Your Itinerary:
Day 1: UK to Muscat. Fly London to Muscat. On arrival meet and greet, transfer to your hotel. Overnight Golden Tulip Hotel.
Day 2: Muscat–Hajar mountains-Nizwa. After breakfast, we visit the impressive Qaboos Mosque before departing with our 4WD cars and head to the Hajar Mountains. The road winds up to a 2,000 meter pass through colored mountains with fantastic views of far away valleys and deep gorges. We will stop for a picnic lunch before completing our crossing of the mountains and reaching of village of Al Hamra. The old quarter of Al Hamra, close to gardens with thousands of palm trees, has narrow streets that wind through buildings of clay. We then continue the short distance to the town of Nizwa. Dinner and overnight at Falaj Daris Hotel.
Day 3: Nizwa–Hayma-Rub al Khali desert. The first part of the morning will be spent visiting the souk and the old fort, from the top of which we will have a splendid view of the surrounding area. Late morning departure will take us south along the main road connecting Muscat and Salalah in the Dhofar region. At the village of Hayma, where we make our last stop for fuel, we leave the paved road to enter the desert. Overnight camp.
Days 4-7: Rub al Khali desert. We enter the largest area covered by sand on the planet, the Rub al-Khali desert. As we draw closer to the border with Saudi Arabia the sand turns to a deeper red color. The dunes are immense and we often come across white salt pans. The following 4 days will be spent crossing this magnificent desert. Overnight camps.
Day 8: Fasad-Salalah. We reach the small village of Fasad, at the bottom of the great desert. A brief stop before continuing south on the unpaved road to the ocean coast and the town of Salalah, capital of Dhofar province. Dinner and overnight at Hilton Hotel.
Day 9: Salalah. Today will be spent at a leisurely pace, taking in the sights of the east coast. The gulf of Khor Rori is beautiful. In its center, upon a huge rock, are the Sumhurum ruins, the ancient Abyssopolis of Roman origin. Return to Salalah. Dinner and overnight at Hilton hotel.
Day 10: Salalah-Shuwamiyah. A four hour road transfer will bring us to Shuwamiyah Bay on the coast. Here we will visit a spectacular canyon formed between two pink and white striped cliffs. Overnight camp.
Day 11: Shuwamiyah-Ras Madraka. We continue along the coast, sometimes on the road and sometimes on the beach just meters from the ocean waves, until we reach Ras Madraka, a rocky black volcanic promontory. Here we will pitch our tents on a lovely white sandy beach strewn with black boulders. Overnight camp.
Day 12: Ras Madraka–Al Khaluf gulf. We continue our drive along the coastal road, before making a stop at Duqm to visit a garden of beautiful rock formations eroded by the wind into unusual shapes. Finally we reach the beautiful gulf of Al Khaluf where white sand dunes meet the ocean. Overnight camp.
Day 13: Wahiba Sands coast. Heading north along the beach, we will pass small fishing villages where we can stop to observe the fishermen at work. After a picnic lunch we will come to one of the main attractions of our expedition: enormous dunes that seem to roll into the ocean. To continue north we must drive over this sea of sand with its constant, magnificent views of the ocean. After a wonderful day we will set up our last camp. Overnight camp.
Day 14: Wahiba coast-Ras El Hadd. Following the beach we will continue our drive. At the village of Al Askharah we will leave the beach for the paved road to Ras El Hadd. We spend the night at a lovely little hotel on a quiet bay. After dinner, a visit to the National Park a few kilometers from the hotel to watch the Green Turtles as they crawl up the beach from the ocean to lay their eggs in the sand. The best season for this is from August to November, but it is still possible to witness this extraordinary event during other months of the year. Overnight Turtle Beach Resort Hotel.
Day 15: Ras El Hadd-Sur–Muscat. A lovely mountain track will take us to Sur, an attractive town located around a beautiful bay. We will take in a visit to its dhow shipyard before following the road north where we will stop for a brief visit to the Qalhat Ruins, an ancient 2nd century city which is known to have been visited by Marco Polo. Further on we come to Tiwi, a small fishing village with a lush green canyon and white sand beaches where we can go for a swim and have a picnic. Afternoon arrival in Muscat, with time to see the Sultan’s Palace and the interesting souk. Drop off at your Muscat hotel. Overnight Sheraton Ruwi, Radisson SAS or Al Falaj Hotel.
Day 16: Muscat to UK. Transfer from the hotel to the airport for your flight home, arriving the same day or early the next morning.
Dates:
- Group Tours, Group Sizes - Minimum 6, Maximum 12:
* 23 December 2009 to 7 January 2010: £3,545
* 7 February 2010 to 22 February 2010: £3,545
* 7 March 2010 to 22 March 2010|: £3,545
* 28 March 2010 to 12 April 2010: £3,545
- Private Journeys (Weekly departures). Please contact us for prices if you are interested in making this tour as a private journey for individual travellers.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- All hotel accommodation, based on twin share, with private facilities
- All camping equipment for the overnight camps
- All meals, except in Muscat when no meals included
- Bottled Water, except in Muscat
- Transport with Toyota Land Cruisers 4x4 vehicles
- European English speaking tour leader
- Omani drivers
- Cook whilst camping
- National Park entry for Ras el Haddreakfast and lunch daily (except first and last days).
Price Excludes:
- Meals in Muscat
- Drinks except for bottled water when travelling out of Muscat
- Travel Insurance
- Visa Costs
- Staff gratuities
- Single Supplement: £150 (optional on group tours).
Note: On our group tours, there is no single supplement, we will match you with a roommate of the same gender. Our policy is to avoid supplements unless requested by you.
Also see tour packages in:
Middle East
Oman
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Desert Expeditions
Cultural Journey
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