A Personal Look at the 2025 Highlights of Ancient Oman Tour (6 Days)

So, we were looking for a short trip that felt like a real adventure, you know? This 6-day spin through Oman sort of popped up, and honestly, it looked like it had a little bit of everything. We’re talking old cities, stunning coastline, and even a night out in the desert, and so on. We basically wanted to see if it lived up to the pictures, so we went for it. To be honest, I wasn’t completely sure what to expect from Oman, which, in a way, made it even more exciting. It’s often talked about as this very welcoming and incredibly scenic spot in the Middle East, yet it doesn’t get as much attention as some of its neighbors. Anyway, this is more or less a diary of our six days there, a kind of personal take on what you might see and feel if you decide to go.

First Impressions: Arriving in Muscat and Its Old-World Charm

Frankly, arriving at Muscat’s new airport is a pretty slick experience. It’s all very modern and efficient, which is actually a bit of a contrast to the city itself. So, our guide met us right there, and pretty much right away, we felt a kind of genuine warmth that you don’t always get. The drive to our hotel was, you know, our first real glimpse of the place. You have these very stark, brown mountains that look like they just fall right into the sea, and then these, like, sparkling white buildings dotted all over the place. It’s quite a sight, really. We weren’t just sitting around, though. After checking in, we made our way to the Muttrah Souq, which is one of the oldest markets in the Arab world, or so they say. At the end of the day, it’s a place that just hits all your senses at once. The smell of frankincense, which is, like, *the* scent of Oman, is literally everywhere. We just spent a few hours getting lost in the little alleyways, looking at all the silverwork and lanterns and stuff. It feels almost like you’ve stepped back a good hundred years, but, you know, with people taking photos on their phones.

The next morning, we got up and went to the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Okay, you have to dress modestly for this, obviously, covering your arms, legs, and hair if you’re a woman. It’s a matter of respect, and they provide abayas if you need one. Honestly, I’m not sure words do this place justice. The main prayer hall has this absolutely gigantic Persian carpet that was apparently handwoven by hundreds of people over several years. I mean, the scale of it is just hard to get your head around. Similarly to the carpet, the chandelier is also, you know, incredibly huge and covered in Swarovski crystals that glitter like crazy when the light hits them. It’s all very peaceful inside, just a little quiet, with people walking around in awe. As a matter of fact, it set a certain tone for the rest of our trip; it showed a deep appreciation for artistry and faith that we would see again and again, pretty much.

Coastal Drives and Hidden Wadis: The Road to Sur

So, leaving Muscat behind was our next big thing. We started driving along the coast, heading south towards the town of Sur. This drive is, like, a highlight in itself, seriously. You’ve got the Gulf of Oman on one side, a really deep blue, and these rugged, sort of reddish-brown cliffs on the other. It’s absolutely a beautiful stretch of road. Our first proper stop was the Bimmah Sinkhole. Apparently, it was created by a meteorite, or that’s the local story anyway, but geologists say it’s just, you know, collapsed limestone. Either way, it’s this perfectly round hole in the ground filled with this almost unbelievably clear, turquoise water. We, of course, went for a swim. The water is a little salty and very refreshing, and there are these little fish that kind of nibble on your feet, which is a bit weird but kind of funny too. It’s a popular spot, for instance, with both tourists and locals who come to picnic and cool off.

After that, we carried on to Wadi Shab. A wadi, basically, is a dry riverbed that sometimes fills with water, and this one is pretty famous. You have to take a short boat ride to get to the start of the trail. The hike itself is not too difficult, maybe about 45 minutes or so. You’re walking through this, like, amazing canyon with date palms growing all over and clear pools of water here and there. The main prize, though, is at the very end. You have to swim through a few deep pools and then slip through this really narrow opening in the rock to find this hidden cave with a waterfall inside. To be honest, it feels like a secret you’ve discovered yourself. The light coming through the cracks in the rock makes the whole place glow. By the time we got to Sur, the sun was setting. Sur is historically a shipbuilding town, you know, where they made the traditional dhow boats. Seeing these wooden boats along the shore, with the town’s white houses behind them, was really a picture-perfect moment, to be honest.

Desert Sands and Starry Skies: An Overnight in Wahiba

The following day was, arguably, the one I was most excited for. We left the coast behind and started driving inland, towards the great expanse of the Wahiba Sands, or Sharqiya Sands as it’s also known. The change in the landscape is pretty dramatic, actually. The rocky hills sort of flatten out, and the ground gets progressively sandier until, you know, you’re just surrounded by these huge, rolling dunes. We met our desert driver at a small town on the edge of the sands, switched into a 4×4, and then the fun really began. He let some air out of the tires and then just, like, went for it. “Dune bashing,” as they call it, is sort of like a roller coaster on sand. You’re driving up these steep dunes and then sliding down the other side; it’s a little bit of a thrill, right. It is a bit stomach-churning at times, but in a good way.

As a matter of fact, seeing the sun set over the dunes was something else. The colors just keep changing, from a bright orange to a soft pink and then a deep purple. You feel incredibly small out there, which is a surprisingly comforting feeling.

Our overnight spot was a desert camp, a collection of tents set up in a hollow between the dunes. It was more comfortable than you might think. We had proper beds and even an attached bathroom, you know, so it wasn’t exactly roughing it. The people running the camp made us this really tasty traditional dinner, which we ate around a campfire. But the absolute best part was later that night. With basically zero light pollution, the sky just explodes with stars. I mean, we saw the Milky Way so clearly, it was almost like a bright cloud. You just lie back on the sand, which is still a little warm from the day, and stare up at everything. Honestly, it’s one of those experiences that’s very simple, yet profoundly moving.

Into the Mountains: Exploring Nizwa, the Old Capital

Waking up in the desert is pretty special, too. It’s so quiet. Anyway, after a quick breakfast, we were back in the car, heading out of the sands and up towards the Hajar Mountains. Our destination was Nizwa, which was Oman’s capital in the 6th and 7th centuries. It’s kind of the cultural and historical heart of the country, really. The first stop was the famous Nizwa Fort. It’s dominated by this enormous circular tower that you can see from just about anywhere in town. We spent a good while exploring the fort. You can, you know, climb all the way to the top of the main tower for these absolutely amazing views over the city and the date palm plantations that surround it. The guides there do a great job of explaining all the clever defensive features, like the “murder holes” where they used to pour boiling date syrup on invaders, and stuff like that. It’s actually a pretty cool bit of history.

Right next to the fort is the Nizwa Souq. It’s very different from the souq in Muscat; it’s a little less geared towards tourists and feels more, well, authentic, I guess. The souq is divided into different sections, so you have areas for produce, for dates, for pottery, and, of course, for silver. The Nizwa silversmiths are known for their Khanjars, the traditional curved daggers that Omani men sometimes wear. We just walked around, taking it all in. If you can, by the way, try to be in Nizwa on a Friday for the weekly goat market. We weren’t, but I’ve heard it’s an incredible spectacle of local life, something really worth seeing. Later, we drove up into the mountains to Misfat al Abriyeen. This is a very old village that’s built right onto the side of a mountain. We walked through its narrow pathways, past old mud-brick houses, and along the ancient ‘falaj’ irrigation channels that still carry water to the terraced gardens below. It was just so peaceful and gave us a real feeling for how life has been lived in these mountains for hundreds of years, you know.

Final Day of Discovery and the Return to Muscat

So, our last full day was about getting even higher into the mountains. We went to Jebel Akhdar, which means “The Green Mountain.” It’s a bit of a strange name, because the mountain itself is mostly, you know, bare rock. The “green” part refers to the terraced gardens that local people have carved into its sides over many, many generations. Because of the higher altitude, it’s cooler up there, so they can grow things like pomegranates, walnuts, and apricots. And the roses! The area is famous for its Damascus roses, which they use to make rose water. You can actually smell them in the air when they’re in bloom in the spring. We stopped at a viewpoint that looked out over Diana’s Point, named after Princess Diana visited, and the view down into the canyon and across to the hanging villages is just, like, totally breathtaking. You get a real sense of the sheer scale of the landscape. It really feels like you’re on top of the world, in a way.

The journey back towards Muscat from the mountains was a pretty reflective one, as I was saying. You kind of retrace your steps a little, but everything looks different now that you’ve seen what lies beyond the city. We saw so much in such a short space of time, it’s almost hard to process it all. We had one last Omani dinner in Muscat, reminiscing about the highlights. Was it the feeling of history in the Nizwa Fort? The sheer silence of the desert night? Or the refreshing coolness of the water in Wadi Shab? Frankly, it was all of those things, and so on. This trip was, for us, a perfect introduction to a country that felt incredibly safe, genuinely welcoming, and filled with a natural beauty and deep history that’s very real. At the end of the day, it was one of the most rewarding short trips we’ve ever taken.

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