Oman: The Essentials

Arrival at Muscat airport. Meet & Greet by our representative. Passengers arriving individually will be met and greet and will have a private transfer. Transfer to your hotel by air-conditioned vehicle. Check-in & Overnight in Muscat. Dinner on your own.

Breakfast at your hotel. We will start with a briefing meeting at 9h30 am to introduce all the group and the guide and explain the trip. Afterwards ,we start the tour of Muscat. Drive through the beautiful embassy quarter, to reach the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque that has a remarkable architectural achievement. As a contemporary place of worship, it serves as a spiritual landmark for modern Oman, projecting the values and aspirations of the Omani people. As an edifice, it maintains a perfect balance between aesthetics, culture and deeply rooted Islamic tradition. After the visit to the mosque we continue to the OPERA house to visit this marvelous edifice specially built by the Sultan Qaboos. Lunch will be served in a typical fish restaurant with the locals . After lunch, we will visit Old Muscat, surrounded by steep mountains and flanked by twin 16thcentury forts ‘Jalali’ & ‘Mirani’, also see the Al Alam Palace, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ residence. We will then proceed to Bait Al Zubair Museum. Bait Al Zubair is itself a part of Muscat heritage. Sheikh Al Zubair who served three former Sultans, founded the house in 1914 and his son Mohammad Al Zubair opened it as a museum in 1998. Its carved doors open into a fortress style reception. The museum includes traditional Omani weaponry, jewelry, costumes, domestic utensils and recreated urban and rural environments. Then drive through the scenic beauty of the corniche, stop at Muttrah - the main port & commercial center, and explore the colorful historic souk. This is a real souk with winding alleys and backstreets and stalls selling all manner of textiles, jewelry, traditional Omani perfumes (bukhoor - made of frankincense), souvenirs and antiques… After that long tour, we will drive back to the hotel. Dinner is at a traditional OMANI restaurant, where you will experience how OMANI people eat and taste their cuisine enjoying the relaxing atmosphere that the OMANI people like. Overnight in Muscat.

After breakfast depart for a great adventure trip .We will drive through one of the most thrilling sections of Oman's 1,700 KM coastline. Visit the famous Sinkhole, a part of a collapsed mountain filled with sea water then continue driving on the graded road via Fins. Continue your journey to Wadi Shab where we will stop to admire the marvelous nature and may be walk a bit in the WADI . Lunch in WADI Shab. We will then continue to Sur, a sea-faring town and a trading port bustling with activity throughout the year. Famed for the fascinating architecture of its old town and shipyards where traditional dhows have been built for centuries at the edge of the bay. After a quick tour of Sur, we will continue the coastal road passing through high cliffs and small fishing villages. We will reach at the end of the afternoon the desert of Wahiba Sands – one of the most fascinating and mysterious regions of Oman. We will board 4x4 vehicles and start the adventure in the desert. The vast, ever-shifting dunes support an astonishing variety of wildlife and host different kinds of flora and fauna. The quick-changing patterns of the dunes are a photographer’s delight. The Wahiba is also home to a few thousand Bedouins, who are known to have inhabited this inhospitable region for at least 7000 years. We will do some dune bashing as our experienced drivers show their skill on the dune drive which is a thrilling experience. Dinner in the camp with a real desert atmosphere & Overnight in the Wahiba Sands.

After breakfast, we will enjoy for the last time the desert and its secrets, before we board our 4x4 to return to normal civilization. We will then depart to Wadi Bani Khalid – a lush green valley surrounded by rugged mountains. We will enjoy an incredible view and a chance to capture the scenic beauty with the cameras. We will walk in the wadi to investigate the surrounding area on foot. Departure to NIZWA around noon, we will stop on our way for lunch. After lunch, we will continue to Nizwa, a great city with a great history. On arrival in NIZWA after approximately 2- 3 hours, we will do a quick orientation of the city. The ancient capital of Oman, Nizwa was a seat of learning and the birthplace of Islam in Oman. The 17th-century souq famous for the silver jewelry is the major attraction of Nizwa, not to mention the popular & interesting cattle auction, which takes place every Friday. Built on a scold base of the rock, the huge tower was designed to withstand the vibration of 24 cannons. We will visit the SOUK and walk around discovering the old city. Check-in the hotel. Dinner. Overnight in NIZWA.

After breakfast, we will continue the visit to Nizwa. Our first stop will be the charming ancestral village of BIRKAT AL MAWZ at the bottom of the GREEN mountain, JEBEL AKHDAR. Then we will proceed to the Jabreen Fort . The Jabreen Castle, built-in 17th century, is one of the finest of its kind. Its magnificent plasterwork, the carved doors, and the painted wooden beams of the ceilings make this castle amazingly different. After we visit the Jabreen Castle, we will drive back towards Nizwa passing the JEBEL SHAMS part of the most famous Hajar mountains chain in OMAN. We will pass by the oldest small towns of Oman Bahla with its fort (outside visit). We will stop at the palm groves at Al Hamra to see its Falaj system. we will stop on our way for lunch. After the visit, we will proceed to MUSCAT, the Capital. Evening transfer to Muscat Airport for the departure flight.