Oman Grand Tour

*A minimum of eight travellers are required to arrange for this trip

Route Stops: Muscat tour – Sayq plateau – the village walk – Nizwa – Falaj Daris – Jabal Shams –The Balcony Walk – Hasat Bin Salut – Bahla – Jabrin – Salut – Fahud – Wadi Aswad – Um al Samim – Qurun Al Fiddah – Ramlat Al Sahmah – Ramlat Muqshin – Muqshin – Ramlat Ajmah – Ramlat Yibla – Ramlat Fasad – Al Hashman – Shisr – Park Of Wadi Dawakah – Salalah – Al Balid Archeological Park – Wadi Derbat – Mirbat – Wadi Shuwaymiyah –Ras Madrakah – Al Wusta Wild Life Reserve – Al Khaluf – Wahiba Sands – Ghuwayfat Al Habb – Wadi Bani Khaled – Ras Al Jinz – Sur – Muscat 

Requirements: Please note that this trip involves extensive time spent in the desert, including 23 nights’ camping, so you’ll need to adjust to life without standard toilet facilities. To navigate the desert, you must understand the precautions of travelling in a hot climate and staying safe and responsible in a desert environment. We recommend you bring hiking/trekking shoes, trekking poles and swimsuits for the oasis pool. Please note that our meals in the desert follow Bedouin recipes from limited resources, so we may not be able to accommodate dietary requirements or substitutes for food intolerances. 

ITINERARY

• DAY 1: Arrival in Muscat Airport and transfer to hotel. Transfer and hotel included.

• DAY 2: Muscat City tour: We'll visit Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque at 8am, followed by the National Museum. Then we'll explore Mutrah Souq and have lunch there, after which we'll walk around the area and head back to the hotel. Lunch, museum fees and hotel are included. Please note that the grand mosque reuires a modest dress code for entry. Headscarves and abayas can be purchased at the mosque.

• DAY 3 (165 KM): We'll start by heading to the Hajar Mountains, which sit like a crown on the top of Oman's landscape, then to  Birkat Al Mawz then up to Sayq Plateau, stopping at Diana point. There we will start the village walk; a relatively easy 4KM hike where you will enjoy the scenery of mountain villages and experience local Omani life. Camp at 2000m altitude. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 4 (120 KM): We'll break camp around 7AM and descend to the animal market of Nizwa, an ancient town that was once the capital of Oman, then to its fort, which closes at 11AM on Fridays. Afterwards, we'll travel to Falaj Daris to visit the falaj water system, the main source of life in the mountains. Then we will head towards Jabal Shams, where we will camp around 2500m altitude. Breakfast/lunch/dinner (B/L/D) included. 

• DAY 5 (35KM): We'll begin with the balcony walk: this easy-going trek offers an excellent vantage point from a balcony-style ledge looking down upon the incredible canyon (a pair of trekking poles is recommended for this trek). Then we’ll descend the mountain by car, after which we’ll lunch at a Yemeni restaurant, then move on to camp at Hasat Bin Salut Rock: an impressive prehistoric rock carving considered to be Southern Arabia's largest and most important rock art monument. B/L/D included.

• DAY 6 (50KM): We’ll visit Bahla Fort, a UNESCO world heritage site and Jabrin Castle, then continue to the iron-age archeological site of Salut, which dates back to 1300-600 BC. We’ll camp in the area. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 7 (220KM): We’ll begin our expedition into the Empty Quarter, where we’ll follow the roads and tracks made by oil companies through the area of Fahud, where oil was first discovered and was the reason for the war between the tribal leaders of the mountains and the Sultan of Muscat. The discovery of oil was also the main reason for the need to unify Oman with the help of Great Britain, upon which the oil exploration process began. Camp in dunes. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 8 (150KM): We’ll enter the huge dunes country, where mountains of sands extend all the way across the Saudi border to the Yemeni borders. We will pass through Um al Samim, an area feared by Thesiger, because drainage water from the Hajar mountains used to collect there, forming salt swamps known as quicksand. Today, there is a dam in the mountains preventing this from recurring. We will camp near a star dune. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 9 (160KM): We’ll continue south to Al Sahma, where some white small dunes appear. During our morning and afternoon walks, we’ll be looking for stone tools, arrow heads and any traces of stone-age life. This is an opportunity to photograph and experience a rarely visited part of the world. Camp in dunes. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 10 (200KM): We’ll drive towards Muqshin, where we will refuel our cars and refresh our water and food supplies. Then we’ll head back to the dunes for the Southern part of the Empty Quarter. Camp in dunes. B/L/D included. 

• Day 11 (230KM): We’ll continue towards Ramlet Al Heshman, a renowned grazing area for a breed of camel said to be one of the best in the world. Camp in dunes. B/L/D Included. 

• DAY 12 (130KM): We’ll head towards Shisr, a UNESCO world heritage site of the lost city of Ubar. We’ll camp in dunes around 15km before Shisr. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 13 (170KM): We’ll visit the museum in Shisr, then continue to the land of frankincense at Wadi Dawkah, where we’ll note the source of prosperity of ancient Oman. Then we’ll continue to Salalah, stopping for lunch at a restaurant, followed by checking into a hotel for two nights. Hotel is included. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 14: We’ll visit al Balid Archaeological Park and the Museum of the Frankincense Land, which has an impressive display of Oman’s maritime history. We’ll buy fresh fish from the market and have it grilled in Wadi Derbat. Overnight in the hotel. B/L included.

• DAY 15 (210KM): Our cars will travel along Oman’s East Coast with its white, sandy beaches towards the plain below Jabal Samhan and its remarkable limestone cliffs. We’ll stop at Mirbat, one of the ports known for exporting frankincense. We’ll camp on the beach. Please bring swimming suits and a snorkeling kit. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 16 (220KM): We’ll continue our long journey along the East Coast, stopping at Wadi Al Shuwaymiyah, then on towards Ras Madrakah, where we will camp on the beach. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 17 (170KM): We’ll arrive at Ras Madrakah, camp there and have a snorkeling excursion around the site. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 18 (170KM): We’ll head to the Al Wusta Wildlife reserve, where the almost extinct Arabian Oryx was successfully reintroduced into the wild. We’ll camp outside the wildlife reserve. Entrance fees and B/L/D included. 

• DAY 19 (180KM): After visiting the wildlife sanctuary in the morning, we’ll head to Al Khaluf, an area of beautiful white dunes. Camp in dunes. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 20 (175KM): Our cars will head towards Wahiba Sand, entering from the West and navigating the dunes towards Ghuwayfat Al Habb. We’ll set up camp in Wahiba Dunes. B/L/D included.

• DAY 21 (100KM): Our convoy will continue on a rarely used track, travelling north to avoid the campsites of Wahiba. We will camp a short distance before the road to Bani Khaled. B/L/D included.

• DAY 22 (230KM): We’ll start our expedition through the Eastern Hajar mountain to Wadi Bani Khaled. We plan to visit in the morning to avoid crowds on day trips from Muscat, then we’ll move towards Ras Al Jinz, where we’ll camp in the nearby mountains. B/L/D included. 

• DAY 23 (215KM): We’ll visit a turtle reserve in the early morning before sunrise. While it’s not the nesting season (around June), at least one turtle will be spotted, as well as the beautiful sunrise. We will continue to Sur, stopping there, and then back to Muscat. Entrance fees, B/L and hotel included. 

• DAY 24: Checkout and return to Muscat international Airport. Transfer included.