Oman 7 Night Itinerary: deserts, sabkhas and sea

In a Nutshell

Join us for an amazing guided self-drive adventure taking you through the beautiful and remote Al Wusta and Al Sharqiyah areas of Oman.  Our main package includes hire of a Nissan Patrol, all petrol and food.  Other packages cater to expats travelling from Oman and the UAE with their own cars – please check price list at foot of this page for full details.  Approx 1950kms including 500kms offroad, estimated 28 hours behind the wheel, half of it offroad. No previous offroad driving experience is required. Maximum 6 guest cars.  

Itinerary Dates (all subject to a minimum 3 car sign up)

7 night adventure 

Sat 16th to Sat 23rd November 2019 

Tue 3rd to Tue 10th December 2019

Sat 29th March to Saturday 4th April 2020

5 night adventure

Sun 17th to Fri 22nd November 2019

Wed 4th to Mon 9th December 2019

Sunday 30th March to Friday 3rd April 2020

Day 1

Arrive in Muscat, any time after 1200hrs, collect hire car, settle into the lovely 4* Crowne Plaza Muscat OCEC.

In the evening we will go to a traditional Arabic restaurant for our welcome dinner at approx 2000hrs

 

Day 2

Breakfast at the hotel, before starting our journey southwards at 0900hrs.  There are 360 onroad kilometres  (mainly 2 or 3 lane highway) before we reach our desert entry point, some 80kms south-east of Al Ghaba.

*Expats with their own 4×4 opting for package 3 should join us at Adam.

To break our journey we will stop at Adam to visit the old town (now ruined) which will require some walking, followed by picnic lunch.

We should arrive at our entry point by 1630hrs, where we will deflate to 27psi before driving 25kms to our overnight camp.

This area is exceptionally remote and dark skies at night ensures, subject to weather conditions, an amazing starscape.

This area is known as the Al Huqf escarpment and photos taken on previous trips can be found in the galleries below.  Click on the photo to enlarge and see descripti

Day 3

Light breakfast at camp, followed by another 130kms or so of offroad driving, until we reach the road at Duqm.

Overnight accommodation in the beauiful Crowne Plaza Duqm 4* with dinner.

Day 4

Travel 60kms westwards to pick up another trail, this time through a wadi and over plains, before arriving at the Indian Ocean.  Our campsite will be beside a Khor (creek), which has mangroves, egrets, herons, camels and flamingo!  Photos below

Day 5

Wake up and have a walk on the beach or a swim in the sea, before a light breakfast. Today’s driving is mainly onroad, with offroad diversions to the Sugar Dunes and a beach drive (subject to tidal conditions) before catching the ferry to Masairah Island.

Day 6

Breakfast at a local cafe before our drive round the island, stopping at a beautiful beach for our picnic lunch.

Catch the ferry back to the mainland approx 1500hrs, then drive 70kms before entering the Wahiba Sands.  Overnight camp.

 

Day 7

Continue driving through the Wahiba Sands until we reach Bidayah.  Road to Muscat, staying overnight once again at Crowne Plaza OCEC.

*Expats with their own 4×4, opting for package 3 can depart once we are back on the road at Bidayah.

 

Accommodation

• Day 1: Crowne Plaza, OCEC, Muscat
• Day 2: Wild camping near a rocky escarpment
• Day 3: Crowne Plaza Duqm
• Day 4: Wild camping at a lagoon
• Day 5: 2* hotel apartments, Masairah
• Day 6: Wild camping in the desert
• Day 7: Crowne Plaza, OCEC, Muscat

 

Food

We cater for carnivores, vegetarians and gluten free guests.

• Day 1:dinner at Kargeen
• Day 2: hotel breakfast, picnic lunch, BBQ dinner
• Day 3: camp breakfast, picnic lunch, hotel dinner
• Day 4: hotel breakfast, picnic lunch, camp supper
• Day 5: camp breakfast, picnic lunch, arabic restaurant dinner
• Day 6: cafe breakfast, picnic lunch, BBQ dinner
• Day 7: camp breakfast, picnic lunch, hotel dinner

Trip Fees

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Package 1 includes

• 4×4 hire,
• Petrol
• camping equipment hire,
• 4 night’s  hotel accommodation,
• 3 nights wild camping,
• all food and water.
• British/Omani guide(s)

Package 2 (for those with their own 4×4, or an externally rented 4×4) includes

• 4 night’s  hotel accommodation,
• 3 nights wild camping,
• all food and water.
• British/Omani guide(s)

Package 3 (for those with their own 4×4, or an externally rented 4×4, requiring a shorter adventure) includes

• 2 night’s  hotel accommodation (Crowne Plaza Duqm and Guest house near Mahoot)
• Join us at Adam and leave us after nights at Bidiyah
• 3 nights wild camping,
• all food and water.
• British/Omani guide(s)

Note: prices are per person

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Excluded from all packages

• Flights to Muscat
• Holiday insurance
• Online visa Oman 5 OMR  per person
• International driving permit (not required for UK guests as UK licence valid for 90 days)
• Alcohol, premium soft beverages (water, cola, lemonade included in package)
• Cigarettes, shisha (where offered)
• Omantel Simcard (2 OMR) and data package (3 OMR for 1 GB per week) if you wish to have this

Terms and Conditions, including cancellation policies, which apply to Adventure Tours  here

Payment

• Bank Transfer
• 10% deposit to secure your booking
• 20% interim payment, 60 or more days before stated commencement of tour
• Balance payable 35 or more days before stated commencement of tour.

Registration form can be downloaded here

Enquiries to marina@desertdivaevents.com or whatsapp her on +971509478563

To enter Oman you need a tourist visa; these are currently available at the airport for 6 OMR (about 10 GBP, 13 USD) but you can apply for one online, up to 30 days in advance which will cost 5 OMR.  See our guide here.

 

If you are joining us from UAE, Saudi, Qatar or Bahrain, then you can apply for a GCC foreign resident visa – details here.