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The next day we had arranged with the same tour company (Sunny Day Tours) to go on a day trip to the Wahiba Sands. The Wahiba Sands are the closest dunes to Muscat (about a 2.5 hour drive) and this is where most of the tour companies go. We were not sure about ... (read more →)
We went for a walk along the Qurum Beach to watch the sunset. It was a lovely walk. Groups of young local boys had gathered on the beach with improvised soccer pitches to play some games. There were palapas lining the beach – and although it was cold and windy, I can imagine that ... (read more →)
Although we had originally planned to stay again at Marina Hotel (despite it being a dive, it was still a great location, and better the devil you know…) but the dive was full. I guess that disco gets pretty popular. We ended up staying at the slightly more expensive but much nicer Qurum ... (read more →)
Curiously enough, there are no hotels in Nizwa itself. We ended up staying at Majan Guest House, a couple of miles outside the downtown area. It was very clean, the room was large. The owner held our bags for us during the day, and was very surprised we didn’t have a car. ... (read more →)
Getting back from Nizwa to Muscat was easier than we thought. We had tried to arrange a ticket in advance on the government run buses, but apparently it’s not possible to buy tickets in advance for a trip like this (i.e. where you start at a non-originating point). We ended up lucking out and ... (read more →)
From Nizwa, we took a day trip to Jabrin Fort. This fort is not really part of a town, and in the middle of nowhere. It looked like it might have been possible to get there by bus, but it would have involved a connection somewhere, and then finally a cab from the nearest ... (read more →)
We ended up spending a lot of time at a good falafel place right across from the fort, called Al-Zuhul Restaurant. It was the Omani version of Sonic drive-in, where cars would pull up in the dusty parking lot outside, a waiter would run out and take their order, and then they would eat ... (read more →)
Our next stop was Nizwa. Nizwa is a small town about 2 hours outside Muscat, with a fort and a market. The fort is right in the middle of town, and has an excellent view of the surroundings. It was probably the most impressive fort we visited in Oman. The Nizwa ... (read more →)
The Wadi itself is a beautiful canyon oasis. The guide did not accompany us on the hike itself – he left us and arranged a pick up time. This worked out well for us – it was impossible to get lost and it was nice to explore and take our time.
Nestled in amongst palm ... (read more →)
We also stopped at the Bimah Sink-Hole (like a cenote), which was probably formed when the ground over an underground river to the ocean caved in. There were several kids swimming in the depths below, with a good set of stairs leading down to it. Had we been prepared, a swim would ... (read more →)
We stopped at a couple of empty beaches (including Mokallah Beach) along the way. Although none of the beaches had established facilities, we saw many people camping along them – not a surprise, as the water was beautiful, and the coastline dramatic and inviting. The sand was soft towards the ocean, but a ... (read more →)
The next day we took a tour to Wadi Shab. Wadi Shab is another top tourist draw for Oman. It is basically a canyon with an oasis in the middle, and with a hiking path through it. The route to get there was not easy. At first it started easy, along ... (read more →)
On the way back from Jebel Shams, we stopped at Al Hamra and the village of Misfat Al Abryeen. This is a traditional village “where time has stood still” (it is the oldest village in Oman). We went for a short hike to look at some of the irrigation systems traditionally used in the ... (read more →)
Our tours in Oman were arranged by Sunny Day Tours, Travels and Adventure, which is a company we found buried in the back of the Lonely Planet. Our guide was fantastic, his name was Qais Al Maashari. He has fantastic English, very friendly, very professional, and was always exactly on time to ... (read more →)
The souk, about a 5 minute walk from where we were staying, has a lot of good handicrafts for sale, frankincense, myrrh, and all sorts of other tourist souvenirs. Prices were reasonable, but seemed to suddenly inflate as soon as a cruise boat disembarked. At quieter times however, a good deal could ... (read more →)
We took a walk from Muttrah to Old Muscat. It took about an hour to walk along the Corniche to Old Muscat, and it was a very pleasant walk along the seaside. We walked past the dancing fountains near Al Riyam Park (impressive!) and past the huge incense burner, but were a little ... (read more →)
We headed straight out to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which is open to non-Muslims very limited hours. The mosque was beautiful – one of the most beautiful mosques we’ve ever seen. Although the exterior is rather austere, once you get inside, the carvings, the chandelier and the carpets are amazing. We ... (read more →)
Our hotel, the Marina Hotel, was in fantastic location overlooking the port and minutes away from the market, but the room was not very clean. In addition, starting at around 8pm, there is a loud disco going on till 2 or 3 in the morning. We were on the third story, and it ... (read more →)
Arriving in Muscat, the airport is very comfortable, and we were able to get money out and get into a cab easily. It turns out that despite clear directions, our cab driver took us to the wrong hotel, and when he finally took us to the right hotel, he tried to increase the rate. ... (read more →)
We took a short hop flight from Dubai to Muscat. We decided to fly instead of taking a bus because we were worried about crossing the border (the guidebook led us to believe there could be long delays). However, this might not have been necessary, as several people we met told us this ... (read more →)
