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We decided to make this a road trip as it’s by far the best way to see Oman, especially if you only have a week! This was easily done and the roads and other drivers were pretty good. We rented a 4×4 from the Muscat airport which I recommend if you want to drive in all the Wadis, steep village and mountain roads. We did a bit of a circular route taking us south west of Muscat first, into the mountains, then continued east to the desert and eventually reaching the coast, finally following the coast up back to Muscat where we relaxed for the last couple of days.

Day 1 / Birkat Al Mouz Ruins & Nizwa

After getting the car we went straight to the Birkat Al Mouz ruins which were proper nice and charming. We climbed up to the crumbling fort at the top which gave us an amazing view of the sunset, before having a snack and a drink in the nicely renovated traditional cafe there (with kittens!) 

^{Rooftop cafe and irrigation channels, Birkat Al Mouz}

We then finished the day in Nizwa where we checked in to Nima Guesthouse (nice cute central place with cats and friendly owners which we totally recommend!) and grabbed some red bun burgers opposite the fort! Highly recommended place! To burn off those red calories we walked along the Nizwa fortress walls which was very cool at night! Nizwa is a super nice and relaxing place.

Day 2 / Nizwa, Jabrin Castle, Bahla Fort, Misfat al Abriyeen & Djabal Sjams Canyon

This was our busiest day but totally worth it. The next morning the Nizwa fort and bazaars were all closed (due to Eid) so we had another stroll along the walls, but in the day this time! We then got out of Nizwa and headed to the first proper fort, Jabrin Castle. This place was stunning inside and out with amazing views of the area from the top and I totally recommend it! 

^{Jabrin Castle, Bahla}

We proceeded to Bahla Fort which was unfortunately closed, but it made for some amazing pictures from the outside. Also even in early April it was almost 40° outside in the sun so I wasn’t too fussed that we got to continue in the car to the cooler mountains. We did have a little gander around the local abandoned underground houses around the castle which was nice and we made some local friends!

^{Bahla Fort, Bahla}

The journey continued to the incredibly beautiful Misfat Al Abriyeen which is like a village community nestled in the trees with water flowing throughout like an oasis. There’s also an amazing rooftop cafe with such a nice view over the valley.

^{Misfat Al Abriyeen, Al Hamra}

We finally smashed it to Djabal Sjams which was our base for the night, and oh my god it did not disappoint. Djabal Sjams, or Jabal Shams, is the highest mountain in Oman, and is for sure one of the highlights of the country. We stayed at Balcony Walk Rest House Jabal Shams and got 2 really nice adjacent rooms with private bathrooms, a big private parking area, kitchen and terrace area with views over the plains at the bottom of the valley. Getting here was definitely helped by having a 4×4 though. We were greeted by a sky filled with of stars and many curious goats who were sat perched along the cliff side seemingly taking in the valley views also.

^{Balcony Walk Rest House, Djabal Sjams}

Day 3 / Djabal Sjams Canyon & Bidiya Desert

Hike day! We got up nice and early to beat the heat for the “W6 Balcony Walk” hike, as it goes downhill first and then back uphill with no shade! It’s not actually a walk to the peak of Djabal Shams, but a walk down to an old cliffside village and mini waterfall/oasis area called the “Abandoned Hanging Gardens”, and starts from the lodge.

The walk is incredible because of the views and goats that you see along the way, and only takes about an hour each way. There were plenty of other people on the walk so it is quite relaxed. After we finished we quickly freshened up before checking out and hit the road to another landscape, the desert dunes!

We set off for Bidiyah which took about 3-4 hours with some pit stops along the way. We were met by the host of the Crescent Desert Camp and because we had a 4×4, he took some air out of our tyres and we followed him through the dunes! If you don’t have a 4×4 don’t worry, you just leave your car in a parking area and he will give you a ride.

We watched the sunset, had dinner and met some other travellers which was nice, although this particular campsite really wasn’t that far into the desert and you could see many other campsites around as well as farmers so it wasn’t as authentic as we were hoping.

Day 4 / Bidiya Desert, Wadi Bani Khalid, Sur & Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve

After breakfast we bashed our way through the dunes back to the town, got the most expensive air pumped into our tyres again by a friend of the campsite owner, and then headed for the coast! Our first stop was Wadi Bani Khalid which you see on all Oman instagram reels, and indeed it was very nice, but it was so so crowded you can’t imagine.

The wadi itself is huge, but the tourist spot where most people are chilling is “Wadi Bani Khalid Pools & Cave” on Google Maps, and you’ll find the car park areas immediately south of this. You have to walk quite a bit from the car park and be lucky to even get a peaceful area in the wadi, past all the people jumping and shouting and littering. This area had the most plastic I had seen in Oman in one place, and there was hardly any locals there. So for me, this is an overrated spot unless you can find a secluded spot somewhere else down the wadi.

We continued on to the coastal city of Sur which is a great little stop! Make sure you make the quick climb up one of the towers to get a great view. We had lunch in the Al Awash Restaurant which I highly recommend, the food was amazing and we got a great view over the beach.

Finally we made it to the town of Al Hadd where we checked in to the Salem Fish Guesthouse which I highly recommend! Really cute place and super friendly owner. Now the reason we came to this area was for the turtles! The only legal place in Oman to watch the turtles lay eggs and hatch is the Al Jinz Turtle Reserve, which is obviously very expensive to stay at itself, but you can just rock up and get booked on a night tour to watch the turts.

So we drove from the Guesthouse in Al Hadd to the reserve for a 9pm tour to their beach reserve. Upon arriving at the reserve it was total chaos with so many people queuing for the same reason, however patience is rewarded! After queuing a while you can finally pay and get put into groups, each group goes to the beach separately (via a reserve bus, as the reserve hotel reception area is still far from the beach itself), each group with their own guide. The groups are the size of the bus which is about 30 people, and usually includes 10-15 loud children who’s parents can’t control them and still takes them to a turtle reserve where you have to be silent at all times, but I digress. 

Day 5 / Bibi Maryam Mausoleum, Wadi Tiwi, Bimmah Sinkhole & Muscat

Our final day of exploring on the way back to Muscat we stopped at a few nice places along the coastal road, the first stop being the Bibi Maryam Mausoleum in Qalhat. This is not too far from Sur and it is not that obvious to get to, but it’s a nice stop and you can get right to it with a 4×4 and a dry riverbed! It is officially closed but there is a guy who looks out for the sight and he decided to give us a free tour of the little sight!

Before the mausoleum though, between Al Hadd and Sur just north west of Khor Grama, is the Tiger Rock! Which we didn’t really stop at as its on a bit of a blind spot on a main road with concrete road barriers either side so it would be a tad dangerous, but we managed to get a picture from the window and it is quite the sight. Just throw Tiger Rock in Google Maps and it’ll come up.

After the mausoleum we went along Wadi Tiwi, which is proper nice and definitely worth a visit. Even driving through it is an amazing experience, through the nice villages and palm trees along the riverside, although it was mostly empty when we went. Unfortunately this Wadi flooded the week after we went and we saw it on the news frequently which was extremely sad to see. Everyone there was very friendly and was giving us directions and the views were amazing. To get there, you have to turn off at the town of Tiwi and follow the Wadi Tiwi riverbed as far as you wish to go! This wadi runs parallel to Wadi Shab which also looked great, but was more of a walking trail which we didn’t have time for.

After we made it back out of the wadi we made our final stop, the Bimmah Sinkhole. This was pretty cool to see and it was surrounded by gardens, but for me it was a bit too crowded and also has too much plastic for my liking.

After 5 days on the road we checked in to the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa on the east side of Muscat, and what a place! It was the perfect place to relax for a couple of nights, everything was very well decorated and thought about with amazing views of the sea and rocks. The hotel was huge with several sections but still had very typical Omani architecture and stylings, restaurants and bars for everyone. We made the most of the happy hours here, celebrated a birthday and fully relaxed as an amazing end to the trip!

Day 6 – 7 / Muscat

While in the resort, we still went to central Muscat to do some souq shopping and popped over to see the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the west side of Muscat, which was closed but still looked amazing from the outside. Muscat is a very sprawled out city but with a car it is still quite easy to navigate and see. Some of the main souqs themselves close at night, but the streets in the Mutrah area of east Muscat are still bustling with locals, vendors and other stalls, which is where we grabbed our famous Omani frankincense and oud, must-gets from Oman!

Driving in Oman was pretty easy and clear and felt very safe, only driving through the tight wadi roads were a bit tricky but we had no problems. I would probably recommend a 4×4 if you plan to do to the mountains such as Djabal Sjams, but you can get away without one, even when visiting the desert. I wish we had more time in the country as everyone was very nice and friendly and welcoming to us, especially after we bought the local Omani hats which you must do immediately! The food was mostly quite typical Arabian which was delicious, but there is usually still plenty of choice, especially in Muscat, such as the incredible red burgers that we had in Nizwa!