A beginner's guide to an outdoorsy Oman roadtrip from the UAE

Oman is one of my favorite places in the world, so I am always telling people to go there if they have the chance. Here is a quick guide for how to enjoy a road trip to Oman, skewed toward my own personal bias and experience of camping/outdoor activities.

So I'll get this bit out of the way first: if you are looking for an exotic luxury beach hotel vacation, Oman has been working on developing that infrastructure. I just don't know the first thing about it. But I am absolutely sure it would be amazing.

Now for the outdoors enthusiast Oman dream vacation! This post assumes you're in the UAE and looking for a side trip to Oman. Drive times are from Sharjah, but road conditions/routes in Oman change all the time so YMMV, literally. Camping is always ad-hoc with no facilities. There are basic grocery stores for self-catering in the cities but in the wilds (and much of Oman is the wilds), you are on your own.

Beach to the mountains itinerary. This was our standard Oman trip. We changed it up a little each time, but this basic framework gives a good balance of sights and driving times. UAE-Oman driving route is through Muscat; Oman-UAE return route is through Ibri.

Day 1. Wake up early and drive all the way down to Wadi Shab (around 7 hours, including/depending on border crossing). Hike all the way up the wadi and back. Set up camp on the beach and sleep well after a long day.

Day 2. Wake up on the beach and enjoy playing there for a while. If you don't care to see Muscat at all, then stay half the day on the beach. If you want to swing through Muscat, pack up soon-ish and drive there (around 2 hours). In Muscat, see the old souq and walk along the Corniche. [If you're Mormon and it's Friday, go to church! That was always a favorite stop for us.] Then head out of town toward Jebel Akhdar [Green Mountain] or Jebel Shams [Sun Mountain] (around 2 hours from Muscat, maybe a little less). Enjoy the drive up the mountain and the views as you set up camp. Jebel Akhdar requires 4x4, by the way, and they do actually check.

Day 3. Wake up in the mountains. Go on a hike. If you're on Jebel Akhdar, I recommend a hike through the terraced farms there. If you're on Jebel Shams, I recommend the "balcony" hike to an abandoned village.

If it's a weekend and you're in a rush to move on, you can drive all the back to the UAE (5 hours-ish) that late afternoon/evening after finishing the hike and packing up. Alternatively, sleep another night in the mountains and then:

Day 4. Wake up and head down the mountain toward Wadi Dham. It's on your way home, anyway and it breaks up the journey nicely. However, make sure you have a good ratio of children to adults for this one - there is one part where you have to climb up a rope through a cleft in a rock. After the hike, drive all the way back home OR include stops at the beehive tombs or Bahla Fort or the ruins of Al-Suleif.

That's the basic Oman itinerary. Here are a few more places I would recommend that were not mentioned above:

Salalah - but it's a whole other thing to get there and not part of any basic roadtrip
Musandam - same as above. To be honest, I never really warmed up to this place. The drive to get there is so stressful.
Turtle-spotting at Ras al-Jinz
The sinkhole by Bimmah (near Wadi Shab)
Wadi Bani Khaled - we never went but we wish we did. It was one of those things where we couldn't bear to give up old favorites in order to risk doing something new.

Check out everything I've ever posted about Oman by clicking here.

Recommended guide here: Oman Off-Road. This book has all the information about routes, hikes, and (ad-hoc) campsites. You can buy it at any bookstore in the UAE as well as ACE and Carrefour.

Jebel Akhdar

The ruins of Al-Suleif

Bahla Fort

Balcony hike on Jebel Shams

Beehive tombs

Salalah

Jebel Shams

Muscat Souq

Terrace hike on Jebel Akhdar

Wadi Dham

Wadi Shab