Oman is truly a hidden gem. It’s a nature lover’s paradise with so many things to explore: swimming, hiking, beaches, mountains, sand dunes, the list goes on. We’ve been to many countries and this was the most unexpectedly amazing country that should be on top of your list to visit.
Visas
Citizens of 100+ countries (including the US, Canada, UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and most EU countries) can visit Oman without a visa, so long as the stay does not exceed 14 days. See the Foreign Ministry of Oman’s website for a full list of countries approved for free visa travel. The visa is stamped in your passport with the expiration date written in so please don’t overstay. If your trip is longer, you can apply for a 30 day visa online.
When To Go
Winter time (November through February) is the best as temperatures are in the 20 °C (68 °F) to 30 °C (86 °F) range, the coolest it will get here. Be careful because in the mountains it can get much colder but in the sun it’s just lovely. We had a light zip up sweater and it was more than enough for the morning and evenings but t-shirts are perfect for the day time.
Rent A Car!
Oman is a very easy country to drive around. The signs and turn offs take a little getting used to. A couple times we over or under shot it and had to turn around but once you get used to it, the lack of traffic and ease of their highway system makes for one of the easiest countries to drive yourself. No need to pay someone to drive you. Get a cellphone plan with data so you can use Google Maps, Waze, or any other app for navigation. The only issue with Google Maps is that the voice cannot pronounce a lot of the Arabic names so if you are using the visual to see the navigation, it’s great but a lot of time the voice is silent as she cannot pronounce the names.
We rented from a local company called Oasis Rent A Car and Alex provided the best service. He met us at the airport with the car and everything was smooth.
Make sure to get a 4×4 if you are going into the mountains, for any part of your trip, as it’s required. It was definitely worth the extra cost to have a vehicle better equipped for the mountain roads. We did see people in cars and small SUVs get stuck in some muddy roads in the mountains, a situation we were glad to avoid with our 4×4.
Omani Traditional Dress
One of the first things that stood out to us was how colorful and interesting the Omani men’s traditional wear is. They match their thawb (long cloth that covers the body) with the kumma or circular cap that is embroidered with the most elegant geometric shapes in different colors. The men wear it proudly and with good reason, it looks great! Take note that the caps, although the same shape, are able to be folded and worn in different styles. It’s so cool to see all the differences! If you’d like to take a cap home for a souvenir, you can haggle at any market to get a cheaper version or you can spend good money at a tailor to get a nice quality one.
10 Day Itinerary to Oman
Muscat Day 1 and 2
There is so much to do in Muscat. Unfortunately they do not have a public transit system so you will either have to rely on cabs or rent a car. There is so much to see and do in the city that we loved having the flexibility to drive ourselves. Also parking was ample everywhere we went, so it was never an issue. Seriously, rent a car in Oman.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is beautiful and free to tour. The detail in the stone work on the outdoor corridors is not to be missed. They also have a lovely garden area where you can stroll. It’s truly a peaceful place. It’s open daily from 8-11am. The dress code is strict to be fully covered. I was sent away for showing part of my wrists and we had to get a longer sleeved shirt from the car.
Don’t make the same mistake we made… when looking up on Google Maps, make sure to select the one in downtown Muscat not the one in Ruwi. It seems like people may have accidentally started writing reviews for the Grand Mosque on the pin for a local mosque of the same name by mistake. It made for an interesting drive but a disappointment when we arrived at the wrong location.
Mutrah Souq – This souq feels like you are going back in time due to the winding streets under canopies of goods to be sold. Bartering is encouraged. Make sure to take a walk around and price shop before you decide to buy. This is a great place to get souvenirs like the kamma (traditional Omani mens caps) or frankincense. We learned that most frankincense, a fragrant tree sap, is tapped in the southern city of Salalah. It’s sold everywhere in the market and makes a great present to bring home.
After exploring the Mutrah Souq, grab lunch at the Shawarma Spot on the main road. When you walk up it looks like a hole in the wall, with only 4 plastic picnic tables out front but it was the best shawarma we had all trip! Also walk a few blocks more to try the halwa at Al Diwaniya for Omani Sweets. You get a new taster spoon for each flavor before deciding which one you want to take home. Honestly, they are all amazing!
If you have time, you can walk around the Al Alam Palace area near Old Muscat. We were super impressed with the coastline in this area and the well manicured gardens in front of the palace. You can feel the military presence as they are keeping the government buildings and personnel safe here. However, every guard we talked to was super nice and friendly.
The Royal Opera House at night is stunning. They do have a tour of the inside of their facility for a small fee. See the link here for details but we were happy enough to spend the evening walking around the outside and snapping some fun photos with the dramatic lighting on the exterior. Next door is a small but high end mall. Inside this mall, find the bridge leading across the road. It definitely feels like you are going into somewhere you shouldn’t but take the stairs or elevator down to a courtyard with a few restaurants and another dramatic view of the Royal Opera House.
If you do have a car, drive through the Ras Al Hamra and PDO neighborhood. PDO is a petroleum company in the area. This picturesque development on a seaside cliff is fun to explore and definitely worth the drive. We found a school, a cemetery, a golf course, a beach and if you drive to the top, some amazing sea cliff views!
If you are up for a longer drive, Qantab Heights has a secluded beach where only a few locals were out. Here you can rent a boat to take you to some beautiful spots or just enjoy the water by yourself. It is a very small town and none of the stores or gas stations were open when we went so stock up before you go. The winding drive through the giant mars like mountains is worth the trip out there.
Malls: As with most places in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), malls are a big deal. It’s a great way to beat the heat and spend some time indoors. The Mall of Oman is the nicest one we explored with its better restaurants and shops. The Avenues was just ok. We were comparing The Avenues to the Kuwait and Bahrain Avenues which is unfair but as a mall, it’s worth walking around if you need to kill some time.
Finally, I found the cutest little art gallery run by a local lady. It feels like you are driving up to someone’s house in a neighborhood but you will see the store front as it sticks out among the houses. Just park in front and walk in to find local Omani art work. Safiya Arts Gallery & Studio جاليري ومرسم صفية للفنون .
Drive to Sur – Day 3
Get ready for an adventure packed day. The drive to Sur is 2 hours but along the way are two adventurous stops so give yourself time to explore.
Bimmah Sinkhole – Leave Muscat heading south east on Route 17. I would recommend you drive in your swimsuit. There is a small bathroom and changing spot right at the entrance but it wasn’t the cleanest. Park in the parking lot and follow the sidewalk for a super easy walk to the breathtaking azul blue paradise in the middle of the desert that provides a refreshing swim. You can spend as much time as you want swimming in this sinkhole. We stayed for over an hour. I think this one was our favorite swim because it was so easy to get to (the next swimming spot you have to hike to) and the wet walk back was short.
Pro tip – Having water shoes that you can swim in makes the whole process easier. Many people swam without shoes but had to be careful walking on the rocks to get to the water. Also, bring your own towel. If you didn’t fly with one, you can always stop at Decathlon in the Muscat malls to get a micro fiber towel. There are bathrooms on site but you need to bring your own food and water.
Hike Wadi Shab. Be careful as the Google Maps pin to Wadi Shab takes you up high to a look out. Use the pin instead for Wadi Shab Parking because you are actually looking to go under the bridge. You will drive through a small town to get there. Then park in the lot (or if there are a lot of people, you can park on the road) and take the boat (1 OMR) across. This boat ride is literally less than 2 minutes but unfortunately there is no other way across the water, believe me, we tried. The good thing is the fee for the boat ride covers you both there and back. The boat drivers are constantly making the short trip all day so when you return, there is no need to call them. They will be over to your side of the water in a few minutes with a new group of hikers. When you leave the boat, you will now hike 40-60 mins. It’s actual hiking so wear hiking boots or good sturdy tennis shoes. We saw people walking in flip flops but it honestly looked very uncomfortable. Your hike will automatically end at the Wadi Shab. This is where the real fun happens because now you can swim again. This Wadi is long and narrow and the swim takes you to a cave. If you are not confident in your swimming or holding breath skills, don’t attempt to enter the cave. If you do enter, you are greeted by a waterfall inside the cave. After all your swimming is done, sitting on the rocks to dry off is the perfect place to eat the lunch you packed with you from Muscat :)
End your day with the final leg of the drive to Sur. Sur is a much smaller, sleepier town so we recommend staying only one night. We stayed two thinking there would be more to see in the town and honestly we wished we would have spent that time in the mountains at the end of the trip. At night, you can visit their souq. It’s mainly women’s tailoring stores but it’s an easy walk. If you enjoy Indian food, we found a great little spot called “Vegetarian Restaurant” that was absolutely delicious and decently priced. If you do have some time, you can drive the whole town in about 30 minutes to see the old forts, the lighthouse, the Castle, and a boat museum. I wouldn’t recommend paying to enter any of the places. Most will ask you to pay and when you refuse, they may just say come in anyways. I definitely recommend the Al Ayjah Plaza Hotel. It’s nothing fancy but it was super clean and came with delicious breakfast with a nice view.
Pro tip – There is a huge Lulus Hypermarket outside of Sur on the highway and it’s a great place to stock up on snacks and drinks before heading out to the desert.
If it’s the right time of year, there is the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve about 45 mins away. We didn’t go because it wasn’t a good time to see the turtles but we’ve heard fantastic things about the place. Turtle nesting season, including hatching, spans from May to September, with peak activity occurring from July to September—although these months coincide with some of the hottest weather for travel in the region. While turtles can be spotted throughout the year, there may be days during the low season when sightings are scarce.
Drive to Desert Day 4/5
As you say goodbye to the beautiful waters of the coast line, you will drive into the desert today with one last stop for a hike and swim. Leave Sur and drive to Wadi Bani Khalid which is about 1.5 hours away. Again, following Google Maps for the parking is totally correct. You feel like you are driving into a mountain side and must be in the wrong place but the road ends at a long narrow “parking lot”. You’ll know you are there because cars are searching for a parking spot and people are walking toward the one small opening in the river bed. We again took this drive in our swimsuits. The bathrooms here are in worse condition and there are actually signs asking you NOT to change in the bathrooms. Instead they have tents set up by the pools that they ask you to pay to use. There are way more people here as well so it saved us so much time to already have our suits on instead of standing in lines waiting to change.
When you first walk up, there are two pools. People are sitting there with their feet in the water and fishes are nibbling their skin. You’ll see a small canteen serving light food and drinks across the bridge (this is where the bathrooms are). But you will want to stay to the right side and keep walking back to the second set of pools for a better swimming experience. Again, we stayed for a couple hours just swimming through the narrow walls and jumping off rocks. You can kind of walk/swim your way upstream until the river bed dries up again. I recommend you wear water shoes that you can walk on the rocks with for a better experience.
After we had our fill of swimming, we went back to our car and changed and had a picnic lunch. The food is super limited at the canteen so again a good idea to bring your own. With dry clothes on and our hiking boots, we went right back in to hike past where we were just swimming. It’s only about 20 minutes to the back but there is a cave that locals will take you in. It’s frightening at first because it’s pitch black inside and steaming hot but we used our cellphone lights and it was enough to get pretty far back in the cave.
Do be careful and watch the time. You are going to want to make sure you leave enough time to drive to Al Wasil and get to your desert camp before the sun sets. There are a ton of different desert camps: anything from sleeping on cots and eating off styrofoam plates to all inclusive luxury resorts. Since there aren’t really large towns out in the desert so restaurants are scarce, we opted for a nicer desert camp that included meals. This is also where having a 4×4 comes in handy. A lot of camps will pick you up in Al Wasil for a fee where you leave your car overnight but if you have a 4×4 you can confidently drive out to the desert on your own. It was really fun driving a little crazy through the sand on the way out to the camp.
This was really the highlight of our trip. In our camp, each room had its own private tent with air conditioning, a shower, and a comfortable bed. They offered a delicious all you can eat international buffet and lots of outdoor seating. It felt magical at night with the soft twinkling lights in the trees. Our camp drove us to the top of the sand dunes to watch the sunset which was absolutely awe inspiring. We took our shoes off and just lavished the feeling of the finest orange sand between our toes. It was so fun to run up the hills, slide down them, and just be a kid in these massive sand dunes, desert for as far as the eye could see.
I would definitely recommend two nights in the desert. Why? If you only do one night, it’s too quick. Check in at 3pm, one sun set, dinner, and you check out by 11am the next day. If you are tight on time, it’s ok but if you have time, I would recommend two nights in the desert. While there isn’t a ton to do in the desert during the day (you can purchase additional tours for things like ATV rides or camel rides), we took it as a day to relax, reading books and getting a massage. I am glad we had the second day to enjoy the sunset one more time.
Drive to Nizwa Day 6
After having a delicious breakfast at your desert camp, you’ll have a two hour drive to get to Nizwa. We stopped at Birkat Al Mouz, the first of many ancient towns that are in ruins but you can walk around freely throughout the old neighborhoods in this area. It’s not a long stop but you can meander through and hike up as far on the hill as you feel comfortable. Be careful as many of the houses are falling down and you are in charge of your own safety here.
Nizwa has a lot of sites to see in the surrounding area but the town itself is rather quiet. The main focal point in town is the Nizwa Fort and Nizwa Souq (market). Parking is done in the river wash which feels odd but again, you’ll see the parking spaces and all the other cars, so you’ll know where to park. The Souq closes from 1-4pm everyday, so plan accordingly. This area is super cute to walk around at night with the beautiful white lights adorning all the alleyways. It’s instagramable for sure. A few must see: Go to the fruit market building. Inside you can taste all the halvas (with a different spoon for each bite) and Arabic coffee. If you want to bring home any spices or food, this is a great place to get it. Just across the road is the Date Market, which is just one small store but the dates are reasonably priced and delicious. You can taste test all the dates before you buy them. Seriously, it’s a fun stop and do buy some dates to bring home. They are sooo good!
If you are looking for a good restaurant, we’d recommend the Al Mandi Restaurant on the corner by the goat market. He doesn’t speak much English but he will show you the food and you point and pick. The options are basically just chicken and rice, but you pick what style of each. It was so cheap for how delicious it was.
Pro tip – Almost nothing is open in Nizwa on Friday after 11am (lunch spots even close) so be careful if you plan on being there on a Friday. The only super cool thing that only happens on Friday is the goat market in the Souq, but otherwise I would advise you skip Fridays here if possible. The goat market is a local tradition of noise, excitement, and selling of you guessed it, goats.
Drive Surrounding Area of Nizwa Day 7
Bahla Fort – It costs a few OMR to get into but it was worth it. If you only go to one fort, this one is the one. It has miles upon miles of hallways and spots to get lost exploring. From the outside it doesn’t look that big but we spent so much time trying to walk all the places. They have done a really nice job on keeping it update and clean.
There is a super small souq across the street. Maybe it was the time of day we went, but nothing was open and it’s very small. If you need a little pick me up, I would recommend stopping by the cute little coffee shop Kark AlQanadil to get a cup of their delicious Karak Tea. You will not be disappointed.
There are a ton of other forts and old historic areas to walk around in the area – Jabreen Castle, Al Bilaad Historical Village, Aswiq Historical Village, Falaj Daris Park, Tanuf Ruins, Misfat Al Abriyeen, Al Hamra farm paths.
Aswiq Historical Village is a very cool area close to the city where you can get lost just winding through the alleyways of overgrown apocalyptic like jungle growing out of ancient mud homes.
Falaj Daris Park– It is a great place to dip your feet into the flowing waters that originate in the mountains. It’s a small park but the flowers were in bloom when we went which made for a fantastic walk.
Misfat Al Abriyeen – Drive up the winding road. Be courteous and park on the side of the road where it tells you to park so you don’t block locals. You can walk around the winding small alley of this hillside town. The hike to the Spring of Misfat’s Falaj was beautiful. When you come back into town, stop at Halwa Coffee. You can’t miss its rooftop balcony and its view of the valley. However, you will have to walk through a hotel and up lots of flights of stairs but the view, the dessert, and the experience were well worth it.
If you are able, book a night stay at Alhamra Mountain View. A local has converted his family home into a beautiful, sentimental and modern hotel. He gutted the house and redid each room so it’s clean and new but he has kept homages of his grandmother and parents in the decorations and relics. He has a rooftop with seating where we ate dinner while watching the sunset. It was a great way to end the day of driving around the surrounding area.
Jebel Shams Day 8/9
Get a head start on your day because today you will have some of the most amazing hikes. Drive the winding roads, sometimes paved and sometimes gravel, to W6 – Balcony Walk Hike (the Google Map pin is shockingly accurate). The hiking paths in Oman are very well marked with spray painted red and yellow squares. You won’t need the markers on this hike as it’s virtually impossible to get lost. Follow the road to the end at the top and park where signs indicate. Do heed the warnings and don’t park close to ANY trees as many tourists have come back to their rental cars with giant scrapes for the many goats who will jump on your car to reach the food in the trees. We saw it and it was terrifying. The W6 – Balcony Walk Hike is perfect for a short few hour hike. It stays along the rim of the canyon and ends near an old town, just a few mud huts on the side of the mountain. There seemed to be markings that continued up the other side of the mountain but we turned around and came back. Pack a lunch and enjoy it at this spot.
As you are driving back down the mountain, make a stop at the Cliff Cafe (near the top). You’ll notice it because it has a rooftop which is a great place to enjoy your latte and see the view of the canyon you just hiked. This cafe is legit too, with an espresso maker and real coffee. 10/10 recommend!
Another fabulous hike in the area starts with parking in the Valley Necrosis and walking back to Wadi Ghul. Now don’t be confused because on the map the pins for W6 – Balcony Walk Hike and Wadi Ghul seem side by side, but one starts at the top of the mountain and one starts on at the lowest point of the canyon. Hence the reasons I recommend you follow directions to Valley Necrosis. It’s possible to drive all the way back to Wadi Ghul but this is where we saw cars and small SUVs get stuck in the mud. The hike is relatively flat with a few small hills on a gravel road so I would recommend parking and walking. It was so serene and peaceful to be in the canyon we had just been looking at on our previous hike! We’ve been on a lot of hikes and honestly this was one of the most striking and stunning with the way the sun and shadows played off the canyon walls.
You could spend days hiking all the trails out here so if you enjoy hiking, I would recommend at least two days.
Back to Muscat Day 10
The drive back to Muscat will take about 2 hours. Make sure to get there in time to drop the car off and get to the airport on time.
Overall Oman was honestly one of the most unique countries we’ve ever been to because it offers everything from beautiful beaches to adventurous Wadi hikes/swims to the pristine desert and old forts. It’s worth the flight to delve into the Arab world in such an inviting and friendly place. We never met a stranger while there. We actually were given tea from many locals and even invited to a dinner by a local. This country now holds a very special place in our hearts and I can’t wait for you to discover it too!
