The wadi swim is two hours from Muscat. The dunes are two more.
Which Daymaniyat boat leaves you longest in the water. What a night in Wahiba really costs. Whether Jebel Shams earns the drive when you have one spare day. Reviews of every tour you can book in Oman.
A reef, a canyon, the dunes and a fort town.
The four bookings a first Oman itinerary hangs off. What each one costs, and what the people who took it say.
01The morning offshoreDaymaniat Islands Snorkeling Trip with BrunchTurtles and reef fish off the Daymaniyat Islands, back on the Muscat corniche for lunch. The boat goes early because the wind gets up.
02The canyon dayWadi Shab & Bimmah Sinkhole Full-Day TourA walk up Wadi Shab to the waterfall inside the cave, then the Bimmah sinkhole on the road home.
03The night on sandWahiba Desert and Wadi Bani Khalid Guided Group TourDune driving into Wahiba, dinner at a desert camp, and the pools of Wadi Bani Khalid on the way out.
04The fort-town dayNizwa and Oman’s Historical Gems TourNizwa souq while the goat market is still going, then the round tower and the mud-brick lanes at Bahla.
Muscat first, then whichever direction the map pulls you.
A low white capital on the water, a south that turns green under the monsoon, fort towns on the interior plain, fjords in the far north, and the sand in between. Six places to build a week around, and the best day out in each.
Dune camp, wadi swim, or the canyon rim. Pick your day inland.
The best of Oman starts where the tarmac thins out. Three kinds of day out of Muscat, what it costs to get on each one, and how far from the coast it takes you.
Muscat: the reef before the heat, the souq after dark.
Everything in Muscat →
The Grand Mosque takes visitors in the morning only, the boats leave the marina not long after six, and Mutrah souq comes back to life once the sun is off the water. These three carry more travellers than anything else in the capital.
The reef trip, and how long you get in it
A nature reserve an hour offshore, with turtles over the seagrass and reef fish in the shallows. The difference between boats is water time: some give you two long stops, some give you one and a lot of engine noise.
The Grand Mosque, done properly
Non-Muslim visitors get the mornings, Saturday to Thursday, and the dress code is enforced at the gate. Inside is one of the largest handwoven carpets on earth and a chandelier the size of a small house.
Mutrah souq and the corniche walk
Frankincense, silver khanjars and a lot of Indian cotton, down lanes that were trading long before the oil. Walk the corniche first, then go in as the call to prayer finishes and the stalls fill up.
In Oman the good morning starts at a jetty.
Boats out to the Daymaniyat reef before the wind, spinner dolphins off the Muscat coast at first light, and the dhows working the Musandam inlets with the mountains dropping straight into the sea. More of this coast is worth seeing from the water than from the road.
Oman’s most popular days out.
Every Oman tour review →The tours more travellers take than anything else in the country, and what earns each of them the slot.
1
Daymaniat Islands Snorkeling Trip with Brunch
Join Global Scuba LLC for a 270-minute boat trip from Muscat to the protected Daymaniat Islands. You’ll snorkel in clear water among turtles, colorful fish, corals, and perhaps an octopus, with guides such as Captain Ola, Captain Nemo, or Captain B. Sandwiches, fruit, snacks, soft drinks, and equipment are included.
From · $86
Read our review →
2
Wadi Shab & Bimmah Sinkhole Full-Day Tour
from $40
3
Wahiba Desert and Wadi Bani Khalid Guided Group Tour
from $130
4
Half-Day Sightseeing Essentials Tour and Audio Guide
from $48
5
Half-Day Dhow Cruise, Dolphin Watching, & Snorkeling
from $37
6
Nizwa and Oman’s Historical Gems Tour
from $100
7
Daymaniyat Island: Snorkelling Tour with Tasty Lunch
from $60
8
Dolphin Watch & Snorkel Excursion
from $52
What a day out in Oman actually costs.
Every tour on the site, grouped by price. Oman runs dearer than most of the Gulf the moment a 4x4 and a driver are involved, and the cheap end is nearly all city time.
Mosque mornings, souq walks, city sightseeing and the dolphin boats out of Muscat.
The full-day standards: the Daymaniyat reef, Wadi Shab, Nizwa and the Wahiba run.
Private 4x4 days, the Jebel Shams rim, desert camps and the multi-day loops.
Three things that only happen in Oman.
Desert and coastline run the length of Arabia. A monsoon that turns the south green, fjords with dolphins in them, and a canyon rim you can drive to do not.
Khareef in Dhofar
From late June to early September the Indian Ocean monsoon catches the Dhofar escarpment and the whole south goes green: cloud on the hills, waterfalls at Wadi Darbat, camels in grass up to their knees. It is the one season Gulf families drive a thousand miles for, and the one time of year Salalah is cooler than Muscat.
- 1Sunset Desert Safari Salalah Tour in Rub Al Khali – Empty Quarter★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 91 reviews
- 2West Salalah Tour – Caribbean of Orient – Fazayah Beach with City★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 74 reviews
- 3West Salalah: Caribbean of the Orient Fazayah Beaches & City★★★★★★★★★★ 4.5 · 60 reviews
The Musandam dhows
The northern tip of Oman is cut off from the rest of the country by the UAE, and its coast is shredded into deep inlets with cliffs dropping straight into clear water. Wooden dhows leave Khasab in the morning, cut the engine off Telegraph Island so you can swim, and come back past dolphins that ride the bow wave for fun.
- 1Half-Day Dhow Cruise, Dolphin Watching, & Snorkeling★★★★★★★★★★ 4.9 · 507 reviews
- 2Dolphin Watching Day Tour with Snorkeling & Lunch★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 188 reviews
- 3Khasab Musandam Full Day dhow cruise with lunch and Snorkeling★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 186 reviews
Jebel Shams
Oman’s highest mountain looks down into a gorge nearly a kilometre deep, and the graded track to the rim climbs past abandoned terrace villages the whole way. The balcony walk contours the canyon wall to a ruined hamlet with a spring still running through it. Take a jacket: the top sits ten degrees under the coast.
- 1Nizwa Fort-Nizwa Souq-Misfah Al Arbyeen-Jebel Shams – Private Full Day Tour★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 220 reviews
- 2Nizwa and Jebel Shams Day Trip★★★★★★★★★★ 4.8 · 153 reviews
- 3Private Day Trip to Nizwa & Jabal Shams (The Grand Canyon of Oman)★★★★★★★★★★ 5.0 · 57 reviews
Four Oman bookings that will not wait.
Most of this country can be arranged from a hotel desk the night before. These four run on permits, boat timetables, a monsoon calendar and a road that needs the right vehicle under it.
- 01Daymaniyat Island: Snorkelling Tour with Tasty LunchThe islands are a nature reserve with a permit system and a daily cap on boats, and landing is closed through turtle nesting season.
- 02Wadi Shab & Bimmah Sinkhole Full-Day TourThe walk in and out takes most of a day, and the little boat across the first pool stops running well before the light goes.
- 03Nizwa Fort-Nizwa Souq-Misfah Al Arbyeen-Jebel Shams – Private Full Day TourThe rim road is graded gravel with drops beside it, so it is a 4x4 day with a driver — not something to sort out at the trailhead.
- 04Wahiba Desert and Wadi Bani Khalid Guided Group TourCamps run fixed transfers out of Muscat and fill through the cool months, when everybody wants the same few nights.
When it is forty-five by ten and the sand is too hot to stand on.
May to September the interior is finished by mid-morning and the sea reads like a warm bath. Two answers that work. Get on the water at first light, or go south to Dhofar, where the khareef cloud keeps the hills green and twenty degrees cooler than the rest of the country.
Musandam is a separate country that happens to be Oman.
Khasab sits at the top of a peninsula you reach through the UAE or by air, and nothing about it looks like the rest of the country. Dhows leave the harbour mid-morning for the inlets, stop over the coral off Telegraph Island, and run home with dolphins on the bow.
Every Khasab day out →
By place — coast, interior and the far north
By kind of day — water, sand, mountain or souq
Muscat, a wadi, the sands and Nizwa: the loop almost everybody drives first.
The newest Oman tour reviews.
The rest of the new ones →
Balcony Walk of Jebal Shams (Highest Peak of Oman)
Read our review →
Tour Shahad 4 Days-3 Nights, Oman Tours Package
Read our review →
Private Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque-Nakhal Fort-Wakan Village – Full Day Tour
Read our review →
Private Wadi Shab – Ras Al Hadd Overnight – 2 Days Tours
Read our review →
Private Half-Day Tour to Grand Mosque-Nakhal Fort and Hotspring
Read our review →
Jebel Shams Balcony Walk and Via Ferrata Adventure
Read our review →
Guided Walking Tour of Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat
Read our review →
Daymaniyat Islands Snorkeling Small Group Turtles
Read our review →