Grand Tour of Oman

Discover the Omani capital of Muscat, one of the most interesting and attractive cities in the Arabian Peninsula. The privately guided tour starts with a photo stop at the Royal Opera House. Next, visit the exquisite Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, then continue to Muttrah where you will wander through the busy fish market, explore the atmospheric souq, and climb up to Muttrah fort for a view over the harbour. Your sightseeing continues in Old Muscat, where you will see the twin Portuguese forts of Jalali and Merani and the Al Alam Palace (both from the outside). The afternoon is at leisure.

Drive to Rustaq on the Batinah plain, a former capital of Oman surrounded by thousands of date palms and home to an ancient castle. An off-road adventure and stunning pristine scenery await on the next stage of your excursion as you drive towards beautiful Wadi Abyad. One of the most beautiful locations in Oman, Wadi Abyad is known for its turquoise water pools and stunning geological features. After a picnic lunch, visit the picture-perfect castle of Nakhl, then return to Muscat.

Fly to Khasab in Oman’s wild Musandam province with its deep inlets, craggy peaks, and scenic bays hemmed in by sheer cliffs. On arrival, tour the province’s tiny capital of Khasab, and then embark on a panoramic 4WD mountain safari into Musandam’s stark and barren interior.

Take a relaxing dhow cruise (shared) through Musandam’s spectacular fjords today, with opportunities to swim and snorkel in the crystal clear waters as well as the possibility of spotting dolphins.

Fly to Muscat and drive to Fanja where you will visit the traditional pottery souq and observe the ruins of the old mudbrick village perched atop a hill before experiencing the thrill of an off-road drive along beautiful palm-lined Wadi Fanja. Next, continue your journey through the multi-coloured Hajar mountains to the Manah district, where you will see the prominent Al Fiqain castle and walk through the walled town of Harat Al Bilad. Arrive in Nizwa late this afternoon.

Visit Nizwa, one of the highlights of any holiday in Oman, where you will explore the colourful souq and visit the town’s magnificent 17th-century castle. Continue to Al Hamra, one of the country’s preserved old villages, then drive to the nearby Misfat Al Abryeen. On arrival, discover Misfat’s beautiful old houses, the maze of shaded passageways, rushing falaj’s and verdant terraces of date palms on a two-hour walking tour with a local farmer.

Start the day by visiting the 17th-century fortress of Jabrin – one of the finest in Oman – then proceed to Wadi Al Ayn where you will see the well-preserved Bronze Age beehive tombs. The tombs are picturesquely set on the crest of a hill and are one of Oman’s most important archaeological sites. After your visit, take the serpentine road into the Jabal Akhdar (Green Mountain) and check in at your spectacularly located mountain eyrie of a hotel.

Admire the spectacular mountain views from Diana’s Point this morning, and then set off on foot with a local guide along the Three Villages trail (easy – 90min) and enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Jabal Akhdar with its craggy peaks, gorges, ancient villages, picturesque terraced hillsides, and orchards. Next, drive across the undulating Sayq Plateau (2,000m) with its forests of gnarled Juniper trees to view the ancient stone-built hamlet of Sawghera that clings to an impossibly steep cliff above a beautifully irrigated wadi before returning to your hotel and spending the remainder of the day at leisure.

Drive through the strongly defended Sumail Gap to Muscat, where you will check in for a flight to Salalah in sub-tropical southern Oman. On arrival, you’ll be met and transferred to your beachfront resort.

Explore Salalah – Dhofar’s capital this morning. Start your sightseeing at the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, then continue to the city’s frankincense-infused Al Haffa Souq. Then, visit the Museum of Frankincense Land and the adjacent UNESCO World Heritage-listed ruins of the 12th-century incense port of Zafar at Al Baleed, before driving onto scenic Wadi Darbat where you will see Oman’s largest permanent lake. The day’s sightseeing concludes at Sumhuram, an ancient frankincense port that dates back to the 3rd century BC.

Strike inland through the Jabal Qara to reach Wadi Dawkah, a stony semi-desert where frankincense trees grow in the wild. Then, continue driving north to the ruins of Shisr, which some scholars have identified as Ubar: the ‘Atlantis of the Sands’. Arrive in the Empty Quarter late this afternoon and check in at your desert camp located amongst the stunning towering dunes of the Ramlat Hashmann (Empty Quarter).

Enjoy the magical sight of sunrise over the desert, take a pre-breakfast stroll across the sands, and sample the absolute tranquillity of the Empty Quarter. Today’s thrilling off-road 4WD adventure will reveal the immense wilderness of the Ramlat Hashmann region. Along the way, you will be presented with striking, ever-changing varied vistas of massive star-shaped dunes and crescent sand formations interspaced with great dark gravel plains and shallow valleys. Oman’s Empty Quarter is one of the last outposts remaining for those who yearn for adventure, discovery and the wild!

Leave the sands of the Empty Quarter behind you this morning and taste fresh camel’s milk on a desert farm before driving west via the Yemeni border town of Mazyounna to the oasis of Mudayy – once an important point on the South Arabian incense route. After viewing the ruins, travel through the dramatic Moon Mountains (Jabal Qamar) to Dhofar’s cliff-lined coast and beautiful Mugsayl beach with flamingos and blowholes. Arrive in Salalah late this afternoon and check in at your luxury hotel.

Today will be at leisure in Salalah.

Private transfer to Salalah International Airport for your onward flight.