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Hiking Oman bespoke Lawson adventure
Oman
From
This trip supports
- Overview
- Itinerary
- Esential info
- Reviews
- Packing list
Grade:
Intermediate
Type:
Activity
Transfers
Duration:
7 Nights
6 - 12
Group size
Leaders
Tour Highlights
- Wild camp off the beaten track in the Wahiba Sands desert
- Hike above Oman's largest canyon from Jebel Shams (mountains of the sun)
- Meet local Omanis and learn about their way of life
- Hike and swim through stunning wadis
Explore the vast landscapes of Oman in this guided tour
What makes Oman so appealing is it's stark contrasts of remorseless deserts, unbelievably lush wadis ('valley' or 'ravine' in Arabic) with palm trees shading deep turquoise pools and rivulets; souring sun-bleached mountain trails, a glorious briny ocean and most importantly a gentle, friendly and hospitable culture that never seems to be in a rush.
This tailor-made hiking tour takes you into many of the hidden corners of Oman - giving you a completely natural perspective of this varied landscape as you explore some of its most iconic regions on foot. You will find yourself in places you never expected; and with many of the nights spent camping with a dedicated team of local guides and assistants - each day can be as wild as you like with myriad hiking point-to-point extensions possible, away from the tourist trail.
Oman is one of the best kept secrets of the Middle East: Safe, relaxed, sleepy even, the small country that neighbours the oft-visited UAE is consistently overlooked by tourists, and we like it this way. The Omani people are probably the friendliest people in the Gulf, and their country remains untouched in its pristine, rugged natural beauty. If you are looking for a unique cultural experience, in a safe environment with stunning scenery, with as much flavour as the local smoky coffee served with dates, Oman is the perfect escape.
Day 1: Thursday 10th October 2024 - Land in Muscat, transfer to Wadi Mistal triangle hike
Flights
Transfer
Camping
Arrival in Muscat. Your Oman Air flight arrives at 07:00 AM.
Meet with your tour Leader, have a breakfast and shower in hotel (1 room for 3 pax) before starting your day towards the mountains. Arrival at the Wadi Mistal and beginning of the hike: 3h30 along the triangle trail which includes the village of Hadesh in these remote mountains. Transfer to the beautiful Wadi Bani Awf. You will camp nearby for the night.
Overnight: Wild Camping
Day 2: Fri 11th - Wadi bani Awf AKA Snake Canyon
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Camping
Explore Wadi Bani Awf hiking from the village of Bikad Sayt to Col al Sharaf : 5 to 6 hours.
With its towering cliffs and plantation settlements huddled along the wadi banks, mature native trees and striking rock features, this snaking wadi offers a fascinating glimpse of rural life in Oman's hidden interior, beyond the populous plain. A major artery through the mountains, it usually flows year-round with spring water. It looks particularly gorgeous when mountain rain causes the falaj (irrigation channel), which parallels the entire lower reach of the wadi, to cascade over its walls. This is an unmissable place to hike.
Transfer to Jabal Shams.
Overnight: Wild Camping
Day 3: Sat 12th - Jebal Shams balcony hike
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
3 star hotel
Jebal Shams - balcony walk : 3 to 4 hours. Stop at the village of Al Hamra, visit of Bait Al Safa museum before heading to Nizwa for the night.
Oman’s highest mountain, Jebel Shams (Mountain of the Sun; 3009m), is best known for its balcony walk with views into the spectacularly deep Wadi Ghul lying alongside it. The straight-sided Wadi Ghul is known locally as the 'Grand Canyon of Arabia', and is one of Oman's major highlights.
Spend the evening exploring the town of Nizwa with its souq and impressive historic fort, and lots of delicious places to eat.
Overnight: Al Diyar hotel, Nizwa
Day 4: Sun 13th -Nizwa & Wahiba Sands
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Camping
After a leisurely breakfast in Nizwa and perhaps a final stroll in the soul you will transfer to Wahiba, perhaps stopping off at the beautiful Birkat Al Mouz if we have time, which is a great place to explore if you want to see the simpler old Omani life. This village is famous for its ancient mud-brick fortress with stunning, colourful doors.
Upon arrival at Wahiba, take a short desert hike for a few hours to take in the cooling sunset hours before returning to camp for dinner amidst the orange sands.
Overnight: Wild Camping
Day 5: Mon 14th - Sur & Wadi Bani Khaled
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
3 star hotel
Enjoy a morning hike then transfer to the Wadi bani Khaled, arguably one of the most picturesque spots in the country. Hike up into the surrounding mountains for 3 hours or more before swimming and walking through the maze of rocky rivulets and pools that flow deep into the mountainsides into a magical world.
Back to Sur for a rest in a hotel where you can also explore the Dhow boat yard where they still produce the traditional wooden vessels, as they have for centuries - there is plenty to see in this photographer's paradise.
Overnight: Sur Plaza
Day 6: Tues 15th - Wadi exploring
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Camping
Hiking the Wadi Tiwi (-/+ 1h30) than continue to Wadi Taab (3 to 4h). Finish a glorious day with wild camping on the beach.
Overnight: Wild Camping
Day 7: Wed 16th - Wadi exploring & Muscat
Transfer
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
3 star hotel
Visit Wadi Shaab for only a short hike but it is such a beautiful spot - especially the pool in front of Mibam village that it has to be seen to be believed!
Following your arrival and settling into your wonderfully located hotel, you will take a tour of Oman’s capital city, the port of Muscat; a classic mix of modern living amongst historical architecture, and surrounded by mountains and desert.
Enjoy the alleyways of Mutrah Souk and then Bait al-Baranda Museum, housed in an attractive seafront 1930s residence, gives us a snapshot of Muscat's history (and pre-history), to frame our adventures to come. We can also visit the Sidab Women Association, which empowers women in Oman through environmentally friendly projects that benefit all participants.
Tonight you will have a fun, final group dinner together in the city.
Overnight: Al Nassem Hotel or similar
Day 8: Thursday 17th October 2024 - Fly out of Muscat
Flights
Transfer
Breakfast
We transfer you to the airport for flights out of Muscat via Oman Air at 14:15.
On the way you can stop off at the breathtaking marble clad Grand Mosque with its 50m dome and famous Persian carpet.
you will return home a little fitter, browner and happier than when you arrived.
Adventure Optional Extras
Plant an additional 15 trees for your adventure
Carbon Compensation is not the perfect solution, and it is important to first reduce our carbon emissions as much as we can, yet trees remain an excellent natural technology to sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to slow global warming.
For every client and guide who attends a YellowWood Adventure, we donate £30 to our partner charity WeForest to plant 15 trees to (over) compensate for the carbon footprint of the tour.
We also invite our clients to match this with an optional additional £30 for another 15 trees to be planted to help compensate for the carbon footprint of their international flights.
WeForest run many tree planting and tree maintenance projects such as this seedling nursery in the Amhara region of Ethiopia, the Amazon Rainforest in Brazil and many other projects in other countries including Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania & India.
Click Here to find out more about their amazing projects around the world.
Not included
- Flights & airport taxes
- Insurance (compulsory)
- Visas
- Drinks & Snacks
- Tipping
Contents
Accommodation
We fully believe in, and practice Responsible Tourism, using hotels run by locals. We put time and effort into building our relationship with them to ensure you have a a great trip.
We choose hotels based on cleanliness, comfort, safety, proximity to our route (to avoid unnecessary extra travel), and a warm client welcome, as well as reliability in their service to us. Some hotels will be basic, and in modern buildings and or in towns. Wherever we can, we will choose smaller more characterful, individual hotels, but in areas where tourism is still developing, this may not be available. An aspect of our adventures is to escape the ‘trappings’ of modern Western lifestyles and to experience new things which is exciting and memorable, and reflects the countries we are visiting. This is adventure travel and on occasion the advertised services at a hotel (eg wifi, or hot showers!) may not be functional on our arrival. This tends to occur in the smaller, more remote hotels. Very rarely a hotel lets us down and we are required to find alternative suitable accommodation that might not be our first choice.
This trip involves hotel and guesthouse accommodation. The list below gives information on our first choice of accommodation for this adventure. Where hotels and refuges are fully booked or unavailable, we will use an alternative of a similar standard, and equally well situated. We will provide you with an accurate list of accommodation, with contact information to leave with relatives, prior to departure on your adventure.
Facilities
Unless you have booked a single room (where they are available) and paid the single room supplement for those nights, you will be sharing a twin room with another client (of the same gender).
Guiding & Your Group
Supporting you on your holiday will be an experienced and knowledgeable local, English speaking, Omani guide. This ensures you access to information on the country and culture of Oman, as well as directly supporting local trade and tourism.
Your Group
Your group will be any number from our minimum group size of 4, up to a maximum of 12 clients. This number works really well with the ratio of guides, and ensures the optimum level of service to you during your adventure.
We get clients booking alone, as couples and in small groups of friends. If you have a group of friends or family who are interested in having their own customised trip, then please let us know and we can cost it for you.
Am I fit enough?
This itinerary is a Grade 3; an Entry Level adventure.
Some days involve short walks of up to 3 hours, but the distances are optional. Depending on which departure you are on, it could involve walking in the heat, over some uneven terrain but at a leisurely pace / the natural pace of the group. However, to get the most of out of this adventure, you need to be a regular walker and in good physical health.
Travel & Arrival
Your YellowWood adventure starts at the airport in Muscat. We understand that arriving into an unfamiliar airport can be very daunting, so we aim to give you as much information her as possible to help you prepare.
Finding flights
Flights are not included in the cost of your holiday, and whilst we are happy to help advise you, responsibility for booking the correct flights rests with you. We recommend that you use a comparison tool such as www.momondo.co.uk or www.skyscanner.net when searching for flights.
Foreign Travel Advice
For the latest travel advice from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office including security and local laws, plus passport and visa information, check www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice
Airport & Arrival Info
Muscat International Airport (its slogan is “Gateway to Beauty & Opportunity”) is the main international airport in Oman, 32km from the city, and is modern and fully functioning.
Hotel Arrival
On arrival at the hotel, you should head to reception where they can show you to your room.
The group will be arriving at different times. You will be meeting together for a welcome briefing and heading to a local restaurant for lunch before your City Tour begins.
Insurance
Holiday insurance is essential for all YellowWood Adventures. Unfortunately anyone without insurance is not able to take part in the holiday, so please make sure you arrange cover. We recommend sorting your insurance when you book so that if you have problems during the run up to your holiday, and need to cancel, you are covered, particularly in the light of effects that the pandemic has had on travel.
Prior to the holiday, we will ask you to send us details of your insurer, policy number, 24 hr emergency assistance contact details and the name, address, and telephone numbers of your NOK or persons to be notified in the event of an emergency.
Your insurance needs to cover you for the following fairly standard inclusions:
- Medical Expenses
- Coronavirus linked expenses (these may be country specific, so please ensure you know what the requirements are relating to the country you are visiting)
- Repatriation
- Helicopter rescue & Air ambulance
We would also recommend that you have cover for the following optional items:
- Cancellation
- Loss or damage to property
General information on Oman
For information on Oman, such as climate, weather, language, social norms, food & drink etc, please have a read of our Country specific information.
Reviews
Ken
Everything worked and worked well. Airport transfers smooth, convenient and worry-free. Accommodation was varied, often very nice indeed and far better than I expected as you drive off into this starkly beautiful country. Food is abundant and good - far too much of it for most of us. Sahid (our outstanding leader/driver) backed off some of the big meals at our request as the trip progressed and gave the group some options where he could. He made sure we had plenty of water and often stopped for Omani tea/coffee, cold drinks at times. Lots of great elements to the trip, all enjoyable. Though there is a fair amount of driving during the tour, it never seemed burdensome - the country is just too damned beautiful to enjoy in its rugged starkness. Every day was a highlight for me, no specific favourite.
Oman deserves all the superlatives it gets -magnificent scenery, safe, friendly environment, welcoming and engaging people. YellowWood delivers a winner on this trip! Kudos to all.
Receive a 15% discount off Water-to-Go filtration water-bottles to help reduce plastic waste.
Compulsory
- US$ or £GB to exchange for local currency
- Passport & insurance documents
- Credit / Debit card for ATM use
- Prescription medication & antibiotics such as Azithromycin to stop serious traveller's diarrhoea
- First aid kit: paracetamol, anti-diarrhoea tables, rehydration sachets, antihistamine cream, ibuprofen cream, thermometer & blister kit (eg plasters & zinc oxide tape).
- Insect repellent
- Washbag & usual contents
- 'On the go' Toilet kit: toilet roll, biodegradable wet wipe
- Warm Sleeping Bag
- Water Bottle
Items for Walking / Sightseeing
- Small daypack (about 20L) for sightseeing
- Waterproof Jacket
- Walking boots (already broken in)
- Torch with spare batteries
- Sunglasses & high factor suncream
- Sun hat or baseball cap
- Waterproof stuff sacks to keep daypack contents dry
- Water-to-Go filtration water-bottle & additional storage water-bottle - ideally 2 litres per person
Clothing
- Socks / underwear
- Suitable clothes / pjs for sleeping in at night
- Light clothes for day time - long & short sleeved tops.
- Trousers / shorts / skirts - NB dress modestly for religious buildings
- Sandals / trainers
- Warm jacket / fleece - it can be cooler at altitude and in the evenings
- Warm hat & gloves
Optional
- Buff or light scarf useful for sun protection and covering shoulders / neck for church visits
- Camera & charging cables / plug
- Phone & charging cables / plug
- 2 prong adaptor - the associated plug type for Oman is G, which is the plug that has three rectangular pins in a triangular pattern. Oman operates on a 240V supply voltage and 50Hz.
- Money belt or grab bag for essentials
This trip supports
Need a little help?
All adventures can be tailored as private bespoke trips.
Please contact us for more information:
+44 207 846 0197
Related Adventures
Booking Process
Select dates: Choose the dates for your adventure and consider adding any extra adventures or add-ons to enhance your experience.
Check the box to agree to our Terms & Conditions.
Make Booking: Click on "Make Booking." If you're booking more than 56 days before your adventure, you'll be redirected to secure WorldPay to make your deposit. If it's 56 days or less before your adventure, you'll need to make full payment. Rest assured, your money is held securely by the Travel Trust Association.
Your booking will show as 'pending' in your YellowWood online account.
Confirmation: We'll be in touch as soon as possible to confirm your booking or discuss any availability limitations. Please refrain from booking transport or flights until we've emailed you to confirm your booking. (Note: Receipt of your booking form is not confirmation.)
Making payment: Once your booking is confirmed, we'll change the status of your final invoice from 'Pending Approval' to 'Outstanding,' indicating that it's ready for payment online.
You will receive a reminder email for your final payment 56 days before the departure date.
Feel free to contact us with any questions about your adventure or booking, we're here to help!
Grading
To help you choose the right adventure for you, we have given each itinerary a grading that relates to the level of Walking / Trekking you will experience during the trip. This grading can be found on the Yellow map on the adventure page of the website.
All of our trips involve a level of general activity so are designed for people who are in good health, enjoy the outdoors, and have a taste for adventure and some level of fitness. As will be clear from our destinations, the climate (and altitude) may be different to that which you are used to, so please take this into consideration when choosing the most suitable holiday.
Please read our Adventure Itinerary & Essential Information for more information and don't hesitate to contact us if you would like to chat through whether you have found a suitable adventure for you.
Grade 1-3: Entry Level
You need to be in good physical health to enjoy your active holiday, but you don’t need to be an experienced hiker. These itineraries offer a mix of sightseeing and easier walking for around 2-4hrs a day, with the emphasis on sights and cultural experiences.
Walks will be well marked or on defined pathways, and often around sites of interest. The expected amount of descent/ascent will depend on the landscapes of the destination, but will not exceed 400m/day, and will often be much less. Walks are at low altitude (below 3000m).
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack with water and essentials. Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have a pair of comfortable and worn in walking shoes/boots.
Grades 4-6: Intermediate
You need to have a good level of fitness and be a regular walker for these adventures, with ideally some trekking experience. You can expect to be walking for 3-6 hours per day, not including rest stops, normally on good trail paths but with some uneven surfaces at times.
You will not be required to carry more than a day sack. You may be walking in more challenging temperatures. You will generally be walking at low altitude (below 3000m) but may walk at altitudes up to 4000m. The amount of ascent could be up to 800m in a day but will frequently be less. You may walk on consecutive days.
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable clothing for this adventure.
Grades 7-9: Challenging
You need to have a good level of fitness with previous experience of trekking. Extra training before your trip will ensure that you get the most out of your adventure. Areas will be remote and terrain uneven.
Expect to walk for 5 – 8 hours a day, not including breaks, with some very steep ascents and descents. You will be walking at altitude (over 3000m but not higher than 5000m).
Ensure you are aware of the weather conditions likely in the destination you are visiting and have suitable equipment/clothing for this adventure (see the packing list for your adventure).
Please check individual itineraries for details of what you will need to be carrying with you.
Get in touch
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