Oman has interested me for a long while. As far as Arab countries (I hope that is a correct term), I have only been to Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt and Israel (pre 1973 Sinai) and each of those visits were more than twenty years ago, some many more than that.

I have the LP Oman guide but in reading it I know that I need a far more amount of guidance and would be willing to use the help of a local agency.

I do have a big interest in swimming so would like to stay in some resort hotels; my budget is generous.

I am also interested in local handcrafts, although (I hope) my days of big shopping are past.

But most of all I want to see what makes Oman such a desirable destination among so many travelers. I had not realized how large the country is, but if I go all that way (from USA), I ought to take the time to see a good bit of the highlights. Would three weeks be necessary for that?

I'm also curious about the Muscat Opera House and if I do set dates, will check on their schedule.

I'd like to spend a night or two in the desert but am not up to camping alone. I need an agency to arrange that but would love to spend a few nights in a tent on the sands somewhere....love that...I camped on the Niger one one of my visits to Mali, years ago, (big fan of West Africa) and it it among my best travel memories, or course we had a staff to set up the tents and prepare the food; I would want the same now.

I am not willing to drive on my own, especially in the 4WD vehicles that appear to be essential. I can almost laugh at the thought of me behind the wheel of one of those, me who lives in Manhattan and considers a drive of over an hour very taxing.

I almost always plan my own trips, save to Southern Africa, but I do think/know that I need a local planner for this potential trip.
. I can spend some nights near Muscat or/and Bandar Jissar, and also Salaleh, on my own, but I'm not going all that way to lounge on the beach most of the time.....

I'm fine with staying in a hotel and taking taxis or walking to restaurants (food is a big interest of mine...major interest), but for the actual sightseeing, I need lots of help.

I was thinking about maybe November/early December. I would like to be able to swim in the sea comfortably. Where are the best beaches with warm and calm waters..in
Salalah?

This is a real outlier for me but I've been thinking about this for a few years so I thought now might be the time to at least do some initial inquiries.

Would love to hear if anyone has visited Oman recently and would love to hear any and all comments.....from what I read it sounds fascinating and the people sound quite welcoming.

Just seeking some comments..no rush but many, many thanks.

ek

I visited Oman twice when we lived in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - I loved it, but it's been many years, so can't help with specifics. We stayed in the Al Bustan Palace and took a couple of organized trips - one to a wadi, but can't remember the details. I also hopped in a few taxis on my own to go gold shopping - if you like gold, don't miss the Omani 24K gold beads. I have a few in silver too.

I'd taxi around by myself all the time in places like Oman, Dubai, Saudi and Kuwait, and felt comfortable doing so. Taxis were cheap at the time, no idea what the situation is now.

We visited just after Oman had opened to tourism, so it was a wonderfully new experience. I have no idea what it's like these days, but very much look forward to your trip report if you do go.

Melinq8, I'm so grateful that you responded!

Omani beads? Have to look that up and see some photos although at this point I am trying to "declutter," and watch and remember I said that, cause I will probably return home, if I do go, with suitcases jammed with ornaments and carpets....both of which I need like the proverbial hole in the head......but I just love to shop in places foreign to me...its just fun!!!

I think I need to get a few names of travel planners to help me out here. I can't imagine I'd have any issue about walking around or taking taxis alone, but the country is so large..I had not realized until I looked at the guidebook.......it looks as if three weeks is needed to get a real feel......

I will look into finding a few agencies, wither local or Uk based.....if anyone has names, I'd be grateful.

And I would be delighted to write a report, although I might be very long!!!!!

Well, if it helps, the beads are jewlery, so small and easy to pack (or wear). I love mine, but need to wear them more often. I Googled for photos, but could only find some silver ones on Etsy, which are different from the gold (not filigree).

As for size, there's a lot of 'not much' in between the main centers - Muscat and Salalah are the main draws, or at least they were when I was there.

I'd love to return to Oman, but worry I'd be disappointed, as I knew it 'back when'.

I have never been to Oman, but if you do choose to write a travel report, I’d be delighted to read it.

My daughter (20) and I were in Oman last year. We had the most fabulous time. I rented a car and drove us for the ten days - it was no problem at all! We hired a fabulous guide for the first day to show us around Muscat and just for me to get my bearings on driving etc. I have an entire trip report on my blog. I did not bother posting here because it did not seem there was much interest in Oman when I was doing all my research. I am not sure if I can share the link or not but I will try, if not you can send me a message and I will send it to you that way.. We loved the camp we stayed at in Wahiba Sands and would not hesitate to recommend it even for solo female travelers. The waters seemed calm in all the areas we were in in (though we did not go to Salalah or up to the very northern tip). Food everywhere was great and neither one of us had any stomach issues what so ever.

Our daughter is just finishing her master's degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. She is seriously considering doing an intensive Arabic course in Oman beginning in January and would have no issues whatsoever with her going to Oman to study; I honestly can not say the same for Jordan.

We were in Morocco two months ago and loved that also (as well as Qatar and UAE) so we have been to aa few of the Arab countries. But feel free to hit me up with any questions.

Here is the link. You have to scroll all the way to the bottom past the comments to get to the link for Day 2

https://wanderingamerrickans.com/202...ion-and-day-1/

I give you my most heartfelt thanks....!

Not I have a good read for tonight when the one tv here willl be turned to a baseball game....

Thank you SO VERY MUCH....


I asked my partner just now about going and he says he has no interest at all....probably better for me......so will be reading your blog tonight!!

ekscrunchy-

I know your posts here have helped me on plenty of my other trips so I am happy to return the favor!

My blog started off as a memory keeper for us and a way for my mom to "travel" along with us and know what we were up to. Over the years friends and other family members also asked to receive it, so now I have a small personal audience. Since I am not advertising or using any associated links, let me know if you want the names of anything that I mention and I will do my best to dig it up.

Tell your partner they are missing out - my husband is still so bummed he didn't join us!

My husband and I traveled to Oman twice (in 2014 and 2016). On both occasions we added a few days in Dubai.
On our first trip we started in Dubai by overland trip (travel agent arranged car+driver) through the other emirates to Khasab on Musandam peninsula. Khasab is also called the 'Norway of Arabia' because of its fjords. We did a dhow cruise and saw lots of dolphins jumping around our boat.
Then we flew to Muscat for a few days at the beach (The Chedi is fabulous, as is the Shangri-La chain but the latter is further away from the city center). We visited Sultan Qaboos Mosque, the Opera House, the local souk, etc.
On our last day in Muscat our 4WD was delivered, together with a driver for a day for teaching us how to drive off-road on narrow mountain roads. He drove us from Muscat to Nizwa through Wadi Bani Awf. Off-road it was!! Spectacularly beautiful scenery. Make sure to be in Nizwa on Friday for the goat market very early in the day.
As of Nizwa we had the 4WD to ourselves and drove to Jebel Shams, Jebel Akhdar, visited various forts for which Oman is renowned, we saw wadis, sinkholes, ghost villages, we saw turtles laying their eggs on the beach, etc. etc.
But the part I had been looking forward to for years was the desert. We drove to the desert in convoy with other 4WDs. Wow, wow and wow. We spent a night in a basic camp without electricity (they did have a generator), but our bungalow/tent was very comfy with good beds and an outdoor bathroom. The desert was the highlight of our trip (for me) and again we booked a driver for 4 hrs of dune bashing in our 4WD. We couldn't have done this by ourselves ... we would have gotten lost and it would have been a nightmare to find our way out again.
The last leg of our three week journey was spent in Salalah (Dhofar province) in the deep south of Oman. It was a short flight from Muscat. Salalah has fine white sandy beaches with palmtrees ... just as in the Carribean. We rented a sedan car for a few days and drove around some but mainly spent our days at the beach and the pool.
We loved Dubai and Oman so much that we decided to go back one and a half year later.

I truly enjoyed your trip report. Brought back so many good memories of our own trips to/in Oman and its genuinely friendly people.
We, too, chose a smaller 'close to nature' camp in the Wahiba desert. It was magical, as was the 4 hr dune bashing the morning after.
I'm sorry you had this obtrusive guide in Nizwa. We also did the goat market on our own.

Here are the mountains one more time ...


Hajar Mountains seen from above

Myriam - Glad you enjoyed the blog. We were just in Dubai in April (we were there during the epic rains) There is a blog for this trip also. We did not think UAE compared to Oman but some of the scenery (the mountains especially) were very reminiscent. Our favorite was our time out in Al Maha. Oman I would gladly return to, Dubai not so much but in fairness we wizzed through much of it.