label on the session itself, not only on a finder card or a town page.
- If your town has no listed venue, look at the towns that do and use the booking tool to see what is offered. Check the venue and address with the provider before you travel.
For ID, payment and moving a test, see our guide to booking IELTS in Oman. For what happens after the test, see IELTS results, re-marking and retakes in Oman, and for UK visa tests, IELTS for UKVI in Oman.
Where online lessons with Mike fit
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service. It is not a test centre, it has no centre in Nizwa, Buraimi, Sur or Ibra, it is independent of IDP, the British Council, any university and any government body, and it does not register you, hold a place, set test fees or dates, or issue results.
Every lesson is one-to-one on Google Meet, in English, with Mike, who teaches every session himself from Hanoi. He holds the Cambridge CELTA, has taught English and IELTS for more than 12 years in Vietnam, Turkey and Iran, and scored 8.5 in Speaking in his own IELTS (about Mike). A lesson covers Listening, Reading, Writing Task 1 and Task 2, marked against the public band descriptors, and Speaking Parts 1, 2 and 3 in the real test format, with feedback during the lesson. Because lessons are online, the town where you sit the test does not change where you study, and the booking calendar shows each slot in your own time zone. Our Muscat page shows the clock difference between Oman and Hanoi.
Oman is in a higher regional price tier than Vietnam, and the booking page shows your price in your own currency, with the payment options, before you pay. A paid 30-minute trial can be taken once, on your first booking, there is no subscription or package, and you can reschedule at no charge up to 12 hours before a session. No band is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work you do between sessions.
Related pages
More for Oman: online IELTS tutor for Muscat, Salalah and Sohar, and the page for Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. For other countries, see online IELTS tutors by country and city, and to compare tutors, how to choose an online IELTS tutor.