Oman
3 weeks, February 2020
GENERAL COMMENTS
Oman is a Middle Eastern destination with interesting topography, friendly people and very good infrastructure. English is widely spoken. There are no security issues in Oman.
A vehicle is near-essential. A 4WD adds spice to the itinerary
Highlights for us included Wadi Shab, the sand desert, the castles/forts, Snake Canyon, Ghubrah Bowl (Wekan), some nice campsites and driving Musandam
Navigation was mostly with Maps.me, sometimes Google maps. I had loaded a few gps tracks and referred to Gaia.gps for some of the light hiking.
Food was fine. We often self-catered by purchasing ready-made foods (we favoured Lulu supermarkets). At Lulu, fresh hummus, salads and Arabic bread made good lunches and we sometimes bought ready made dinners including inexpensive roast lemon chicken.
Day 0
Day flight from London to Muscat with Oman Air
We picked up beer at the Muscat duty free on arrival (we didn’t see beer for sale anywhere else on our trip)
We checked in to the Al Maha International Hotel, Ghubrah for 2 nights.
Day 1
We took a taxi to Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (the only mosque in Oman open to tourists).
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque
Our taxi journey continued to Muscat Grand Mall (Carrefour, and nearby Lulu supermarket) to purchase inexpensive camping gear. I walked to and from the hotel for camping gear a couple of times, ducking in and out of the shade of buildings for respite from the afternoon sun.
Omani supermarkets offer a huge range of mostly imported produce and other foods sourced from all over the world.
We relaxed and ate dinner at a nearby Turkish restaurant. We often opted for Turkish restaurants because the had more salads on offer than Arabic establishments.
Day 2
We took a taxi to the airport to collect a rental SUV (Toyota Fortuner). We collected our luggage and camping gear from the hotel and drove to nearby Muttrah (Muscat port)
The Riyam- Muttrah hike took a couple of hours.
The Muttrah Souk, likely the best souk in the country, gets busy with Omanis in the evenings.
We stayed at the Naseem Hotel mainly for its central location and view of the pleasant Muttrah Corniche (waterfront) including the sultan's yacht.
Two cruise ships were in port during the day (I might have checked the cruise schedule when planning)
Day 3
The Muttrah fish market is in a newer cavernous building.
Old Muscat was a little under whelming but a visit to the Bait Al Baranda Museum was a fine introduction to Omani culture.
We continued south to Bandar Khairan (all on asphalt). We did a walk and visited a couple of quiet beaches (OK) but the locust infestation grabbed our intention.
We camped near the water, but we didn’t realize that Thursday nights can be busy near Muscat and there were quite few other campers about with vehicles coming and going to about 2:00am (I wouldn't camp at popular spots on Omani weekends, if you expect to sleep).
Day 4
We continued south, stopping first at the Bimmah Sinkhole (worth a look if you have extra time).
By the time we reached Wadi Shab, the small parking lot was almost full. In hindsight, we should have camped closer to Wadi Shab the previous night to allow an earlier start). Wadi Shab is an impressive canyon with great swimming as a reward. However, it was much busier than expected and people’s comments that Oman hasn’t been discovered by tourists didn’t ring true. Still, we are talking about 100 people in the canyon on a weekend and it was quite enjoyable. Recommended even with the "crowds".
Further along the divided highway, we made a small detour to see what little remained of Qalhat, a UNESCO world heritage site. It was worth the minor detour.
View from the Zaki Apartment- hotel in Sur
We reached Sur, checked into the Zaki apartment-hotel, had a look at the busy weekend scene on the main beach and then picked up some dinner at the Carrefour. The popular Indian Zaki restaurant behind our hotel would also be a good choice.
Booking Accommodation
I'd have to say that Booking.com has got Oman well covered. We booked mostly via Booking.com. We booked the Nomadic Desert Camp and Bait Bimah directly. I did use Expedia for Muscat (a prepaid booking was a little bit cheaper). I used Agoda for one night and I booked the Khasab Hotel as a package with the dhow trip with Dolphin Travel & Tourism to save a few dollars. Our impression was the accommodation was not busy, so you really don't have to pre-book if you don't want to but if you do a walk-in, check prices on Booking.com as they are often less than the walk-in rates (though, hotels will typically match those prices).
We stayed in a few apartment hotels which cost just a few more dollars than hotel rooms. Although the living room was typically without windows, they offered more space and working kitchens.
Day 5
A morning look around Sur, in particular the Al Ayjah area which is quite attractive.
We drove inland to the edge of the sand desert. We visited our first Oman fort at Jalan Bani Buhassan (free admission too) and it left a favourable impression on us. We also enjoyed driving the backstreets.
We had a look at a couple of other towns, had lunch and then made sure that we were in Bidyah at the appointed hour for our convoy drive to the “Nomadic Desert Camp”.
We wandered the dunes, then the guests and our hosts walked up the dunes for sunset, we had a buffet meal followed by a campfire in the evening. Although, we could have driven into the desert and camped out on our own, we enjoyed the well-run, family owned Nomadic Desert Camp. Recommended.
DAY 6
Right after breakfast, we all went for a tethered camel ride (included in the room rate) and then we drove out back to Bidyah.
Our next stop was in Al Mudhaireb, to wander around the old, abandoned old town. Interesting.
We were slightly disappointed with Ibra, and we checked out another nearby abandoned village.
The drive to Nizwa seemed a little longer than expected.
Once we had checked into our apartment hotel, we had enough time to visit the interesting Nizwa fort.
We picked up a takeaway dinner at Lulu and ate in the apartment.
Omani hotels are generally operated by guest workers. we found them to be friendly, and very helpful. The rooms were always very clean. Service was quick. Sometimes, we'd call reception for help with the TV's and someone would be at the room door before you could put the phone down.
Philippino receptionist at Bahla Jewel Hotel Apartments
Receptionist from Jaipur, India at the Jibreen Hotel
DAY 7
In the morning, we had time to wander Old Nizwa and the small souq. The newer sections of the souq were not particularly interesting. Most people shop in Hypermarches so the souqs are becoming less popular.
We drove east to a viewpoint of Birkat al Mahwz, then drove through the date palms in the photo to the Saiq Plateau checkpoint (4WD vehicles only, despite the tarmac road up, albeit steep).
The Saiq Plateau has newer towns on the plateau itself, while the older, some abandoned villages are just below the plateau
We walked to two abandoned villages including Wadi Bani Habib.
We found a place to camp a short drive behind a rest area. We had purchased a warm blanket at the Nizwa Lulu and that helped with the overnight cold at 2,000m. We agreed to camp at lower elevations after that night.
DAY 8
We walked the hanging villages of the Saiq Plateau through the irrigated fields. The villages themselves are slowly being abandoned and the farm workers were largely Kashmiris.
We had expected a little more of the Saiq Plateau; we had a picnic lunch and then blew out of there and drove to Jibreen. We booked into the Jibreen Hotel and then drove over to visit Bahla Fort.
Bahla Fort was my personal favourite fort in Oman. It was massive and had numerous different vantages from inside and outside the walls.
Our helpful hotel receptionist suggested a Turkish restaurant, a short walk away. We found that many Omani restaurants had few customers inside because they were mostly sitting in their cars. A common practice is to call ahead and order take-away, or to simply drive up and flash your lights and a waiter will rush out to take / deliver your order.
DAY 9
We got to the Jibreen Fort before opening and we were admitted in, so we had the place to ourselves. When we left, a couple of other vehicles had arrived. It was also an impressive castle.
We drove out on the divided highway and then the back roads to the Al Ayn beehives (UNESCO World Heritage site) and didn't see any other visitors.
We drove up to Wadi Damm (a few bumps along the way) and checked out the canyon. It was worthwhile but not nearly as impressive as Wadi Shab, but there was only a handful of visitors there when we there.
There are a number of obvious camp spots at the beginning of Wadi Damm and it likely gets busy at various times, but we only saw a family camping some ways from us.
DAY 10
We drove east on a beautiful paved road, that abruptly ended and we decided to go back out the way we had come into Wadi Damm from the highway. However, the aborted drive was beautiful and there were many obvious, quiet campsites along the road.
Our next destination was Misfat Al Abryeen. It is an interesting traditional looking village. However, we found that it was changing into boutique hotels and guesthouses and it had the smell of a tourist trap to us. Originally, we were going to stay overnight, but instead, we decided to stay near Bahla, which would enable an early start the following day to Jebel Shams.
Misfat Al Abryeen has nice falaj (irrigation canals) fed from a local spring. We walked through the date palm groves on the hiking trail that goes on for quite a distance. However, even in winter, the sun has a punch to it and our late start necessitated a strategic retreat after about an hour of walking.
We had picnic lunch at one of the rest areas driving down from Misfat and then made a small detour to see the old part of Al Hamra
Typical Omani road scene near Bahla. We are following a Toyota Hilux, going by a large mosque.
DAY 11
We got off to an early start and drove up to the "Balcony Walk" which is on the flank of Jebel Shams, the highest mountain in Oman (3028m). Driving in Oman is relatively straight forward, however you must be alert for speed bumps. Most are well signed or marked but some not so.
7:00 am at the base of Jebel Shams road
The Balcony Walk is very worthwhile and it took us between 2 and 3 hours return. We had a nice lunch at one of resorts, and decided not to camp up there as it would be a long afternoon, without shade and free-camping appeared quite popular. We figured that we could do better, and we did.
We drove up the road to Hajar Pass (paved) to about 1900m and had a look around and enjoyed much of the afternoon up there. We drove down about 10km to a lower elevation (about 1200m) to where we had spotted a good potential camp site and enjoyed the evening there.
To camp or not to camp?
To many, camping is more a budgeting/cost issue. We chose to camp because we wanted to experience some of the beautiful locations. We also enjoyed the cultural experience of staying in hotels or apartment hotels in town to be closer to restaurants and the more urban attractions. Ideally, one could alternate between the two and have a shower and other creature comforts every second day. The afternoons were warm, even in Febraury, so it was nice to take a break in a hotel room in the early afternoons.
Camping in Oman is widely accepted and practiced by Omanis, so you don't feel like a foreign free-loader (if anything, I sensed approval by Omanis). A little bit of common sense and no-trace camping are essential. Camping improved in the mountains and many commonly used sites were obvious (by tracks & firepits). Some sites are on the maps.me app and we found a couple of nice ones using the iOverlander app.
DAY 12
We drove up to Hajar Pass and went for a 1 1/2 hour walk on the W10 trail. It was a nice walk.
You can actually walk from there down to where we had been two days earlier (Misfat Al Abryeen), but we didn't.
The pavement ends on the other (eastern) side of Hajar Pass. Conditions were good, though quite steep in a couple of places. I drove parts of it in 4wd low, to reduce the need for excessive braking.
We passed by Snake Canyon, where we had pre-arranged for a guide the following day (via Whats-app).
We stayed two nights at a Nepali-style guest house called Bayit Bimah Guesthouse. We could have camped nearby, but it was a nice, reasonably priced splurge.
It is a good place to talk with other visitors. I enjoyed conversing with a local guy who had dropped by (for about an hour).
DAY 13
Snake Canyon was one of the highlights of our trip to Oman
It was a fun, wet canyon. Our guide provided us with wet suits (shorties) and safety gear.
The crux of the descent through Snake Canyon was a long abseil (150m rope). Our guide Rashid looked after us throughout.
We finished the canyon by early afternoon and then drove to nearby Bilad Sayit, the home village of our guide.
We had walked the canyon with a French family and we all enjoyed a nice lunch at the family home of our guide, Rashid.
Arranging a guide for Snake Canyon
We'd highly recommend Rashid. If you search on "snake canyon oman tripadvisor", you can read other people's reviews. I contacted him via Whatsapp (his number is +968 9236 0136.
DAY 14
After another fine breakfast at Bayit Bimah Guesthouse, we traveled the gravel roads and went north towards Sahtun valley.
There would be some interesting corners to explore in the Sahtun valley, but we had other things on our agenda. We did see this magnificent view of Jebel Shams (3028m).
The Rustaq fort was closed for renovations due to flooding, but we did have some nice fresh fruit juices across the street.
Old Rustaq has some nice old streets.
Bait al Garbi. This woman has converted her 200 year-old family home into a museum.
And who can resist visiting a Lulu Supermarket? At New Rustaq, we loaded up on picnic supplies and something for dinner.
We stopped in at Awabi Fort, but it was simply closed. However, the front wall provided full shade and made a nice picnic site.
We drove up a nearby valley to Murrah, to have a look around
We struck out on forts that day (zero of three attempts). Nakhal Fort was closed for renovations.
Wadi Mistal beckoned and the plan was to find a campsite. We turned off the main road and headed south on this gravel road. A possible campsite lay ahead.
We found a nice campspot below a telecom tower, alongside the road. Two vehicles passed by, going to a small village on the other side of the small pass.
DAY 15
We got up to this fine view of the Ghubrah Bowl, Wadi Mistal.
We encountered these roadside camels when we were driving back to the main road.
It was a narrow, twisting track up to the village of Wekan.
Wekan and Ghubrah Bowl from the trail above
We found Seeb to be very pleasant.
Seeb
We stayed at the Golden Crown Hotel on the edge of central Seeb, a little north of the Muscat airport. We wandered the beach, souq and shared a mouth watering lamb shuwa (stew). We didn't see any other tourists there.
DAY 16
Oman Air has daily flights from Muscat to Khasab (Musandam) in the north. The one hour flight cost roughly $150 return.
Oman Air had a generous luggage allowance so we opted to bring our camping gear along with us to Khasab.
What Camping Gear did we buy?
"Relax" camping tent - OMR 5.40, Sleeping bags - OMR 2.90 each, Sleeping mat OMR 1.00 each, Stove - OMR 2.90, Gas cartridges - OMR 0.65 each, 2 cook pots - OMR 2.50 each, Crockery (bowls, plates, cups), lighter, storage box, toilet paper - OMR 5.40. Folding chairs - OMR 2.49 each.
We also brought along a couple of inexpensive "self-inflating" mattress. The cheapo sleeping bags were adequate at sea level, and we also purchased a large blanket (OMR 7.90) for colder nights at elevation in the mountains.
The gear was of very poor quality but it did the trick. It was purchased at Lulu and Carrefour, Muscat. The knob on the stove stripped after 5 days of use and required pliers to operate. We didn't bring the stove to Khasab, nor did we see butane cartridges for sale there. 1 OMR = 2.60 USD.
Khasab was a relaxed small city.
Khasab Fort was interesting with a number exhibits. There is no taxi service in Khasab, so when we were ready to return to the Khasab Hotel, we called reception and they sent a driver over to collect us (no surcharge).
DAY 17
The most popular activity for tourists in Khasab is to take a dhow cruise to explore the fjords of Musandam in a lazy sort of way.
Our dhow captain was a Gujarati. His father was a dhow captain in India. The throttle and tiller sometimes required yogic contortions.
The Khasab dhow trip is popular with visitors from the UAE, but on the particular day we were there, most of the participants were from a cruise ship.
One of the trip attractions are the dolphins that seem to appear on cue.
All the boats stopped at Telegraph Island (you had to swim to reach the shoreline). It was a British telegraph repeater station set up in the middle of nowhere. The expression "going around the bend" apparently originated here.
Lunch is always a highlight of cruises!
As the afternoon drew to a close, it was time to return to Khasab
The 2nd largest cruise ship in the world (Harmony of the Seas) has a passenger capacity of just under 5,500.
At the end of our 2nd day in Khasab, we collected a rental SUV (Nissan Pathfinder). For dinner we ordered shwarmas to go at Marsa Khasab Cafe.
DAY 18
The drive along the Western coast of Musandam to the UAE border is stunning. We had a look at Bukha including its forts and waterfront.
At Wadi Tiwi, there are some fine camel petroglyphs. We also went for a short but interesting walk in the wadi.
I had read that the mountainous interior of Musandam was rugged and scenic, so we drove the well graded main road towards Jebel al Harim (2087m).
We camped at a nice spot on the northern flanks of Jebel al Harim with nice views in all directions. We were invited to a nearby village but decided to enjoy and wander around our campsite instead.
DAY 19
The following day, we continued on the gravel road and drove along the ridge. The military checkpoint is the limit of travel in the area.
Khor an Najd is a fantastic Instagram spot.
We also drove around the settlements to the east of Khasab and spotted these camels.
We were done with our camping gear and gave it to this gentleman at Khasab port. He seemed happy about it.
Visibility was poor because of dust/sand but we could see the fjords where we had visited by dhow on the flight back to Muscat.
DAYS 20 & 21
We took it easy on our last full day in Muscat and then we took an early morning flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Photo Album
