7 Day Adventure Itinerary

a popular attraction

Tucked away on Jebel Ateen, the tomb of Prophet Ayoub (Job) is a popular attraction. The prophet is said to have left a footprint outside the building after being commanded to strike the ground for a spring to appear.

once the capital of Dhofar

East of Salalah, the coastal town of Mirbat was once the capital of Dhofar, trading in frankincense and Arabian horses. Today, visitors can spot dhows heading out to fish, or explore the old merchant houses near Mirbat Fort.

Stunning white sand

Located west of Salalah, past Mughsayl Beach, a hairpin road leads to the stunning white sand of Fizayah Beach.

Fazayah Beach (also spelled as Al-Fazaiah or Al-Fizayah) is one of the best beaches in Oman. Its a 5 kilometers long pristine white sand beach with clear water and a stunning landscape at the back-ground. Experienced driver in 4×4 vehicle will take you there. The journey of Salalah is incomplete without a trip to white sand beaches of Mughsayl and the blowholes overlooking Marneef cave. The blowholes are also referred as Mughsayl Natural Fountains by the tourists. The water jet from the blowholes vary according to the season, but can get as high as 28m in the sky in Khareef season. Unique path leads you to journey by foot where you start your walk from beach and go up to a cave and end up at blowholes.

breath-taking limestone formations

Located two hours from Salalah, the cliffs of Hasik form part of the breath-taking limestone formations that run along most of Dhofar’s coastline – this area makes for a spectacular drive.

Positioned at the most eastern end of the Dhofar coast before the cliffs of Jebel Samhan interrupt, Hasik is worth the two-hour drive from Salalah for the journey more than the destination.

a sprawling market

Located along the coastal road in Seeb, this souq is a sprawling market selling anything from stunning traditional jewellery and luxurious perfume oils, to livestock and locally grown fruits.

historical displays from across the ages

Bait Al Baranda is located in Muttrah in what used to be the residence of a prominent merchant in the early 20th century. Exhibits include art and historical displays from across the ages.

Converted from a 1930s house, this museum details the history of Oman and the Muscat region. Covering topics from the geology of the country and plate tectonics to Oman’s military and political history, a visit to Bait Al-Baranda (translates to ‘villa with a verandah’) is a great way to get an overview of Omani culture and tradition. Multimedia exhibits include interactive screens and videos as well as a photo history and a variety of art and posters on display. There are models of and artifacts from ancient Oman. Tracing history back to prehistoric Oman, the exhibits tells of the country’s early Islamic period, Portuguese occupation and current dynasty. A presentation of dinosaurs’ bones found 10,000 years ago in the Al-Khoud area is particularly noteworthy.

a modern art gallery

Place and People Museum is located along Muttrah’s beautiful waterfront – or corniche – and divided into three different exhibits: an old Omani house showcasing living in the Sultanate in the 1950s to 1970s, a museum highlighting Omani clothing and a modern art gallery.

Place and People Museum is an exclusive addition to the Omani cultural scene, opened in January '2011 Located near the Muttrah Fort, the museum is a dream project of Her Highness Sayyida Dr Ghalya bint Fahr bin Taimour Al Said. The Old house is a group of typical Omani houses from the period of 1950 to 1975 that tell the story of the Omanis and their deeply rooted heritage, customs and traditions. The Wedding, the Kitchen and Display Rooms, the Mother and Children’s Room, the Winter Room, the Majlis (Living Room), Musabbeh’s Room describe the earlier Omani lifestyle which still finds echoes in today’s traditions. The museum displays a subtlety combined with a sense of immediacy (to transport the visitor back in time) in showing Omani life at this period in the form of the historic contents of their homes, their art, artifacts and inventions.

Located in the heart of Old Muscat

The ceremonial palace of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, Al Alam Palace was rebuilt as a royal residence in 1972 and is located in the heart of Old Muscat. It is flanked on either side by the impressive twin Jalali and Mirani Forts originally built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. Both of these majestic buildings are still in use, and although they are not open to the public, tourists can admire the architecture from the yard and at the gates.

At the heart of Old Muscat is Al Alam Palace (“Flag Palace”), the most important of the six royal residences of the ruling monarch, Sultan Qaboos, which are dotted around Muscat, Salalah and Sohar. Built in 1972, the palace is Oman’s most flamboyant example of contemporary Islamic design, with two long wings centred on a colourful, cube-like central building, its flat, overhanging roof supported by extravagantly flared blue and gold columns. The palace isn’t open to the public, although you can get a good view of the facade from the iron gates at the front. The palace complex is impressively stage-managed, approached via a long pedestrianized boulevard framed by two arcaded colonnades, with copious amounts of highly polished marble covering every available surface. On either side stretches a cluster of impressive government buildings: huge, snow-white edifices sporting crenellated rooftops, traditional wooden balconies and window shutters. Look right as you approach the palace and you’ll also see a fine section of the original city walls snaking up the hillside, punctuated with three large watchtowers en route.

experience the desert first hand

The Sharqiyah Sands allows visitors to experience the desert first hand, with dunes reaching as far as the horizon and the area teeming with wildlife. Dune bashing is one of the many favourite activities for visitors to the Sharqiyah Sands.

It is located to the north of Al Kamil W’al Wafi Wilayat and 57 km from Sur. It consists of three basic geographical types.

The first is the alluvial plain and has a wide yard of acacia and gum Arabic trees, the second is the valleys that split the mountains and the third is the broad hills of these mountains.

This Park is home to the Arabian gazelle, wild cats, Arabian wolves, red fox and Egyptian eagle, along with a variety of turtles and birds.

A bustling souq

Fridays is camel market at Sinaw Souq, located at the edge of the Sharqiyah Sands and just a two hour drive from Muscat. This bustling souq is mainly visited by Bedouins, who come from the entire region to buy and sell live stock and everyday items.

Sinaw Thursday Market is held every Thursday in A’Sharqiyah North Governorate. It is a very busy market due to its proximity to the Bedouin communities, who head there to buy staples and sell their livestock and handicrafts. This market runs from six in the morning until one in the afternoon.

A town steeped in history with old watchtowers

Jalan Bani Bu Ali is a town steeped in history with old watchtowers, an old fort and ornate carved wooden doors at every turn. However, it is most famous for the souq, which is open every Friday morning and sells a variety of modern and traditional goods.

Although it was formerly one of the difficult places that has access problems in Oman, the village of Sayq is one of the agricultural wonders in the Sultanate of Oman, which contains orchards full of fruits, it also provides its visitors an interesting view of the nearby wadis, and is the perfect place for camping or accommodation in one of the fancy hotels.

Discover a souvenir

Located near the Sultan's Palace, Al Husn Souq is best explored in the evening when it is bustling with locals and visitors seeking locally produced Frankincense, perfumes and other souvenirs.

On the beachfront, right next to the sprawling Sultan’s Palace (Al Husn), is the marvellous Al Husn Souk (also known as Al Haffa Souk, after the district in which it’s situated), a pretty little area of small shops arranged around a neat grid of pedestrianized alleyways. This is one of the most interesting souks in Oman, particularly famous for its frankincense, bukhoor and attar (perfumes). Various rare types of local frankincense can be found here: shazri, sha’abi, najdi and, perhaps finest of all, hawjari (or hasiki) from the wadis around Hasik.

It is located to the north of Al Kamil W’al Wafi Wilayat and 57 km from Sur. It consists of three basic geographical types.

The first is the alluvial plain and has a wide yard of acacia and gum Arabic trees, the second is the valleys that split the mountains and the third is the broad hills of these mountains.

This Park is home to the Arabian gazelle, wild cats, Arabian wolves, red fox and Egyptian eagle, along with a variety of turtles and birds.

a favourite with tourists

Named after a telegraph station built on the island by the British in the 19th century, Telegraph Island is a favourite with tourists looking to explore the ancient abandoned ruins, snorkel in the surrounding waters or simply enjoy a Dhow cruise to the island to witness the stunning fjords of Khawr Ash Sham.

The expression “going around the bend” is not just an idle phrase. For a handful of British soldiers in the mid-1800s, being stationed “around the bend” was the worst place you could possibly be, a lonely island outpost where soldiers slowly lost their minds in the desert heat. From 1864 to 1869, Jazirat al Maqlab, or “Telegraph Island,” was an active telegraph outpost crucial to communication between India and Britain. For five years after the telegraphy was decommissioned, British soldiers continued to man the isolated outpost. Reportedly, every single man stationed at the outpost “around the bend” of the Musandam peninsula completely lost his mind from the monotony and heat. Stuck for months on the football-field sized island, cut off from the outside world, and subject to intense desert heat, the solders were slowly driven mad. Today the island is a ghostly remnant of the once-great British Empire. The outpost was abandoned in the mid-1870s, and the buildings have crumbled. The island now serves as a snorkeling and fishing destination rather than a strategic communication hub, but the oppressive heat and the lonely atmosphere that helped drive the soldiers “around the bend” remains.

Established by His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said

Honouring the close relationship Oman and France have enjoyed for centuries, the Omani French Museum was established by His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos bin Said and former French President, the late François Mitterrand in 1992. It is housed in Bait Faransa, the former residence of a French consul in Old Muscat.

With galleries detailing relations between the two countries, this museum provides an interesting snapshot of mostly 19th-century colonial life in Muscat. Of particular interest are a series of old photographs and maps documenting the capital in the last century. There's also a Paris map showing the itinerary of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos during his state visit in 1989.

An amazing picnic area

Wadi Dayqah Dam is one of the largest on the Arabian Peninsula and a source of irrigation and protection for the surrounding villages, as it reduces the number of flash floods in the area. A picnic area has been built atop the dam with great views for all to enjoy.

Wadi Dayqah Dam is quite a spectacular sight! Set in the rugged limestone Wadi (valley) this huge construction is a real contrast of natural Omani beauty and impressive human engineering. Opened in 2012 the dam was built to collect the periodic rain fall from the high peaks above and control the volume of water flowing through the narrow torrent, ‘dayqah’, to the villages below. This still maintains the ancient “Falaj” irrigation system whilst controlling the surges of water rolling off the hillside. The dam is quite a spectacle for Oman and is by far the highest in the country. The water lake is 8 kilometres (5 miles) long and can hold 100 million cubic meters of rain water.

clear waters and swaying palm trees

This impressive stretch of sand is a local favourite with its clear waters and swaying palm trees. An array of water sports is on offer to visitors, including jet skiing, banana boating and parasailing, as well as snorkelling and scuba diving excursions. Along the popular coastal road, there are a wide range of restaurants and coffee shops that look out over the beach.

Escape the heat, hustle and bustle of the city and head to the coast. And where better to go than the popular Qurum Beach? Catch some sun on the beautiful sandy beach or lie in the shade of a palm tree. It’s free to enjoy as you wish. Need to cool off? Then submerge yourself in the clear waters of the Gulf of Oman. And once it’s time to rehydrate you’ll find a great choice of cafes and coffee shops close by. Our Hop-on, Hop-off Muscat Bus Tour takes you almost right onto the sand. Then jump back on board for a ride to the neighbouring Mangrove Lagoon. A thriving city beach Located in the upmarket neighbourhood of Qurum - the beating heart of modern Muscat – the beach here is a busy centre of activity. Ride the waves on a jet ski or see and be seen along the coastal road – a classic, scenic strip popular with strolling locals. Other interesting facts about Qurum Beach, Muscat

• Qurum Beach stretches for four kilometres (2.5 miles) along the Muscat coastline
• Watersports like jet skiing, parasailing and kayaking can be booked at the Crowne Plaza end of the beach
• You can also book snorkelling and scuba diving excursions here
• There’s no great tidal range and waves are small, so bathing is relatively safe at Qurum Beach
• There’s a good selection of international refreshment and dining options along the coast road

A unique Omani geological site

Wadi Mayh is recognised as a unique Omani geological site, due to its lime stone cliffs and interesting rock formations. The wadi features numerous date palm plantations and irrigation channels as well as water pools where visitors can take a dip and cool off.

Wadi Mayh is a long valley that lies between Yiti and Sifah, along the highway to Quriyat. In the western part of the valley,  an enormous mountain range that appears to have been naturally engraved with many layers created during different geological periods. Now, it looks like a massive display of rock art. This picturesque landscape is dotted with small streams and pools of fresh water, which are an intense turquoise blue in colour. Two villages are conveniently situated on the edge of the wadi in the middle of the valley.