16 days through Oman with Jeep and rooftop tent

10.04.2023 | Oman, Travel

16 days through Oman with Jeep and rooftop tent

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When we look back at our time in Oman during the cold winter in Germany, it feels like the most relaxing and close to nature roadtrip we had in a long time. The landscape of Oman is so diverse, from deserts, beautiful nature pools between big rocks, the mountains and the ocean – Oman has it all. The best thing about Oman is, that you can rent a car and stop for the night where-ever you want. Oman is such a roadtrip / camper friendly country, and one of the safest countries as well. You can easily see the most touristic spots around Muscat in 10 days or you extend your trip to 3 weeks and add a desert crossing, many more Wadis and Sugar Dunes. Whatever you choose, a short trip or a longer roadtrip, it will be amazing!

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Take a flight to Oman – Muscat ✓

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1. Muscat, Day 1-2

Although Muscat has a beautiful mosque and some nice snorkel trips we wouldn’t recommend to spend a lot of time in the capital. We didn’t find something like a cute city center, everywhere are big highways and good modern restaurants are rare. We only stayed a few days to visit the beautiful Sultan Qaboos Mosque, went to some Crossfit classes, joined a diving trip to Ad-Dimaniyat Islands and got our car.

What to do?

Sultan Qaboos Mosque

An absolutely must-do is visiting this beautiful mosque! We highly recommend getting there at the time of opening at 8am. Most tour busses arrived around 9am. Legs and arms bust be covered for women and men and women has to wear a shawl around the head. The mosque entrance is completely free and open to non-muslims every day except Fridays. Although this building is really new, it just opened in 2001, the mosque is extremely beautiful in symmetry and the choice of material.

Muttrah Souq

Muscat has a souq directly at the ocean, however we can’t really recommend it. It was totally focused on thousands of tourists arriving for a few hours by big cruise ships and didn’t look that authentic. Fridays and Saturdays some parts are closed. We highly recommend to visit the souq in the smaller town Nizwa instead, which felt very authentic and original. Also you might want to have a look at the Royal Opera House at the harbor.

Ad-Dimaniyat Islands

We saw some incredible drone shots of Ad-Dimaniyat Islands in the internet and couldn’t believe this is Oman. We joined a scuba diving tour by Mola Mola Diving and just went snorkeling there. While the other group members went on two dives, we had a lot of time to explore the clear water around the island. The boat had a nice roof top for sunbathing. On the way to the islands we had incredible weather, however when we started on our way back to the harbor weather conditions changed to a nightmare. Keep in mind that the sea can get very rough and wavy here, although it doesn’t look like that on the photos. We needed several hours back and it was very scary bumping into very high waves. However, the boat crew did an amazing job and brought us back to the harbor safely. The trip cost 30 OMR per person.

Crossfit Itihad

I cannot recommend this Crossfit Box enough! If you want to integrate some fitness in your travel plans, this is the place to go! Just get an Uber, if you don’t have the rental car yet. There are several classes per day teaching Crossfit and it’s climatized. The people were so friendly, many Omanis gave us tips for our roadtrip, showed us pictures and even gave us a ride back to our hotel. I love the Crossfit community. One of the reasons I do Crossfit in Germany and in every country I find a Crossfit Box.

Where to eat?

As mentioned above, we found it a bit difficult to find some good food places in Muscat. Since it gets extremely hot in summer, most restaurants are located in big malls. However, we found these restaurants outside of shopping malls:

Where to stay?

We just stayed in one hotel, Royal Tulip Hotel, and we can definitely recommend it! It is located in the center, the rooms are clean and big, there was a rooftop pool, a small sauna for women and men and a small café in the entrance. We paid around 60€ per night.

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Get your car for the roadtrip (we booked with Golden Highlands and got our car directly in front of our hotel) ✓

45 minute drive to the coast ✓

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2. Area around Bandar Al Khairan, Day 2-4

Actually we planned Yitti beach for our first stop, since it was open to camping directly on the beach. Sadly, Yitti beach was completely closed due to construction work for big hotel complexes. We stayed at Bandar Al Khairan for the first night and drove back to Extra Divers Quantab the next morning for our diving trip.

Al Fahal Islands with Extra Divers Quantab

With Extra Divers we went to the Al Fahal Islands and although the water is not the clearest in Oman, we saw many different fish, rays, moray eel and a turtle. We highly recommend Extra Divers Quantab, they were very well organized, had a good diving boat and a lot of safety procedures. They also offer a dolphin spotting tour for snorkelers.

Bandar Al Khairan

For the night we stayed at the beautiful Bandar Al Khairan. On the top of the rocks is a big viewpoint, where it gets very busy in the evening. If you have a good 4×4 you can drive down the steep bumpy road to the water. We had dinner directly next to the water with a beautiful view on the rocks around us. Unfortunately in the late evening, some guys started a big stinky fire, so we had to drive all the way up the steep road in the darkness and chose a calm viewpoint nearby instead.

Wadi Mayh Track

Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time for this hiking track, however some locals recommended it. Maybe you might want to check it out.

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1.5 h drive further south along the coastline to visit your first Wadis ✓

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3. Explore some Wadis, Day 4-7

Oh, this area is so beautiful! The landscape from the beuatiful ocean to the mountain roads leading to the Wadis is mind blowing! We listed our favorite spots below. However if you have more time, some locals recommended these spots in this area as well: Madschlis al-Dschinn, Salama Plateau, Beehive Tombs and Hole Cave 7.

Wadi Al-Abeirdeen

This Wadi was a secret tip from a local, otherwise we would have missed it, since it’s not at the typical tourist itinerary. The road through the mountains is really beautiful and the Wadi isn’t crowded at all. If you go here for the whole day, you can do a hike for around 5 hours up to a nice waterfall.

Bimmah Sinkhole

Well, this Sinkhole surrounded by rocks is a must visit. What a beautiful natural swimming pool. Take some time to swim in the refreshing clear water and explore the part under the caves. Around 8-9am it wasn’t crowded at all. If you put your feet in the water you will notice that after some time lots of small fishes start to nibble at your feet. Test how long you can stand these fish, until it gets too ticklish. It’s really funny!

Wadi Shab

This Wadi was definitely our absolutely favorite Wadi! Wadi Shab means gorge between the cliff. We slept at Fins Beach in our rooftop tent and drove to Wadi Shab early in the morning. From the parking spot close to the road, you have to take a small boat for 1 OMR per person to cross the river for 2 minutes. Then you need to hike 45 minutes deep into the spectacular canyon with vertical ridges, until you reach the beginning of the water. From here you need to swim through the Wadi, there is no hiking trail next to it! So, definitely bring a good water proof bag for your belongings!! We left our shoes at the rocks, some water shoes might be more comfortable. After a few minutes of swimming and walking through the Wadi you will find yourself surrounded by rocks. But this is not the end! There is a small entrance between the rocks, where you get into a little cave. Here you can climb up a rope to another cave. Be there early, on our way back many tourists had arrived.

Wadi Dayqah Dam

This place surrounded by all these mountains is such a nice place for lunch or for staying a night. The view in the early morning is incredible, we were the only ones here. I remember sitting there in the morning with a coffee, a porridge and a book, feeling completely in peace with nature. If you drive a little further you will arrive at the actual dam with water.

Fins Beach

This is a must do! Since Yitti Beach is closed, Fins beach is the perfect place to directly stay at the ocean. Fins beach is a long beach section, there are even parts where you can camp directly on the white sand with your car. However, when we explored the coast here, we found this rocky part the most beautiful to stay the night. Unfortunately the water is really rough here, so it’s not easy to take a dip.

Stop for some camels

On our way to Bimmah Sinkhole, we found this place by accident next to the ocean. There were like 10 camels relaxing around the lake. Just take a short stop if you see these majestic animals.

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50 minutes drive further South the coast until you reach Sur ✓

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4. Sur, Day 7

You can either stay a night in Sur or you have a stop for lunch/dinner and stay the night in Ras al Jinz, like we did. We found the atmosphere very relaxing and the lighthouse is really beautiful. Also you can restock your supplies, since there are big supermarkets. Earlier Sur was known as a trading point with East Africa. The old architecture is really beautiful here. Zaki Restaurant was recommended by some people.

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From Sur it’s another 50 minutes drive to arrive in Ras al Jinz ✓

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5. Ras al Jinz, Turtles, Day 7-8

In Ras el Jinz you can visit a protected turtle nesting area. They offer a guided walk in the morning during sunrise at 5am (possible to take pictures) and a guided walk after sunset (no pictures allowed). It costs 8 OMR per person and we saw two big turtles. The turtles stay the night at the beach for egg deposition and spend the day in the ocean. Therefore you have to be very careful with turtles laying in the sand at night, not only in Ras el Jinz! When we drove along the beach at Sugar Dunes, we even saw turtles, too. Just write them an email to get on the list for the group walk. We camped directly in front of the museum, however you can also stay in their hotel rooms.

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4.25h drive the long way down to Sugar Dunes ✓

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6. Sugar Dunes, Day 8-10

We arrived at the entrance of the dunes in the North for sunset. Since some blogs wrote, that you have to drive over the beach to get to the campground we tried it. This was a very bad decision. After 5 minutes the sand got deeper and we got stuck in the middle of the beach. Unfortunately we were confused by the tide, the water level was actually rising. The sun just went down and we tried to free the tires from the deep sand. Luckily a last group of Omanis came by with their 3 cars and helped us. They told us we have to drive faster, so we continued the drive over the beach together with them. Then we got stuck again, they helped us again, then they got stuck. One one hand it was a nightmare, on the other hand it was really funny since these guys really knew how to drive in deep sand. In the end we drove back to the entrance in the North, where we decided to stay the night.

The next morning it was high tide, so we drove down South via the roads in the inlands to the entrance of Sugar Dunes in the South. From there it was a lot easier to enter the dunes. We explored the area and found the perfect spot for the night in the dunes. The next morning we drove the way back north on the beach, the same route we got stuck in the beginning. But this time it was low tide and daylight ;). And we finally made it!

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Do you have more time left at Sugar Dunes? You can take the ferry to Masirah Island and Camp directly at the beach (20.3797, 58.6626)

1.75h drive to the South entrance of Wahiba Sands for the desert crossing (21.15595, 58.93616) ✓

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7. Crossing Wahiba Sands Desert from South to North, Day 10-12

Since we visited the white Sugar Dunes in the South we decided to cross the red desert from South to North, since the South entry is close to Sugar dunes. However, if you don’t visit Sugar Dunes, you can also just visit the desert in the North for one night. We found the desert way more beautiful in the South and in the center, since the North is really touristic with lots of buildings. For both routes we recommend visiting Wadi Bani Khalid after your desert trip.

The red desert Wahiba Sands

When we heard about the possibility of crossing a desert we where on fire. We met another couple who did the crossing completely alone, since most main sand roads have a good visibility. However, this couple carried sand boards and other equipment for the likely event of getting stuck in the deep sand. Therefore we organized a guide (100 OMR), who accompanied us for the first part of the crossing, from South to the center. We met him at the South entrance. He also invited us for a coffee in a local tent in the middle of the desert, taught us how to drive in the deep dunes apart from the road and showed us a secret spot just inside the dunes for camping. Most important: You have to deflate your tires before entering the desert (15 psi)! Don’t forget to inflate them when leaving the desert (2 OMR in the North of the desert).

We spent the most romantic two nights in the desert, looking at the stars, reading a book and making a fire. It is so calm in the middle of the desert. The Oman desert part of “The Empty Quarter”, a huge desert which is also part of U.A.E., Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Our guide got stuck once in the middle of the desert, luckily we didn’t get stuck in this desert, in contrast to Sugar Dunes.

Wadi Bani Khalid

After your desert trip you might want to take a dip in clear refreshing water. Because after your desert crossing, there will be sand everywhere. Just a few minutes from the North entry of the desert, you will find this amazing Wadi. Walk further up the rocks to find many more natural rock pools.

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Drive around 2.5 h from the Wadi to Birkat al Mouz ✓

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8. Mountain route 1: Jabal Akhdar Mountains, Day 12-13

There are three different routes in the mountains of Oman, which are quite nice. Unfortunately, you cannot combine them by driving directly through the mountains. After each route you have to come back to the main road in the South. The first route will take you to Birkat al Mouz ruins, past the Saiq gorge and to the viewpoint of the famous Alila Jabal Akhdar hotel. To be honest, be found the second and third route in the mountains way more spectacular. Keep in mind, that it gets a lot colder in the mountains! We had less than 10 degree and in the winter it can even snow! For driving in the mountains, you definitely need a good 4×4 car.

Birkat Al Mouz-ruins

Follow your way to one of the old villages in the middle of banana plantations. Birkat Al Mouz has these beautiful ruins in front of the rocky mountains. You even get a better look if you climb the viewpoint.

Alila Jabal Akhdar Mountains

From Birkat Al Mouz you have to drive through the police checkpoint, from where you can take the road up the mountains. You can only get passed the checkpoint with a 4×4 car, the roads are very good but the slopes are pretty steep. Alila Jabal Akhdar is a famous hotel all over the world located directly at the cliffs at 2.000 meters above sea level. However, if you don’t want to spend an extremely luxury night at this hotel, meaning hundreds or even thousands of euros, you can camp directly next to it at the viewpoint. The spectacular view is mostly the same.

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Drive back to the main road 15 and take the road to Nizwa ✓

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9. Mountain route 2: Nizwa and Jebel Schams, Day 13-15

This mountain route is extremely beautiful including the most highlights in the mountains. You will first start with the beautiful and authentic town Nizwa, followed by Tanuf Castle and stay the night in the tropical little paradise Misfat al Abriyyin. Then you continue your journey up the mountains to W6 Balcony Walk for the next night. On your way back to the main road 15 stop at Bahla Fort and Jibreen Castle.

Nizwa

In our eyes Nizwa is the most beautiful town in Oman. The town felt very authentic, mystic and special. The old fort with all the different doors and rooms, one of Oman’s oldest castles. You can easily spend 1 hour just exploring this building. Get to know stories, the defense system, climb the highest level for a great view of the town and get inside the round walls in the center with the three big stairs. The entrance to the fort is 5 OMR.

Beside Nizwa Fort we recommend to take at least half a day exploring the town with all the beautiful alleys. Have a stop at the cute Niz café with a rooftop. Don’t miss the big souq with all the beautiful pottery, it’s way more authentic than the souq in Muscat.

Tanuf Castle ruins

After visiting Nizwa, have a short stop at the ruins of Tanuf Castle. The ruins are located halfway between Nizwa and you Al Hamra.

Misfat al Abriyyin, Al Hamra region

We highly recommend to spend a night here in this beautiful paradise. Stay in a beautiful local mud village, like Misfah Old House Homestay. We actually spend New years eve there and had a wonderful dinner. Enjoy the view of the banana and dates plantages from the roof terraces and listen to the tropical sounds. There is not much to do in Misfat al Abriyyin, but strolling around the old buildings between all the beautiful palm trees was absolutely relaxing. You have to park your car outside the village, but it’s just a short 10 minute walk.

If you don’t want to spend the night in Misfat al Abriyyin, we can also recommend this campsite a little further away with the most incredible view of the mountains: 23.09922, 57.35098.

Jebel Schams

The next morning drive up the mountains to the famous W6 Balcony Walk, it’s a 7km hike with epic views leading into the canyon. Here we had the most beautiful campsite directly at the cliffs, you can find it with these coordinates 23.2042131, 57.2020303. Definitely get up for sunrise and enjoy the views of sunset here! The next morning we were invited by a few Omani men to have breakfast with them. They told us about their jobs as police men and that they have picknick at this spot very often. Don’t forget to bring enough water for the 7km hike!

Bahla Fort

On your way back to the main road 15, stop at Bahla Fort. Aren’t these old buildings in front of the mountains beautiful? We couldn’t get enough of the views with the palm trees and the mountains.

Jibreen Castle

We highly recommend to explore Jibreen Caste, located close to the main road 15. It is so beautiful inside and a welcoming cool down from the heat outside (when we visited we had 40 degree outside).

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From Jibreen Castle it’s just a few minutes on the main road 15, then take the road via Al Ghafat ✓

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10. Mountain route 3: Wadi Damm, Day 15-16

The third route in the mountains leads to an extremely beautiful Wadi, where you can camp close by. This one was together with Wadi Shab, our favorite Wadi. We had this place completely on our own, climbed the rocks, played in the water – it’s just a big paradise.

Wadi Damm Pools and Camp

Oh how we loved this place, and how we wished to stay a second night. You can either camp directly in the canyon or at the nearby campground. We were told, that the Wadis can get flooded in the night, so we only had dinner in the canyon and camped at the close campground. However, a local guy told us it’s save to sleep in the canyon. Drive with your car inside the canyon and then hike up the rocks for about 15 minutes until you reach this cute pool with the little waterfall.

Al Ain

On your way back to the main road 15 stop at Al Ain. Explore the tombs in front of the beautiful mountain range.

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3h drive back to Muscat ✓

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11. Additional: Salala in the South, add 4-5 Days

If you like to spend more time in Oman, you can add Salala located in the South of Oman to your itinerary. However, the drive down from Sugar Dunes is really long. If might be more convenient to take a short inland flight to Salala and explore the area from there. The most beautiful spots are located even South of Salala at the border to Yemen.

12. Additional: North tip, add 4-5 Days

With more time you can also add the North tip of Oman. We were told this place looks like Norway or Sweden with beautiful islands and fjords. A family told us that they took a flight to Dubai and got a driver by the hotel who drove them to the North of Oman. From there they took several boat tours around the islands.

From Muscat you can either drive all the way up, cross the border to United Arab Emirates and cross the border to Oman again. Or you take a ferry just before the border to U.A.E. to skip the long border crossing process.

Best time to visit Oman?

It is best to visit Oman in winter from October to April, since temperatures are warm but not too hot. This is also the time, where you can see turtles in Ras al Jinz. Between June and August it’s not recommended to do a roadtrip, since temperatures rise up to 50 degree, especially in the desert region. However, for the mountains it’s better to visit in the warmer months, since in winter temperatures can get under 0 degree there.

Did it feel save?

Yes, absolutely! Oman is one of the safest countries in the world, especially for roadtrips and sleeping outside in a rooftop tent. We only met friendly people, we didn’t have any bad situation. Also we noticed that there are police stations everywhere in the country, but probably more for deterrence.

How expensive is Oman?

For hotels, cars and food the prices are similar to European countries like Germany. However, the entrance fees are either quite low or free. You still find cheap for example Indian restaurants.

The best hypermarkets to buy food and everything you need for your roadtrip are: Lulu and Carrefour.

How to get around?

We rented a 4×4 Toyota Landcruiser 2014 V6 with the car rental Golden Highlands. We highly recommend them, the handover was absolutely uncomplicated, they even brought the car to the hotel. The rooftop tent was completely new and they even gave us a table, 2 chairs and cooking equipment for free. The communication via WhatsApp was very good, and they helped us with everything they could. Ask for a deflator for the desert!

In the Sugar Dunes we got stuck in the sand, a group of incredible Omani helped us to get out. Same in Nizwa: We noticed a flat tire, after a few minutes some Omani came who wanted to help us change the flat tire. They even thanked us afterwards, which felt quite awkward. The Omani people are so friendly and welcoming, it’s incredible.

Do you need a visa?

It’s very easy to get a visa. Just request the E-visa online, it will cost around 45$ per person. We got the visa around one day after request. However, the immigration in Oman airport took a while.

We visited Oman in December 2022 and January 2023.

Anzeige / ad: The hotels, restaurants and companies we mentioned above didn’t sponsor us. All our recommendations are always based on our own opinion.

Deserts, Mountains, Ocean, Natural Pools - Oman has it all!

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