Oman

Day 1:I started my first day of sight-seeing by visiting the iconic Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat. I took a self-guided tour of the mosque and walked around the vast verandas on the marble floor in the mosque. The mosque is quite big so you will easily take 2 -3 hours to tour the entire mosque.My next stop of the day was the Royal Opera House Muscat. Located near the Grand Mosque, the Opera house is a true representation of Oman's rich art and culture. A beautiful white marble structure with majestic and grand galleries was truly mesmerizing! There I took a guided tour of the opera galleria which lasted a little more than an hour.For a late lunch, I drove to the Shatti beach and dined in at a beach-front chic cafe named Al Makan cafe.Day 2:I started the second day of the trip by driving down to Al Mouj Marina where I had booked a diving trip to the Daymaniyat Islands. It is a beautiful turquoise colored water island and I dived at two different locations. The marine life at the island was something I never expected to see in the Middle East. I was dropped back to Al Mouj Marina from the island and then I spent the rest of the afternoon strolling and shopping at the marina.After a long day of diving and snorkeling, I only had the energy to go out late in the evening to Muscat Grand Mall where I had my dinner and watched a late-night movie show in the Vox cinema inside of the mall.Day 3:For the last day in Muscat, I started it off with a tour of the Muttrah Fish Market, which was crazy and chaotic during the early hours of the day! However, it is a great place to see the local life of Muscat and particularly for chit-chatting with the super friendly fishermen!Next up, I took a long stroll across the iconic Muttrah Corniche, a beach-front street in the heart of old Muscat laying right across the Arabian Sea. There is a park at the end of the Corniche walk, Al Kalbu Park where I stopped to have a light lunch from the small cafeteria inside of the park with the views of the calm ocean. To beat the calmness I enjoyed in the park, I went straight to the vibrant and buzzing Muttrah Souq (market) which is right across the street. It is the oldest market in Muscat and now it has turned into a great souvenir shopping market for the tourists! You can find everything there from frankincense to Arabic scarf, sweets, daggers and what not!

Muscat

Muscat Grand Mall

Royal Opera House Muscat

Mutrah

Mutrah Souq

Al Mouj Muscat

Shati Al Qurum

Beach Mosque

Bait Al Zubair Museum

Day 1 in Sur:I started my first long driving day of the road trip driving from Muscat to Sur via the Route 17 highway. It took me around 2 hours to reach my first stop of the day. <ol><li>Bimmah Sinkhole</li></ol>As the name implies, the Bimmah Sinkhole is a deep crater of water formed due to soil erosion many years ago. As it is located very close to the sea, the seawater filled the crater and now it is a natural pool. The sinkhole is 20m deep. The local myth says that the sinkhole was formed when a meteoroid fell from the sky. The government has built a park around the sinkhole so it is a good place to swim and relax and enjoy some snacks too!2. Wadi ShabSome 20-30 mins drive from the Bimmah Sinkhole is Wadi Shab, the most popular natural water springs in Oman. There are three natural pools at Wadi Shab which can be only reached after hiking in the mountains. The best time to visit there is early in the morning when the temperatures are low and the place is less crowded. Avoid going there on the weekends.3. Wadi TiwiA short drive from Wadi Shab comes Wadi Tiwi, which is a little isolated as compared to Wadi Shab. For this, you have to drive a little deeper in the mountains, so a 4x4 drive is recommended. As it was quieter and calmer at Wadi Tiwi, I spent more time just relaxing within nature.Day 2 in Sur:<ol><li>Peebles Beach</li></ol>I started by next morning in Sur by visiting the beautiful Peebles Beach in Sur, which turned out to be my favorite beach in the country. It was clean, calm, and empty and I had it entirely for myself. I spent a couple of hours strolling and swimming at the beach.2. Next up, I went to the old port creek in Sur which is also one of the oldest fishing ports in the country. Now, the government has built a modern suspension bridge across the creek, which gives an urban vibe to the otherwise vintage-looking creek port.3. My last stop in Sur was the Ayjah lighthouse. It was built as a defense tower turned into a lighthouse which was used to guide the boats coming at the Sur port.

Bimmah Sinkhole

Wadi Shab

Wadi Tiwi

Pebbles Beach

Creek suspension bridge

Al Ayjah Lighthouse

To experience the real Bedouin life of Oman, I spent one night in the golden sand Wahiba Sands desert of Oman. I slept in a traditional looking yet modern camp and spent the night walking on the cold desert sand and star-gazing. The next morning I went for a desert safari with an experienced dunes driver and enjoyed Omani local Kehwa and halwa for lunch before leaving the desert.

Wahiba Sands

After spending a beautiful night in the desert of Oman, my goal for the next day was to drive all the way to the town of Shannah to catch a ferry to the only inhabited island in Oman, the Masirah Island. The drive from the Wahiba Sands Desert to Shannah was around 3 and a half hours. After reaching Shannah, I took a cargo+passenger ferry which took me to the island within 30 mins.I started my tour at Masirah Island by visiting the fish market, which is a popular place to visit to see a glimpse of local life on the island. After the fish market visit, I grabbed some packed food and head on to the beach to have a beach picnic. Masirah is popular for birdwatching and kitesurfing, however, I couldn't experience that during the afternoon. In the evening, I drove along the narrow streets of the Masirah bazaar and observe the local life before dining at a local seafood restaurant.The next morning I woke up early to spot some birds at the sea. I was lucky to spot a flock of migratory birds, however, it was very windy so I couldn't stay out for too long. I left for the mainland in the afternoon.

Masirah Island

After leaving Masirah Island, I started a long day of driving back up north towards Muscat. It took me 5 and a half hours to reach the city of Nizwa from Masirah Islands. Nizwa is a very historic and culturally rich city of Oman.Day 1 in Nizwa: I started my first day in Nizwa by visiting the most iconic place in the city, the Nizwa fort. It is a 16th-century fort that was built to guard the city. It is also one of the best-preserved forts in Oman. The entrance fee to the Nizwa Fort is 5 Omani Rials. You can either take a guided tour or walk around without a guide. I spent some good 2 hours walking up and down the fort and closely observing all craft workshops going on in the fort to understand more about the Omani culture. Right outside the Nizwa Fort is the Nizwa Souq, a great place to see the local culture. There are plenty of shops for local handicrafts in the Nizwa Souq and it is less filled with tourists as compared to the Muttrah Souq in Muscat. However, it is easy to get lost in the tiny similar-looking allies of the Souq!After visiting the souq, I head on the visit another fort but this one is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bahla Fort. This fort is not as well preserved as the Nizwa Fort but still worth a visit. The legend has it that Bahla fort is haunted and it is not advisable to visit it after the sunset.Finishing off a long day, I spent some time in the evening at the Nizwa Grand Mall.Day 2 in Nizwa:I started my second day in Nizwa moving farther from the city and going towards nature. My stop before going to the mountains was at Al Hoota Caves. The caves are naturally built in the Al Hajar mountains and they were only discovered a few years back. The government has made a center to start the journey to caves in a monorail. The ticket for a guided cave tour is 7 Omani Rials.After visiting Al Hoota Caves, I started my drive to the main viewpoint of Jebal Shams - the Grand Canyon of Oman. It took me more than an hour to reach the main viewpoint on the mountain. For my last night of the trip, I planned to do camping. I camped at a beautiful viewpoint from where I can see the entire valley. The sunset and sunrise views from Jebal Shams were mesmerizing!I started my drive back to Muscat from Jebal Shams the next morning which took me three and a half hour.

Nizwa

Nizwa Fort

Nizwa Souq

نزوى جراند مول

Bahla Fort

Jebel Shams

Al Hoota Cave

I spent my final night in Muscat after being on the road for the last 10 days! For more relaxation, I went to Al Azaiba beach in the evening.

I traveled in Oman from north to south within 10 days by road

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10 days Road Trip across Oman

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