OMAN

The Oman is a nation on the Arab Peninsula with a special charm, not only because it overlooks the Indian Ocean or because it has epic landscapes, but also for the friendliness of the population: this is information, lots of photos and a travel diary.

Information and travel tips for OMAN

Why go? There are endless reasons to make a holiday in Oman, for example the splendid landscapes and the magnificent sea, the population so kind to leave amazed, social security and dry climate.
when to go? It depends in part by the travel itinerary in Oman, but in general we recommend winter, especially if you want to escape from the cold. In the Christmas holidays the temperatures range from the 18th of minimal to the 27th and even at New Year, mass tourism does not exist. In summer the heat can become unbearable.

How to move? A private medium, possibly a jeep, is ideal for freedom that gives and for the low costs (gasoline comes 25 cents per liter! And for car rentals there are excellent offers). The most expensive, most comfortable and less exciting alternative is to stay in a resort and carry out organized trips.
To rent a car here at the best prices for your travel itinerary I absolutely recommend by Search And book this link .
How much does it cost? Life in Oman costs quite little, if you keep us away from the tourist resorts. Indeed, if you stand in nature it costs almost nothing, while flying from Italy we spent 580 euros each including travel insurance ... but you can find flights to a lot less, booking in advance.
Keep in mind that in what it costs I take into account the whole journey ... from the middle for the airport of departure to the drink passing through meals and souvenirs.
For an idea on hotel prices in Oman Click here to compare hotels and find accommodations More convenient.

Where to go? The capital Muscat is a focal point of each travel itinerary in Oman and has a fascinating historic center and beautiful beaches a few kilometers away. The interior includes mountains (Jebel Shams), deserts (at the Sharqiya Sands) and fortified towns (Nizwa, Nakhl). However, the specialty of the house are the "wadi", canyons occupied by streams, ponds where you can dive and palmitate. The Wadi Bani Khalid is rich in natural pools, while the Wadi Shab has an underground waterfall under whom.

Other destinations? First of all, even along the travel itinerary described above there are many worthy destinations reachable with small deviations.
There are also recommended trips to the island of Masirah - which, however, may appear exaggeratedly deserted. But the beauty of a vacation in Oman is to wander in freedom: take Jeep, get acquainted with some Bedouin who runs along the same track and reach the coast near Masirah Island crossing the desert.
South and Salalah obviously deserve a Travel, bearing in mind that there are 1000 kilometers from Muscat.
The Musandan Peninsula, more easily accessible from Dubai, is a set of beautiful bays and canyons among the mountains (and not only of course, of course).

Travel diary in Oman

For Christmas holidays, Oman is a perfect destination, with its hot climate, the low costs, the friendly population and the number of tourists never too excessive. With enthusiasm, my girlfriend and I left on December 23rd (a couple of friends would have reached the next day). We landed at Muscat at 3 am local time (so midnight Italian). Getting the visa was a quick formality. We then headed to the Hertz counter where our jeep awaited us, booked through Auto Europe : a white and shimmering Toyota Prado who would have turned out to be a means of quality.
In the omanited night, I drove towards the center of Muscat , first goal of our travel itinerary in Oman, and We stopped to sleep in the car along the main road on the waterfront of Mutrah .

He woke up the heat at six-and long in the morning. The few passers-by looked at us intrigued. We undressed our Italian clothes too heavy and we can't walk on the waterfront wearing shorts and t-shirts. It was Christmas Eve.

The city presented itself elegant and well maintained, with beautiful red mountains that were backed in palaces and mosques. At 7:30 he pore the fish market, which stood out for vivacity and stench. We walked between fishermen, women with veil and homanised men intent on treating the price of swordfish and cuttlefish.

We appreciated a lot of Mutrah and the surroundings. Continuing in Jeep east, we stopped to visit the elegant neighborhood where the Sultan resides, the district in which the sweepers are replaced by marble polishers. We then headed towards Bandar Jissaah beach to swim and snorkel. We wrongly mistaken and we went to Jissah's village instead. Not bad, both because we wanted our omanited travel itinerary to be in the name of improvisation, both because the village of Jissah was caught a beautiful bay, who deserved a visit. We were twenty kilometers from the capital, but apart from a couple of luxurious hotels there were only nature and characteristic villages.

Several fishermen boats were moored on the beach. We approached, curious, hoping that someone wanted to take us a ride in exchange for a few Rials. Four homanitis and two Westerners, intent on tinkering around a boat, in fact invited us to go out with them and accepted without hesitation. "We left in the east direction, crossing a natural arch in the cliff, juicy advance of what was waiting for us. We stopped to take a first bathroom, wearing the mask. The water was quite hot and was a pleasure to swim between beautiful long colored fish half meter. One of the omanitis, equipped with a rifle, fished two, as well as two cuttlefish and a lobster , within half an hour: it was a paradise for a fisherman.

Our Jeep vacation in Oman was transformed that day into a boat travel itinerary between deserted islands, red cliffs, clear sea and unspoiled nature. So much enjoyment, until he arrives on the deserted beach of a kilometer away from the coast. My girlfriend and I were absolutely not ready to stay out all day (we had accepted thinking it was a ride of an hour) so I shrugged to eat to the two nice Swiss and the very kind homanitis.

In fact, the latter prepared the grass to cook the cartoccio fish and came off the best & quot; Packed lunch & quot; Always: the lobster in particular was a dream . All to free, among other things!

We returned from the boat trip to 5, when the sun was almost to set. We resumed the jeep and, tired but happy, we headed towards the Shira Apartments Hotel, which we had booked from Italy. He was in the part of Muscat named Qrm, distant about thirty kilometers from Mutrah. The homanified capital is in a senseless way.
On the road we stopped in a very modern shopping center. At Hypermercato Carrefour we needed the necessary to camp in the following days .

Muscat traffic at the top hour slowed down a lot - in the commercial part the city has nothing to envy of European capitals, both for the prize and defects. Guided in an acceptable way from the navigator, we reached the hotel at 10 in the evening. It was elegant, clean and, above all, it cost just 45 euros per night for a double, but we were quite tired to sleep anywhere!
at 7 am on the next day we passed to take our friends at the airport, happy to start for Really our jeep travel itinerary in Oman (although already the first day had been wonderful). We hoped Merry Christmas, I concluded the Toyota Prado to the widespread and we headed towards the interior of Oman along a diplub street. The landscape became more attractive when the first mountains sprouted. Nakhl , our first stop, we liked a lot: inside an oasis rich in palm trees, a beautiful strong sand color gusted the rather poor village .

Our next goal was the dirt road that for 70 kilometers travels on the Wadi Bani AUF . A jeep is necessary for this adventurous itinerary, even if the path is not difficult. The important thing is not to distract itself while driving on the brink of a high precipice a few hundred meters. . The road took us first into a splendid valley between palmeti, steep reddish rocky walls and tiny villages inhabited above all by goats, then to climb the canyon.

The dirt road ended at the top of a mountain with a beautiful view, from which a much less fun paved road descended. In mid-afternoon we started looking for a good point for the first campsite of the holiday. After venturing into some secondary road, we finally found a fairly isolated area on the bottom of a valley at the foot of the Wadi Ghul canyon . It was a brullo ground, between rocks and mountains, with a few dried plants that provided enough wood for the evening bonfire. The Oman is certainly not lush to vegetation, but there is almost always something to burn.
we mounted curtains and a coffee table, we built an oven with some stones and we enjoyed dinner with good red wine (in oman Islamic, the You can only buy at the duty free of the airport). The beautiful life needs little.
After a good sleep, breakfast between the rocks had a great flavor. We drank tea when he approached a man with a rifle. It was an unpleasant surprise, the fact that we were to die. In reality, the fox hunter, very kind like the other homanitis, there has invited him to drink a coffee. We dismounted the campsite and drove up to Ahmed's house, an independent house in a country of seven buildings scattered not far from the beautiful land of Al Hamra. The friendly Ahmed offered us of coffee and dates.
we continued the journey into the Wadi Ghul and then on the Jebel Shams (the highest mountain of the Oman), beautiful views that never hit us any other than Those of the previous day, perhaps because too similar.

We had lunch with rice and chicken in a petrol station bar. The food was decent, poor hygiene, the picturesque location. We then headed towards Nizwa , of which we explored the center and the beautiful strong similar to that of Nakhl.

We then continued towards Ibra, along a sliding road - never met traffic except for Muscat - who crossed desert Lands and some beautiful mountain. We wanted to sleep at the hotel, but the interior of Oman offers little choice as for tourist accommodations. Fortunately, we found two rooms at the simple Ibra Motel: they didn't be thirty euros each, but could go worse. IBRA , which is at the gates of the huge habitual sandy desert, gives the idea of ​​a border city: refueling stations and modern buildings alternated with indigence and cabins, a rather lively market, in particular that of fruit and vegetables, and a certain way go of Jeep. It has its fascination.
Homes in abundance and very well in the restaurant in front of Ibra Motel: lots of vegetable appetizers, various sauces, rice, spices and excellent chicken or lamb kebab. We spent 10 euros each, but only because we were hungry.
The next day we headed towards the dunes of the Sharqiya Sands , a fundamental destination for each travel itinerary in Oman.






B> The program was simple: heave with the jeep to the right and missing trying not to cover themselves. It was a success . We had the good idea to follow the main sandy track, which led to the equipped campsites (the signs were for the & quot; 1000 nights camp & quot;) and then, continuing for 200 kilometers in the middle of the desert, in Masirah Island and South of Oman . In this way, we were sure to be able to ask someone's help in case of problems.
Crossing the whole desert would be a great adventure, but our vacation was too short. We therefore settled with the majestic dunes of that small part of the Sharqiya Sands.

In the evening we camped in the middle of the dunes, away from everyone. A short walk took us to admire an amazing sunset. We made a simple dinner, but the evening was still perfect, under the full moon (the torches were practically useless) and the stars.
The morning after we left for the next stop of our travel itinerary in Oman, the Wadi Bani Khalid, Meta of trips and fun also for the omanitis. In the middle of white and red mountains and in thick palm groves, a series of ponds created a beautiful environment for swimming or sunbathing . We had lunch in the restaurant that gave directly to the green waters of the Wadi spending quite little and eating decently.
We then turned to the sea, direction Ras-al-Hadd. The sea showed up white of foam under a violent wind. In the southern area of ​​Ras-al-Hadd the coast was flat and sandy, with a scialbi villages every now and then. There were still picturesque corners where fishermen boats stood out against the background of waves.

We wanted to camp, but with that wind our tents would be flown in Madagascar. So on Ras-al-Hadd we therefore tried a hotel. The turtle beach resort was theoretically luxurious, but in practice it had only horrible and too expensive bungalows available. Instead, we found a luxurious but with an acceptable cost even if much more than in the rest of the Oman - about 40 euros each other including breakfast.
The evening I tried to see the Famous birth of turtles on the beach of Ras-Al-Jinz. You must necessarily be resailed within a guide tour, which I recommend booking in advance, because we found a place for pure luck. However, that evening turtles did not show up, perhaps due to the wind or pure spite towards us.
The following day we continued the holiday towards Muscat, following the coast. First destination, the wadi shab . There was still wind, which fortunately became attention to the day.
We reached the canyon with the jeep. Immediately he struck the imperious entrance, with the green river throwing himself into the sea between vertical walls of red rock.

Too bad the bridge of the highway ruins the panorama. A barchetta allowed to cross the river to reach the path that was lying in the canyon. We walked for three quarters of time between cliffs, palm trees and clear waters, ecstatic from the beautiful landscape. We finally reached a series of puddles between the rocks, where people bathed. We took the sun and we swam (the water was hot) until he reached a narrow passage under the mountain , where there was right space for hands and head. We then puff in an underground pond in which a small waterfall precipitated: what a wonderful adventure!

Exploration, dives, photos, we didn't miss anything. We then returned to the jeep and we ventured into the nearby Wadi Tiwi , another impressive canyon, of a less dazzling beauty, but still attractive. The nearby road, the huge boulders, the vertical walls, the villages cracked with goats and farmers had in fact a rustic charm.

We stopped and continuing to Muscat we arrived at home at eight in the evening on a beach near the bays and coves we had visited the first day by boat with the fishermen. We planted the tents two meters from the sea, Cenammo, we contemplated the ocean illuminated by the full moon and fell asleep exhausted and happy to be on vacation.

When we woke up, the next morning, we were happy to admire the long beach, the cliff on one side, the clean sea ... if everyone woke up with a panorama so, there would be much less stress in the world.

Then we moved to an immense beach near AS Sifah after traveling beautiful fjords.

So we changed again and returning to Muscat we found a beautiful bay, where fishermen for a few Rials offered us a passage to an even more fascinating beach. Between a walk on the rocks and a bit of snorkeling we noticed corals, big crabs, colored fish and some disturbing oddities, for example long chains of gelatinosis molluscs , like small jellyfish, which floated half-water.

We returned to the jeep that was almost the time of sunset. We reached Muscat and walked in the souk animated . We avoided the most obvious traps for tourists and instead entered a secluded shop to buy dates and hookahs for a total expense of twelve euros.
Well in a restaurant in a beautiful location at the entrance to the souk, so calm we headed Towards the airport. It was the end of our travel itinerary in Oman.
The return took place without problems, apart from that, huge, that the holiday was over. When we landed in Genoa, we were extremely satisfied with the journey, but he spentled not having more extended the itinerary, wandering at random between deserts, canyons and beaches.
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