Adventure travel in Oman: Desert Safairs

Oman fascinates lovers of the great outdoors. Adventure seekers will revel in skyscraping mountains, subterranean caves and hundreds of kilometres of desert dunes.

Desert Safaris

Oman is home to a breath-taking expanse of sandy desert. At 650,000km2, the Empty Quarter spills over the country’s borders into Saudia Arabia, UAE and Yemen to make up one of the largest deserts in the world. However, Oman’s most striking desert is the Wahiba Sands (known locally as Sharqiya Sands), home to massive dunes that can measure up to 200 metres. This desert stretches for more than 200km. It tumbles down from the Eastern Hajar Mountains before crashing into the Arabian Sea.

Visitors may explore Oman’s vast deserts Bedouin style by bumping along atop a camel. Others may prefer the comfort of a modern 4WD, or may be inspired to follow to Tour of Oman cycle route on two wheels. However you travel, exhilarating experiences include witnessing a desert sunset, camping overnight at a Bedouin desert village and sandboarding down the dunes. 

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

Top 5 Ultimate Ideas in Oman: Cultural and Social Interest

1. The Middle East’s new fashion scene.

2. On the trail of Sinbad the Sailor: in Sohar, Oman’s “Gateway to China”, and in the footsteps of Tim Severin’s Sindbad Voyage

3. Behind the scenes in the building of Muscat's new designer fish market - how will it change the lives of those who work and shop there?

4. Muscat as Oman’s cultural capital: Muscat Festival, Opera House et al

5. Traditional Omani food – influences and adopted flavours from Indian tamarind to Zanzibarian citrus

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

Top 9 Ultimate Ideas in Oman: Adventure holidays

1. Women’s sailing in the Gulf (new trend): in 2012, 21 locals were the first women to be awarded instructor’s certificates

2. Hardcore hiking in Jabal Akhdar

3. Cycling in the tracks of the Tour of Oman

4. Kayaking and canoeing through Musandam fjords   

5. Kiteboarding on Masirah Island

6. Circumnavigation of Masirah Island by bike as experienced by the European Champion, including wild camping

7. Oman by sea: ferry travel to Musandam, along the coast, to Masirah Island

8. Hiking Oman’s exhilarating vie ferrate

9. Abseiling into Majlis al Jinn

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

Top 5 Ultimate Ideas in Oman: Off the beaten track

1.Hardcore hiking in Jabal Akhdar

2. Wild camping and dune-exploring in Oman’s desert interior

3. Hunting down traces of Ras Al Hadd’s hidden air base, built during World War II

4. Discovering the traditional village of Balad Sayt, coined “Shangri-La” by the Rough Guide to Oman

5. The luxury desert camp archipelago (Desert Nights, Hud Hud and others)

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

Top 7 Ultimate Ideas in Oman: Travelling With Kids

1. Wild camping and dune-exploring in Oman’s desert interior

2. Top five Omani campsites with kids

3. Oman’s fairy castle forts from Nizwa to Khasab

4. GPS geocaching in Oman

5. Hunting down hidden wadis and secret caves

6. Family travel through the gentle monsoon season

7. Wildlife spotting: the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, turtles nesting at Ras Al-Jinz, scouting out dolphins and whales, etc.

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

New Openings Restaurants In Oman

The Cave Muscat Restaurant

Much awaited the Cave project was inaugurated in the summer. Located in Darsait, The Cave Muscat Restaurant comprises eight international restaurants including Italian, Brazilian, Mexican and Mediterranean restaurants offering recipes and cuisines from a variety of countries and nations all over the world and 20 kitchens with Indian, Chinese, Lebanese, Turkish and Omani recipes. The 2,000 people capacity complex of restaurants, the largest in the Sultanate of Oman, has been designed to match the nature of the surrounding mountains. (www.thecave.om)

Credit: Times of Oman

Constructed from soft rocks in the form of a cave, a unique restaurant complex will open its doors to the public in the coming days to satisfy their curiosity by looking inside a development where there is more than meets the eye. 

Hailed by officials as the first of its kind in the Arabian Peninsula and probably in the Arab world, the three-floor Cave restaurant complex at Darsait hills gives the guests an amazing bird's-eye view of the Muscat city. 

Dar el Ezz 

With the launch of Dar el Ezz food and beverage complex, Nizwa now has a fine dining outlet in the city. The facilities include a five star rated restaurant, an open air coffee shop and a banquet hall and has been designed to cater to Nizwa’s stop over tourist hot spots in and around the city.

credit: TripAdvisor

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

Top 5 New Openings in Oman: Places To Visit

In Muscat, Oman’s first oceanarium and aquarium are currently under development alongside the city’s cruise terminal. Permanent exhibitions will showcase coral reefs, tropical fish native to the Arabian Sea and sharks. Sections will also be dedicated to the amphibians, reptiles and birds that populate the country’s tropical coastlines.

Muscat's Natural History Museum is currently undergoing extensive renovation and expansion. The museum houses fossil remains dating from an incredible 260 million years ago, as well as prehistoric animal teeth and whale skeletons.

Muscat’s Ghalyas Museum of Modern Art will be opening six new areas: this additional exhibition space will allow the museum to exhibit pieces from their permanent collection that have never been on show to the general public.

A new, 13,000m2 National Museum is due to be completed in Old Muscat. Opposite the Al Alam Palace, its displays will cover Omani history from prehistoric times to the present day. A twisting helical staircase will connect the museum's ground-floor halls and first-floor historical galleries, and will be lined with exhibits detailing more than 10,000 years of rich archaeological history. An incredible 1,672 artefacts have been restored over the past two years in preparation for the museum’s opening. 

The Oman Botanic Garden, a new world-class development to celebrate, research, cherish and protect the unique plants, environment and botanical heritage of Oman is located just outside Muscat and is a long-term project.
The 420ha project is currently under construction; when complete it will be the largest botanic garden in the Arabian Peninsula. Visitors will experience the diverse habitats of Oman, investigate the orientation center, explore the site, discover traditional Omani skills at the craft village, learn at the field studies center, buy Omani plants at the plant shop and much more. To follow its development path see www.omanbotanicgarden.com.

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om

New Openings in Oman

Here’s a breakdown of new openings and events throughout the country, occurring from later this year through 2016.

And with plans for completion by 2016, the new Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre (OCEC, www.omanconvention.com) is set to become a true architectural landmark for Oman. The eco-friendly complex will be one of the first constructions in the world to be certified by LEED, an internationally recognised green building program. The OCEC will overlook the surrounding wadi, a natural reserve for many of Oman’s exotic bird life. Indoors, it will feature a tiered auditorium seating 3,200 people, two ballrooms and more than 22,000 square metres of exhibition space – all perfectly suited to host large-scale conventions, exhibitions and business events.

A new national railway company is also being developed in Oman. This project is the largest within the country’s transport sector. It will connect Muscat, Duqm Port and Salalah, covering over 1,000km and will likely go on to link the country with other Gulf States such as Kuwait and Yemen. Passenger trains are projected as travelling at speeds of up to 200km/hr.

Airport Expansion: The new terminals at Muscat International Airport in their final phases will have some of the best in the world, first of its kind technology and systems in place. The airport which currently handles about six million passengers a year, will have the capacity for 12 million passengers when the terminal expansion is completed this year. The new terminal at the Salalah International Airport is designed for a capacity of six million passengers. It will be built in four stages, with the first stage envisaged for completion in 2014. Stage one will expand the airport's passenger capacity to one million passengers a year.

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om 

5 Fast Facts About Oman - O to V

Omanisation: The Omanisation program has been in operation since 1988, training Omani personnel to replace skilled expatriates. There is a fixed Omanisation ratio in various areas of the private sector as stipulated by the Ministry: transport, storage and communications 60% Omanisation; finance, insurance and real estate 45%; industry 35%; hotels and restaurants 30%; wholesale or retail trading 20% and contracting 15%.

Ramadan: Ramadan is the holy month of fasting during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking and smoking during daylight hours. As a sign of respect, visitors are also required to refrain from publically indulging in these activities between sunrise and sunset. As of 2007, the Oman Government permits tourists staying at selected hotels to purchase and consume alcohol after sunset (from 7pm - 2am) in allocated restaurants. Most international hotels have been granted permission to serve alcohol during Ramadan, including Radisson SAS, Grand Hyatt, Shangri-la Barr Al Jissah Resorts & Spa, The Chedi, Inter-Continental Hotel and the Crowne Plaza.

Regions: Oman is divided into nine main regions – Muscat, the administrative and commercial capital, Al Batinah, Al Dhahirah, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Buraymi, Al Sharqiyah, AlWusta, Dhofar and Musandam. Each of the regions is then divided into smaller wilayats to assist in the administration process.

Religion: Islam is Oman’s official religion; other faiths are also respected.

Visas: Visitor visas are available at all air, land and sea arrival points for citizens of over 50 countries including European Union, USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan. Visas on arrival for these countries cost RO 5 and are valid for ten days or R.O 20 which is valid for one month. Those countries not valid for a visa on arrival must obtain a visa before travel. For the latest information please go to www.omanairports.com. Further information can be obtained from the Oman Embassy. (Tel 020 722 50001)

Discover more about Oman: www.omantourism.gov.om