Oman is a cracking country for a 5 day trip. It has that wonderful Middle East vibe without the extreme restrictions of the likes of Saudi or Iran, the extreme opulence of the UAE and Qatar, and without the crowds of Egypt and Jordan. To add to the mix, it has a surprisingly diverse offering – world class mountains, vast red deserts, gorge and canyon exploring, and all with the capital Muscat acting as a hub to launch yourself on these adventures
Its only real downsides are that it tends to be expensive; doesn’t have the well trodden traveller path (so you need to do a lot on your own); and, outside of the Hajar Mountains which are sensational, doesn’t have so many of the world class attractions you’ll find in other parts of the Middle East. That being said, the below itinerary was cracking fun
Top tips:
- #1 Prioritise the following 3 things (in order) – 4WD in the Hajar Mountains (including the forts of Nizwa and Bahla as they are en route); Hiking and swimming Wadi Shab; Staying in the red desert of Sharqiya Sands. Muscat only needs a day max and you’ll naturally find this time as you’ll fly in and out of there
- #2 Five days is enough, but with little chill out time – the 3 highlights above are all within 2 hours drive of Muscat and typically only need 0.5 days (Wadi Shab), 1 day (Sharqiya Sands) and 1.5 days (the mountains). Two ways of looking at it:
- If full of energy and trying to get the most out of the 5 days – the itinerary below is very doable and, if slightly impatient, you’ll find that you’ll be done with the places quite quickly (eg you really don’t need more than the morning in Wadi Shab and overnight in the desert). You could even choose between Jebel Shams and the 4WD mountain road to make this a 4 day trip
- If want more of a chill out – either make it a week, or chose between either Jebel Shams (famous) or the 4WD mountain road (spectacular, adventure
- #3 Oman is expensive – it’s quite a shock when you see that the exchange rate is 3US$ to the Omani Rial . . . as in, the other way around!! Everything is more expensive than you’ll likely be used to, so it pays to scan for in particular cheap accommodation and a decent deal on the 4WD
- #4 Driving – you need a car if not on a tour, as public transport is pretty poor. Broadly the deals started at around US$35 / day for a basic rental car, and around 2/2.5 times that for a 4WD – so it may actually make sense to take the 2WD for certain parts and change for 4WD when needed, which is what I did. As always, have a scan on RentalCar to see what the rates look like.
- What about a 4WD? The 4WD makes a lot of the trip easier as you can easily drive up to Jebel Shams, drive to your desert camp in Sharqiya Sands) and is an absolute must for the drive across the mountains via Hatt. That being said, the drive up to Jebel Shams is very doable in a 2WD (no restrictions); you can easily get the Desert Camp to pick you up from the town of Al Wasil or any pre-arranged meeting spot on the main road; and the drive across the mountain road via Hatt can be optional if you’re not up for the nerve jangling. Be sure as well to check that it is a genuine 4WD, rather than a 2WD SUV (which the second rental company were not clear on)
- #5 How to behave / what to wear – Oman felt very much on the chilled out end of the Middle East spectrum, and used to western tourists. Whilst its always better to dress a bit more like a local (they find it odd, for example, that we wear shorts at all), for the itinerary below, there were no places where you would feel uncomfortable wearing clothes showing knees / shoulders
- #6 – for greater detail on individual parts of this trip, see the following travel entries:
I say this trip is supercharged because it doesn’t leave much time for chilling out. But, if you’re like most of us and only have a limited amount of vacation, then this is a fantastic weekend to weekend trip that takes in the world famous sites of Jerusalem, Petra and Wadi rum; while providing time for some fun experiences like floating in the Dead Sea, scuba diving in the Red Sea, driving through sparse deserts and a party in Tel Aviv
You’ll need energy for these 7 days, but you’ll be rewarded as, in my opinion, its one of the world’s best week long trips in the world
I was hesitating in going in winter as I’d seen low temperatures. Don’t. The winter helped with reduced crowds, not needing to book far ahead and not getting exhausted by the heat. Perfect trip for a week-long winter break
No wonder they filmed The Martian, Star Wars, Dune and Prometheus here – Wadi Rum has an otherworldly feel to it and driving around in 4x4s with the wind in your face watching the sandstone cliffs and red desert pass you by really gives a sci-fi feeling of adventure. Expect to find yourselves regularly stopping to gawp at the latest stunning vista throughout the day
I’m sure there is a bunch of things that can take multiple days up, but we had half a day plus staying over night in one of the Martian tent, and that felt like the right amount of time. Especially as we had time for both the sunset and the stunning first light. A must if in this part of the world
We’ve all seen the famous Treasury building that sits within Petra – yes, the one from Indiana Jones – but the Treasury is only one small piece of a vast network of ancient buildings that sit within a labyrinth of dramatic red stone canyons, and all surrounded by equally dramatic mountains and deserts. To combine a visit to one of the Wonders of the World with an exploration of the broader area makes this a truly unforgettable experience
I’ve written below some tips for how to get the most out of a visit to Petra, but my #1 tip is to get local guide to walk with you from Little Petra through the back entrance of the mountains, via the Monastery, and to the main Treasury / Siq (the famous bit). You won’t be disappointed as the views are world-class and the crowds less keen to stray so far from the Treasury. We visited in winter, which naturally thinned the crowds, but the site is so vast that even in the busy periods you will be able to get away
My girlfriend and I went on a 6month trip around Latin America (excluding Brazil). Started in the far South in the Tierra del Fuego in Argentina and, broadly, made our way up the west coast to the Yucatan Peninsular of Mexico. Best large scale trip I’ve done, and wanted to share the overall itinerary and tips here to hopefully help those who are considering something similar
A few high level points:
- Other than the flights there and the first hotel, there were only three things we booked in advance: the Inca Trail (which we knew we needed to for permits); plus for Patagonia a trip through Torres del Paine National Park and a ferry through the fjords (as we were going at peak season and only a couple of weeks after we landed). Everything else, we booked when in Latin America and, in our opinion, that is the best way to do it – gives you the freedom to relax in the places you find that you love and be super flexible to do what you want to do
- Total costs – my girlfriend and I went in our 30s, with no kids and on sabbaticals from work. We’re not poor, but certainly not mega wealthy. We didn’t stay in super expensive hotels (other than for the occasional splurge), flew economy and used a bit of common sense for timings of certain expensive items, but never held back on doing the things we wanted to do. Some examples of big ticket items: US$5k for a week diving in the remote Wolf & Darwin Islands in the Galapagos; US$1.2k for 4 days in Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia; US$800 for a helicopter trip to see the El Mirador Mayan ruins in the Guatemalan jungle; US$700 for the Inca Trail. Total cost of the whole trip was US$34k each. This included all flights, transport, hotels, activities, food, drink, guides, screwing things up, credit card fees – the lot. Expensive, but so are most Experiences of a Lifetime
- It’s not about trying to “do everything” – in a place as large as Latin America, you couldn’t even if you tried – so don’t think of things as a big tick box exercise. Brazil, for example, we knew we couldn’t do justice whilst also trying to enjoy all the other amazing places we’d heard of, so left it for next time
- In the similar vain, make sure you give yourself big chunks of time to chill out. Not only to recharge the batteries, but also because most places are enjoyed when you spend time to soak up the feel for the place. There were some places . . . like Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, Buenos Aires in Argentina, Isla Mujeres in Mexico, Bocas del Toro in Panama . . . where I could have spent weeks there just because the general vibe of the place was so wonderful
- Safety – we weren’t robbed, but many people do either having a bag stolen or, unpleasantly, get robbed face to face. Other than a couple of cities, we generally felt super safe the places we went and tried to just apply common sense to reduce our risks
- Learn a bit of Spanish before you go – the app DuoLingo was great for getting us to a basic level that made a lot of difference. But also don’t be afraid to pull out google for simultaneous conversation translations to really be able to have a conversation with someone – some long trips became some of our highlights just from being able to properly talk with the driver / locals. I particularly remember a long taxi ride in Colombia where we went back and forward for 2 hours with the driver on everything from his home town to politics to football to his favourite movies to his family problems- never could have done that without Spanish or google. In a similar vein, and using the right level of common sense, don’t turn down an invite for drinks / dinner / house visit with locals. There are some truly unforgettable natural and cultural spots to see, but similarly an evening with a local family will be something likely to be just as unforgettable
- Whenever checking out a place or must-do-site, its easy to get templed / churched / ancient site / beached out. Always do a very basic bit of research to see if there is a more out of the ordinary way to experience it – by bike / drinking tour / kayaking / helicopter / whatever. Thats what we tried to do, and I hope it reflected in some of the cool stuff listed below
There are a bunch of fun things to do when saying for one or two nights in San Pedro de Atacama. In particular, you’ll want to visit the otherworldly Lunar Valley to see those gorgeous changes from reds and yellows to purples and pinks as the sun sets. I’d also highly recommend taking advantage one evening of the best star gazing in the world by visiting one of the observatories
(You also must must must Take a 4WD tour from San Pedro de Atacama to the Bolivian Salt Flats so check out this entry for more details)
But it was San Pedro de Atacama itself that was the highlight for me. It will just feel so different from anywhere you’ve been before that you’ll be kept happily entertained just wandering through the rock hard clay streets with their single floor adobe buildings and seeing the otherworldly red surroundings of volcanoes in the distance, all while appreciating the subtle adaptations the place has to make to survive in what is the driest place in the world (outside of the Poles). If you have the time, its a great place to chill out, sample some of the surprisingly good restaurants and also to learn a bit about the pre-Spanish culture
Cracking spot for a short break, especially to escape the European winter. I’m writing this a few years later so only a very short entry, but my key tips after spending 3 days there:
- Marrakech has 2 sides – the first side is the mayhem of it all, with the markets and busy streets. The second is the hidden and private residences that often sit behind the non-descript walls in what appear to be super dull streets. You can be walking down one of these streets and then suddenly knock on the right door and find yourself in a little contained oasis paradise. Very much part of the allure
- So, it pays to do a bit of research to see which of these little hidden paradises you’d like to check out
- Get yourself lost in some of the narrow chaotic medina lanes – you’re going to get lost anyway, so just embrace it!
- See if you can arrange yourself a day trip into the nearby mountains, which feel a world away from the business of Marrakech. This was probably our highlight
My favourite road trip – the contrasts of natural landscape along the way with snowy mountains, red / yellow deserts, and temperate rainforests; the tasters of the different culture snapshots of the US with conservative cowboys through to uber-liberal SoCal and Pacific North West; the sheer world-fame of some spots like Las Vegas, LA, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon; but more than anything – its a trip that is simply perfect for driving. The distances involved, the way the US in particular is set up for the drivers and the scenery to take in in between the obvious highlights is just world-beating
It’s also a super high octane trip – 4200 miles / 6760km of driving – the sort of thing you rattle off in your 20s, when you have the energy, 2 weeks of vacation and are keen to see and do everything. There’s something just so incredibly fun and fantastic about seeing one world-famous site one after the other in rapid succession – one day being in the likes of Yellowstone National Park, the next in Arches National Park, the next the Grand Canyon, the next Las Vegas, the next LA etc etc. An exciting whirlwind that creates a feeling most will never forget . . . and in a way equally spoils / sets the bar incredibly high for any other trip
A bit rushed? – on the trip itself, we didn’t feel overly rushed. Again, we had 2 weeks vacation and wanted to see as much of this part of the world as possible. For example, I actually found a day / half day in each of the national parks perfect to do a basic walk, see the main attractions and get the feel for them. But of course, it would have been nice to spend longer in each – perhaps take a 3 day hiking trip across one of them. Or perhaps see some of the other pieces we of course missed along the way. Ultimately, I always suggest avoiding the mass tourism standard experience on offer, and I shudder just thinking of trying to do this again, but in a part of the world that has world class sites one after the other, the gorging on them was great fun
The Grand Canyon obviously comes with high expectations – natural wonder of the world, the scene for so many movies and photos, UNESCO world heritage listed etc – and it doesn’t disappoint. As you walk up to it for your first view from above, you can’t help but have that “wow” moment at the sheer immensity of it. It may not be the deepest or longest canyon in the world, but its the most impressive
Driving through this part of the Navajo Nation really is like something from a movie set. The strong reds of the desert and mountains, and the looming giants of the buttes make you feel like at any moment you’re going to bump into John Wayne doing the rounds with the US cavalry, or try to avoid an awkward conversation with Tom Cruise following his rock climbing
The highlight is Monument Valley, which doesn’t have a familiar name but is a view everyone will recognise. You can see the 3 giant buttes (isolated hills with impossibly steep sides and flat tops) as you drive anywhere near them, with some of the simplest and best views from the View Hotel. One thing I wish we’d done was to head into the Monument Valley Tribal Park to be driven by some of the locals to see some of the buttes up close (something you can’t do on your own)
