Oman is the first place I actually booked through a travel agent. I wasn’t sure what to see, and everything I researched online was far apart from one another and I wasn’t sure I had the confidence to drive the country alone.

I booked this tour through Corrigan & Co and we hit all the best spots I read about around Oman. Even the spots that the gentleman I sat next to on the plane told me I “couldn’t leave Oman without seeing…” just about everything that was already on my list! My itinerary below corresponds to the spots on the map!

Alillia Jebel Al Akdhar
Nizwa
Wadi Bani Khalid
Wahiba Sands
Sur
Raz al Hadd Turtle Reserve
Wadi Tiwi
Sinkhole
Muscat

I was picked up at the airport and taken directly to the first location: Alilia Jebel Al Akdhar. This place was absolutely spectacular. Infinity pool and jacuzzi’s with a view of the mountains. The view from the room was absolutely breathtaking. We were at about 2000M (6500 ft). I wasn’t expecting to see mountains, I was expecting sand. It wasn’t green – very rocky. We went down the mountain into Nizwa to do some shopping at the Souqs. Silver, coffee, dates, scarves…. All the amazing things.

From the mountains to Wadi Bani Khalid. It was the first oasis that I went to since being in the region. It’s amazing the system in place to keep the oasis irrigated. The palm trees and grasses were tall and incredibly green. It wasn’t over the top or feeling like it was planted for the sake of tourism. It felt as how I would always imagine an oasis in the middle of the desert.

We left the Wadi and headed a few hours into the desert into Wahiba Sands. There was a little ‘tent city’ I stayed at. It took glamping to a new level! These air-conditioned tents with showers, toilets, and amazingly comfortable beds. I walked out to the dunes for sunset which was the most amazingly beautiful sunset with the most wild colors of orange. I got one of my best LBD (long black dress) photos to date there! I had an experience like this in Morocco too – I highly recommend staying at least a night in the desert and climbing the dunes, riding camels. It’s such a special experience.

We drove through the coastal town of Sur. Short tour through the place where they make all the wooden boats still. Had a very ‘Noah’s Ark’ feel to it. Purchased some hand carved wooden souvenirs for very very cheap (Jewelry box ~$4). Highly suggest going on a boat ride in Sur, we had an amazing view of the city and even spotted some turtles in the water. You also get a great vantage point of all the forts/lookout points around the city.

We ended the day in Raz al Hadd Turtle Reserve. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical on this one – when I think of the middle east, I wasn’t thinking of turtles (even the guy on the plane told me to see the turtles). I stayed in [another] glamping tent, and met the guide at 9pm to go out to the beach to see the turtles. The spotter found us a big mama (literally) who came up to lay her eggs. This was easily the largest turtle I’d ever seen. She came up and laid all ~120 of her eggs. We were even lucky enough to see a baby turtle from somewhere else make it out to the sea!

The next day was a bit of driving to get to Wadi Tiwi, and a bit of a hike. Well, not so much of a hike has a very slow and long drive up the side of the mountain and then lots and lots of stairs ( like 400). But we go to this super cool area with waterfalls you could climb around on. You could also go swimming here (if you thought to bring a swimsuit, I did not).

We also made a quick pot stop at this large sinkhole. Which funny enough, if you have a Peloton Tread, there’s a ‘scenic route’ here!! That was pretty cool. The water was crystal clear and bright blues. It was filled with those fish that eat dead skin so when you go in the water if you sit very still they will come nibble at you!!

We ended this amazing trip in Muscat. The way they built the city around, throughout, and ontop of the mountains is amazing to see. I was not expecting so many mountains here and it was truly wonderful especially seeing how the mountains meet the sea.