Oman Orient

Nationals of 103 countries exempted from entry visa (omanobserver.om)
As per latest announcement by Oman GOVT, European countries can get Free Tourist Visa for Oman for 14 days stay period and which is non extendable. ( Oman visa policy is subject to change)

As a second option,  all passengers can apply visa in advance through  www.evisa.rop.gov.om / www.rop.gov.om and payment to be made through e-payment gateway in the site. Upon approval of visa application by immigration authorities, the client will receive intimation through email. The clients should carry the print of e-visa document and present to immigration on arrival to stamp visa in passport. The Present Visa fees are OMR 5.00 (USD 14.00) per person per Visa and OMR 20.00 (USD 53.00) per person  for 30 day visa. (Visa charges are subject to change as per Oman GOVT).

Meet  our driver at general arrival hall and  transfer to Al Falaj hotel .  

Standard check in time is 1400 Hrs . For early arrivals ,  rooms  will be subject  to availability for immediate check in.  Incase guaranteed early check in is  required , rooms to  be booked one night in advance.

Overnight at Al Falaj Hotel. 

After Breakfast at 08:30hrs meet your guide at the lobby of the hotel and leave for Grand Mosque.

Arrive Grand Mosque at 09:00-hrs and visit. Grand Mosque is one of the largest Mosques in the world and at one time, it can accommodate 20,000 worshippers. Grand Mosque has beautiful art work, chandeliers and one piece carpet covering entire prayer hall.

(To visit Mosque, one has to be dressed in conservative manner. One should not wear revealing or transparent clothes and should be covered from head to toe. Ladies have to cover their head with a scarf. Grand Mosque is open for the tourists from Saturday to Thursday from 08:00 hrs to 11:00 hrs)

After the tour of Grand Mosque, embark your vehicle and leave for old part of  Muscat and  arrive Muttrah souq and visit

Muttrah Souq is one of the oldest souq in Oman and the narrow alleys of souq with mystic smell of sandel wood make a great atmosphere. It is a place where you can communicate with local people and can buy souveniors for friends and family.

After visit of Muttrah souq,  embark on your vehichle and  drive along the  corniche  and  arrive at Musuem  and visit.

Bait Zubair Museum was initially founded as a house by a rich merchant, who had a hobby of collecting antiques and doing photography. Later, he converted his house to a Museum in 1998 showcasing the culture and artifacts of Oman.

After the visit of Museum at around 12:40-hrs, continue your drive to official palace of His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos. Al Alam Palace is flanked by two Portuguese fort Jalali and Mirani.

Jalali Fort has been completely refurbished and now used as a Museum for guests of State and Royal Family. This will be a outside photo stop only as visit to Palace and Fort is not possible due to security reasons

Return to the hotel by around 1300 Hrs. Rest of the day at leisure at Hotel.

Overnight at Al Falaj Hotel. 

After breakfast, check out from Al Falaj Hotel, @ 0830 am, meet your English speaking driver cum guide and embark on your 04WD, and proceed to enjoy the interior part of Oman.

Visit, Birkat Al mauz is a place where locals grow date palm trees. Pass through the old village and the farms of date palm trees. Your guide will explain the complete cultivation process as well as old irrigation system in Oman – Falaj System.

Later  drive to  Jabel akdher mountians. Climb on stretch of 36-kms winding road for Jabelakdher
Jabelakdher,the green mountain of Western Hajar mountains at an altitude of 2000mtrs above sea level. 
At Jabelakdher locals grow fruits and vegetable at terrace of the mountain. 
On arrival,   tour of  Jabel akdher  take a walk at  at Siq Plateau to see terrace plantations and to abandon village. Jabelakdher  grows various kinds of  fruits and vegetables.

After  visit of jabelakdher  climb down the mountains , proceed to Nizwa and check in to Falaj Daris Nizwa Hotel.

Overnight stay at Falaj Daris Hotel Nizwa (or smilar). 

Beakfast at  Hotel. Meet your Guide at Hotel lobby.

Embark on your  04WD vehicle and  proceed to visit Jabreen , Bahla   and  Jabelshams

Proceed to Jabrin, where you will find one of the finest of Oman’s castles built in the late 17th century it later became a seat of Omani learning. The castle displays the highest achievement in Omani ceiling 
painting and beautifully executed woodcarvings.  

Proceed to Bahla brief photo stop at Bahla Fort,which has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO.  At Bahla one can visit a few pottery centers where pottery is made in the traditional style.  visit Tanuf. Return to Nizwa.

Drive  to Jabel shams enroute visit Wadi Gul.

Jebel Shams’ in arabic means mountain of Sun. The Grand Canyon of Jebel Shams is highest in Oman and third highest in the world. Arrive at Jebel Shams and enjoy sometime at Grand Canyon and walk for sometime on mountains breathing the fresh air.

Climb down the  mountains and  visit  Al Hamra . One of the oldest villages in Oman . The  Mud houses   that  are  dated  from 400 years  are  still occupaid .  Later  drive to another pretty village  of  Misfah . The  architectural marvel  of building stone houses  in moutaincliffs are amazing.

Proceed to Al Hamra village situated on the foothills of Jabal Akhdar. Visit Misfah a pretty mountain
village with its stone dwellings still in existence. While heading for Jebel Shams stop at the mountain village
of Wadi Ghul. In the Jebel Akhdar range Jebel Shams is the highest peak offering the most spectacular
views.

Return to Nizwa. And rest of the day and overnight stay at Falaj Daris Hotel Nizwa (or smilar).

After breakfast check out from Falaj Daris Nizwa Hotel, meet your Guide and embark on your 04WD and proceeed to  passing by Sinaw Enruote drive to Wahiba Sands.

Before  leave  Nizwa , visit fort & Souq.

This  is an old traditionl souq and there are different spaces/ buildings allocated for vegetables, meat, soveniers, spices etc. Stroll around the souq  . Every Friday, there is cattle market at the souq wherein cattle sellers auction their cattles to locals. They move with cattles in the souq and do the bidding for their cattles. This a old market for cattles and atmosphere is electrifying especially before Eid.

After visit of Souq, walk towards the Fort.

Nizwa fort with its enormous round tower built in the 17th century by Imam Sultan Bin Saif Al Ya’ aruba to defend the route to the interior. The fort dominates the entire area, with the town having grown around the edifice. Access to the top is only by means of a narrow twisting staircase barred by heavy wooden doors, studded with metal. From the top of the tower one can get a bird’s eye view of the Nizwa city.

Later continue you drive to Wahiba sands.

The 'Wahiba Sands' often described as a perfect example of Sand Sea consists of large ranges of dunes running from North to South, some attaining a height of about 100 mts and orange in color. 
Our experienced drivers will take you on a dune drive tour through the undulating sand dunes to experience the thrills of dune driving. After dune drive, visit Bedouin house and meet Bedouin ladies to know more about their life in desert. Enjoy Omani coffee and dates at their house and what ladies do to survive in desert. Evening watch the spectacular sunset from top of Sand dunes.
 Dinner and overnight at Arabian Oryx Camp.

Breakfast in the Arabian Oryx Camp and check out from the Camp.

Embark on your 04Wds by 0900 Hrs and exit from the desert and drive towards Sur, enroute visit of Wadi Baini Khalid.

Arrive at Wadi Bani Khaled and visit. ‘Wadi bani Khaled’ is a stark contrast to Wahiba sands as it is a natural oasis with lot of greenery. Enjoy a short walk or swim in clear green water of natural oasis (no towel from our side)

Arrive at Sur and check in at  the Sur Plaza Hotel.
Rest of the day at leisure 
After early dinner at hotel (Not included in main cost), by 2000 Hrs leave to Turtle reserve to visit. Green turtles travel 100s of kilometer every year for nestling. It is a unique opportunity to sight turtles in their natural inhabitant. The turtle watching tours are lead in various groups by local naturalists. (Sighting turtles are not guaranteed since it is natural Turtle reserve).

Return to the hotel. Overnight stay at Sur Plaza hotel.

After breakfast and check out from the hotel embark your 04WD and conduct an orientation drive of Sur city, passing by the local souq, fish market and Dhow Building yard.

Later continue your drive to Wadi Tiwi

This wadi has village with many farms of banana, papaya, etc. Enjoy a short walk in this village / farms and continue your drive to Fins beach. After this stop, drive toward the fins beach. This beach is also known as white beach continuing you drive to sinkhole.

On arriving at Sink hole, a spectacular limestone crater with blue green water at the bottom and this stop will also be a toilet stop. After spending some time, continue your drive to Wadi Arbyn.

‘Wadi’ in Arabic means dead river bed. This is one of the most interesting wadi in the region and most of the time, this wadi has water making it a perfect place for Wadi driving.

After enjoying, off road drive, exit from wadi and drive towards Quriyat. This village is a very large fishing village between the lagoon and the sea. We will have a short photo stop at this village and later continue our drive. After this stop, drive towards the Muscat

Arrive Muscat in the afternoon around 1600 Hrs and drop off the guest either at MCT APT or a Muscat Hotel which the guests have booked directly.