When I thought about Oman in the previous years, I imagined beautiful landscapes but also very high prices. The Middle East can be fairly expensive, I knew and experienced that, but Oman was supposed to even more expensive. And this trip in January 2023 proved me the opposite. It is still easy to spend a lot of money, but in what part of the world is it not? So, how did I manage to travel Oman on my backpacking budget of 30-40 Euros a day? Find out in my 8 day travel itinerary of the wild camping road trip Oman:
Timing / Broad overview / Transport
I flew to Muscat in January 2023, for around 8 full days, after which I continued my trip in Jordan. The flight from Milan, Italy to Oman and then Jordan cost me around 330 Euros. I think this is fair considering I booked it 1 month before taking off. I can really recommend January for traveling Oman, even though we experienced the worst weather week of the past three years. If you also have time in February and March, the weather is probably even better and warmer.
Rental car
For the whole trip, we booked a rental car, as we decided to turn our trip into a camping trip. Wild camping in Oman is legal and in order to remain flexible, a car can be highly recommended. Oman is super car friendly and you can find free parking spots literally anywhere. We also decided to rent a 2×2, as this was possible for around 280-350 Euros total for all 8 days. A 4×4 would have cost at least 400 Euros.
Camping equipment
As aforementioned, camping in Oman is legal. Therefore, we did our first pit stop at Carrefour and bought everything we considered as necessary. This included: a 2-4 people tent, a camping cooker, blankets, a mattress, etc. This set us back only about 120-140 Euros total, great considering we stayed in Oman for over a week.
Itinerary
Day 1: Buying camping equipment and explore Muscat
The first day we arrived around 4 am in the morning, as most flights from Europe come in the middle of the night. We got our car and looked for a spot to watch the sunrise early in the morning. For that we found a perfect spot in the Heights Residential Area, however, I am not sure if this is really public or if we just were lucky to be able to enter there as we did not encounter any security.
Then we went to the Carrefour and Mall, as there are many to be found in Muscat. After checking into our hotel for the first night, as we decided not to camp in the city and stayed in the Muscat Express Hotel. For the first night it was perfect, we could shower and get everything ready for camping the next days.
In the afternoon, we went to the area of Mutrah, which is great to stroll around for a first insight on the culture. You can find a Souq there (do not forget to haggle!) and for sunset it is great to go up to Mutrah Fort, which costs around 5 Euros entry per person.
Day 2: First roadtrip part! Bimmah Sinkhole or Wadi al Shab!
In the morning, we visited the Grand Mosque of Muscat. It is free to visit (only in the morning from 9 am on). On Fridays, as it is the holiest day for Muslims, the mosque is closed for non muslims. Additionally, you have to consider to be respectfully dressed, ideally in an Abaja or other long sleeve dress, covering your whole body. Even though the mosque is fairly new, it is still very impressive and absolutely worth to visit!
After that, we finally started driving! The first stop was at Bimmah Sinkhole. A cute little spot for a quick cool-off, but if you have seen Cenotes in Mexico, not super impressive.
We then already looked out for a camping spot, as I can only recommend to do it while its still bright (everything in this world looks scary in the dark, trust me!). At the camping spot (linked below, was amazing), we met an Omani, who invited us for BBQ, so we just sat with him for a couple of hours and learned to much about Omani culture and hospitality – trust me, the locals are the best in that! Honestly the most genuine and friendly people.
Camping spot coordinates first night:
22°53’06.5″N 59°13’29.9″E
(and if you want to skip the Sinkhole, you could already do the Wadi Al Shab)
Day 3: First Wadi!
On day 3 we were super excited to go to our first Wadi – Wadi al Shab! You have to take a boat with a local Omani for like 2 Euros each, and from there walk for about 30-40 minutes towards the end of the Wadi, from where you can swim and explore the Wadi more in depth.
I recommend leaving your stuff at the point where everyone goes into the water (you will see) and then swimming from there to the cave takes about 15 min (max)! Don’t worry if you are not a great swimmer, as most of the way there are spots to stand, pause and walk. I do not recommend taking the phone with you, only if you have a waterproof bag or something. There are also fun spots to jump from into the water (especially in the cave, but only do it with a local!). Overall, really a MUST for Oman!
We then only chilled around a bit, drove along the coast and had a weird local lunch somewhere in a small village – but if you are better in managing time than we were, I think it is fun to drive into the city of Sur and explore the old fisher village a bit.
At night, we camped at a medium great spot, as we arrived fairly late during sunset (it was very windy) but I will still put the coordinates here (and the sunrise was beautiful!!):
22°33’24.5″N 59°39’07.6″E
Day 4: Coast of Oman and Wadi Bani Khalid
On Day 4, we opted for a longer drive along the coast of Oman, to have breakfast on the beach (22.225957,59.809443) and explore the whole coastline.
However, it is possible to abbreviate the drive and directly go to Wadi Bani Khalid. It is another beautiful Wadi, where less walking is required, it is easily manageable to visit within 1-2 hours.
For the night we drove further to Wahiba Sands to camp in the desert. We just camped at the side of the desert, as there is a high risk of getting stuck with the car if you dont have a 4×4 haha. If you are not camping, visits to the desert can be arranged with overnight camps, that also usually arrange a pickup.
Camping location Wahiba Sands (SO BEAUTIFUL): 22°22’30.0″N 58°52’03.4″E
Day 5: Nizwa!
On Day 5, we left early due to some rain, otherwise I can really recommend spending the morning in the desert, we could even see some camels running around!!! We therefore drove to Nizwa, to walk around the old town and sat in a super cute Cafè and went to a restaurant straight after: Cafè: Athar Cafè. In your walk around the city, include the Nizwa Souq and possibly also the Nizwa Fort (costs some entry though).
We left too late to find a good camping spot, so we actually slept in the car haha but at least already made it to the area of Misfah.
Day 6: Misfah
On the 6th day, we explored Misfah a bit. It is a beautiful little old and traditional town, already a bit up in the mountains. We also went to the Rogan’s Cafè to chill, read and enjoy the atmosphere. It is becoming more touristy but I think it is still super worth to explore and also try to go off the beaten path a bit, climb a bit around and enjoy!! And the Mountain Burger is super nice too.
At night we decided to stay in an hotel: Misfah View (about 48 Euros a night).
Day 7: Jebel Shams
JEBEL SHAMS! The amazing mountains of Oman are not to be underestimated and so worth a visit! As it had rained the days before, we were not able to make it with our car all the way to the top. Luckily some locals took us all the way up so we could enjoy the views! Camping up the mountain is also very much possible, when we were there it was a bit cold so we decided to go back the same day.
Drive up to Al Khitaym and stop on the way: 23°12’16.9″N 57°12’07.6″E
If you wanna walk around a bit more, do the W6 Balcony Walk Hike! It is beautiful, does not take too long (2-3 hours) and provides you with even more beautiful and insane views.
The same night we drove back to Muscat for our last night (Camping spot: 23.532610,58.451930)
Day 8: Goodbye Muscat!
One last day to go to the beach and the mall! And our favorite restaurant Dodo’s Pastry! If you ever go there, great the owners from me, he is Lebanese and is super fun (it seems its closed now, so check again)! Also ask them where to go best in Al Mouj: It is a less touristy area of the city, very modern with many restaurants and places to hang out! Many expats live there and it is great to explore at night.
And then it was time to leave already 🙁
Food/Restaurants:
Eat Shawarma whenever you can!!!!
Muscat:
- Dodo’s Pastry: The best food, mainly lebanese, but the owners are great, try the little dough thing (picture to be added)!
Mutrah:
- On Google you can only find the Fast Food N Juice Centre, where it states that it is closed permanently, but there is a new place, which has great Shawarma.
People in Oman
People in Oman are honestly the most genuine people with the best hospitality I have every experienced. One of my best Middle East experiences for me by far now! I will list a couple of experiences, to give a feeling on how curious and nice everyone was:
Examples:
- The second day, when we started camping at the beach, a guy came to us and gifted us everything he didn’t need anymore, also helping us to start our fire and then invited us for a self made meal. We chilled for 2ish hours and had the opportunity to really learn a great deal about people in Oman. The guy was around 28, had studied something in the field of medicine and dreamt of moving to Europe. As usual in Oman, he still lived with his parents so he just wanted to be “alone” for the weekend and went to the ocean side to camp and do whatever he desires.
- One time we got stuck in the sand dunes (I know, stupid us, but we have been SO careful). After a minute or two a woman came driving in her big jeep, stopped and immediately started pulling out the sand from underneath the car with her hands. She didn’t speak a word of english, but eventually even drove our car out of the sand. We camped at that right spot and every time she would pass the next day, she waved hi to us.
- While driving, a police man stopped our car. After having had bad experiences, in e.g. Bosnia, I was a bit scared, hoping he would not fine us for anything. However, the opposite was true. He really just wanted to talk to us, curious about what two women would do alone in Oman and asked if we were okay.
- Once, I was walking around alone and wanted to get myself something to eat. I only had “bigger” cash, something that would be like 20 Euros. At a little stand, I ordered something for about 2 Euros and gave the guy working there my cash. He didn’t have any change though so we were a bit lost about what to do. My food was already prepared, so I started asking around whether anyone had change by any chance. Eventually, a taxi driver came, paid my check and said: Your’re welcome, I hope you have a great experience in Oman 😊
Conclusion:
Overall, people are just amazing. We mostly had encounters with men, stemming from the different gender roles in the Middle East compared to e.g. Western Europe. In Muscat, women played an important public role. There, I saw them working everywhere as much as men did. As soon as we reached the countryside, however, there weren’t as many women in public anymore.
Costs
With the car, camping equipment and all other expenses, we spent 40 euros per day. We cooked a lot ourselves, however, e.g. the Shawarma is very cheap to eat on the street as well!
Time of the year to travel
January and February! (maybe even March) before it gets too hot. I think other times of the year are feasible too, just be prepared for it to be very hot!! (luckily there is a lot of places in Oman to cool off, the mountains too should be fine)
So, I hope you enjoyed the itinerary inspiration, I would be happy to read your comments and get feedback!
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