An Amazing Travel Experience of Oman by Smart Oman Tour

[Smart Oman Tour]

I and my nine Italian friends visited Oman in October 2015 and to date it was one of my favorite trips. Oman is an ever-changing state of the Arabian Gulf with most spectacular landscapes and cultural traditions that remain remarkably undiluted. All these splendid offerings make the sultanate one of the best places to experience traditional Arabia. There are a lot of things to see, do and eat. Here is our forts, sand and dhow cruise Omani delight itinerary.

Day One

Upon our arrival at the Muscat International Airport, we greeted by the chauffeur of Smart Oman Tour and started out our way to the hotel. In the afternoon, we reached the Ministry area in Muscat and Shatti Qurum area and then to Bait Al Zubair Museum. We loved the photo sessions at the residence of his Majesty Sultan Qaboos, the Al Alam Palace. During the evening our group strolled through the Muttrah Souq, where we got bargains for silver accessories. We stayed in Hotel Muscat holidays and had breakfast, lunch and dinner there perfectly.

     

Day Two

After having breakfast, we started our Oman tour, from the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, which is such a breathtaking architectural complex. One interesting fact we learnt there that, the furnishings of this mosque is nowhere throughout the world. That day we proceeded towards Sur City and reached Wadi Shab, which means a wadi between the cliffs. We all loved walking there and enjoyed the trekking along the wadi and even the refreshing swim in the pools there. As we love much more adventurous sports, so went inside the cave by swimming. If you don’t like to swim there, you can simply walk right along the wadi through the lush green plantations of banana and lemon. When walking, you will get to meet the rocky paths dotted with waterfalls and pools. After that, our next stop was Wadi Tiwi with blue-green pool water encircled by palm trees. Then we drove along Sur, which is most popular site for its ancient dhow shipyards. During night, we had an early dinner and headed over the turtle sanctuary, Ras Al Jinz, where the most famous green turtles make their journey around thousands of kilometers towards shore for laying eggs. After getting views of this wonderful setting, we returned back to Turtle Beach Resort in Ras al Had.

Day Three

After an early breakfast, we left for Ras Al Hadd and moved towards Sur. Being a well-established trade center with East Africa, Sur has now retained its reputation as an incredible Dhow building town. But when we reached the Wahiba Sands, we just saw sands of a vast mass spread out there and even extend as far as our eyes can see. Besides, getting the sightseeing encounters of a variety of flora and fauna as well as the nomadic Bedouins are just the blessings of the God. We even got to see the sights of camels, ever-changing patterns of sand dunes as well as enjoyed more the ultimate thrill and excitement of sand dune driving. Well, I know tour to the Arabian Gulf is incomplete without camping. We watched the spectacular sunset from the top of the dunes and stayed in Arabian Oryx Camp, Wahiba Sands.

Day Four

After leaving the golden sand dunes of Wahiba Sands, we made a stop in Ibra and took a closer glimpse at the watchtowers. Right from there, looking over the villages is just awesome. Then we proceeded to Munsifa to get the views of the old Ibra village remains and even its clay houses. In addition to, I loved the magnificent plasterwork, the painted wooden beams on the ceilings and the carved doors of the castle. Then our tour operator guided us to Bahla, one of the ancient small towns of Oman and a capital of the tribes living in the 12^th century. For the renovation purpose, we planned only a photo session there. After that we returned back to Al Diyar Hotel in Nizwa for dinner and overnight stay.

Day Five

As soon as breakfast completed, we visited Nizwa Fort, which is known as one of the most impressive forts in Oman. After that we made a visit to the ruins of Old Tanuf, a historic object during the Jebel War. Then, we went Al Hamra, the oldest village that included 400 years old mud houses. On our way we stopped at Birkut Al Mauz, situated on the foot of Jebel Akhdar. Then returned to Al Diyar Hotel for overnight and dinner.

  

Day Six

After breakfast in the hotel, we started out our day with a leave from Nizwa to Amouage. Then our next step was Nakhal Fort, a spectacular fort located at the edge of the Jebel Akhdar Mountains of northwest Oman. There, you will get to see the beautiful oasis and the area with healing hot springs. In general, the temperature of water is at 30°C. Its water is considered as a remedy for skin diseases and rheumatism. After a long day out, we had dinner and overnight at Hotel Muscat Holidays.

Day Seven

We headed back to Marina Bandar at 02.45pm in the afternoon and enjoyed a spectacular Coastal and sunset cruise with dhow cruise. We covered almost all places during a dhow cruise in Oman like the Coast Line of Sultan Palace, Qantab Village, Shangri-la, Bander Khayran, Haramel village and Sidab Village. In this amazing afternoon, we enjoyed water and soft drinks around 2 hours from 4.00pm to 6pm. After getting enjoyable memories, we returned back to Hotel Muscat Holidays for overnight and had delicious dinner over there.

Day Eight

That day was just full of excitement of returning back home and even sorrow of leaving such an incredible land of the Arabian Gulf. We deported back to Muscat International Airport and returned to our home with plentiful enjoyable memories of our lives. This makes a full stop in our journey to the Sultanate of Oman.

If you are planning on going to Oman for your upcoming trip and confused where to start, then I highly recommend Smart Oman Tour as your journey partner in Oman, a mystical land in the Arabian Gulf and I am sure they would love to help you plan out your Oman tour. It was such a wonderful place and they are  helpful, personalized tour operators in Oman. I hope to visit with my friends again one day for sure!

Have a Good Day!! Enjoy Visiting!! 

About Author:

This blog is written by an Italian travel enthusiast and blogger, Agata. She loves travelling new places with friends and alone in search of exploring different culture, tradition & attractions. Being an active blogger, she loves to write articles based on her exciting and adventurous travel experiences. In this post she has penned down her experience of a wonderful Oman trip with friends.