Our road trip through Oman meant 3.330 kilometres from Muscat to Salalah & return.

Driving From Muscat To Al Ashkharah.

We decided to drive along smaller roads from Muscat, partly through mountains, along fluffy sand dunes and irresistible beaches. It took us the entire first day until we finally arrived up at the coastal village of Al Ashkharah. It’s not really a tourist spot and there were just two hotels to choose from – good enough for us. We were the only tourists in sight and it turned out that the village was more interesting than we thought at first.

Things To Do In Al Ashkharah.

Most of the activity happens directly at the beach with fishing and trading. Watching the fishermen (or better their Toyota’s) pull in the nets was what kept us there for quite a while. Driving along the coast, we stopped at several beach locations where fish was just hauled in or boats were ready to go out. Huge freezer trucks were ready to be loaded with fresh fish and thousands of seagulls flew around just waiting for their chance to steal some fish.

As Al Ashkarah is the only village for many kilometres around, a lot of market activities are going on every morning, which also makes this place worth visiting.

Continuing Further West – With A Little Detour.

Somewhere past Masirah Island we took a wrong turn and only realized a while later that we were on highway 37, inland to a place called Haima. It was not on our agenda at first, but we continued and Haima turned out to be a cute little city with few hotels, good restaurants and a petrol stations From here we drove to Al Gayfah. This town is actually just an in-between stop to fill up you tank. We stayed at the only rest-house there was, which was actually not that bad.

• Travel Tip: Make sure you fill up your car as soon as it’s half empty because sometimes even petrol stations can run out of gas – or the petrol station is closed due to renovation (happened to us in Al Ashkharah).

From A World Heritage Site To Salalah.

We continued our trip with a side trip to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Shisr, the Land of Frankincense. It was a 40 km off-road trip through the desert, sometimes with pretty deep sand. You pass an agricultural area, where different plants grow for further commercial use. Huge water irrigation systems are needed to turn the desert into a blossoming oasis. Shisr was a lonely village. Hundred of years ago, it was the last stop where water could be found before the long enduring trip north through the Rub’ al Khali desert. Nowadays only one frankincense tree is left and that’s about it – sorry to say, but this World Heritage Site is not so worth visiting.

Once you come closer to Salalah, the area starts to become more interesting again, with mountains rising just behind Thumrait. Salalah and the ocean can be seen in the distance when arriving from the north – quite an impressive picture.

What To Expect In Salalah.

Driving into Salalah is like driving into a big city with huge palm tree lined Boulevards. Salalah is spread out vastly, but only 100.000 people live here. The largest building is the Sultans Palace facing the ocean and a lot of streets near it are closed for the public, as well as the beautiful white sand beach.

We were tired and checked into the Al Nile Hotel, a super nice and clean place with perfectly working internet for only 20 Omani Rial. Nearby was a supermarket and a bakery, which was very convenient.

Salalah has an old market where you can satisfy all your frankincense needs; beside that, the market is a bit uninspiring and the entire area has the clock ticking before it’s torn down completely to make space for new buildings. Along the beach an entire strip of the city is already abandoned while bulldozers and heavy machinery is tearing down the houses. We were told that new housing complexes for government officials would be built here. Somehow it reminded us for an earthquake zone and people must have left pretty much over night, since you could still find all sort of things inside…

Straight roads for several hundred kilometres are nothing unusual when driving through Oman.

A “white city” we came across during our road trip through Oman: Musquin.

Toyotas seem to be the desired car brand in Oman.

These are the typical fishing boats in Oman. We came across them at the beach near Al Ashkharah.

Watching the fishermen near Al Ashkharah was interesting and also a great photo opportunity.

Throughout our road trip through Oman, locals greeted us in the most friendly way possible.

A camel herder near Thumrait.

The Rub’ al Khali or Empty Quarter is the second largest sand desert in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula.

In the south of Oman the landscape becomes more mountainous again and therefore roads can become more winding at times.

Camels crossed our way several times when driving through Oman.

The coastal landscape near Salalah is truly out of this world. The water is as turquoise as in the Pacific and the beaches are absolutely amazing!

If you take the main road from Muscat via Nizwa it’s a smooth 4 hour drive to Jebel Shams Plateau, also known as the Mountain of the Sun. Jebel Shams is actually the highest mountain of the country and part of the Jebel Akhdar Mountain range, which is one of Oman’s most spectacular areas. The trip up here can easily be expanded if you have the time for some detours through the mountains; then it can take up to 2 or 3 days to get there. If you decide to go for this, definitely bring your camp gear since you won’t come across many rest houses, plus a night under the stars is an unforgettable experience. Depending on the season, it can get quite chilly at night in higher regions, so be prepared to bring some warm clothes.

The area here is absolutely stunning, with abandoned villages as well as small oasis’ where fruits and vegetables are grown, with sophisticated hundred years old watering systems. You won’t come across too many people on your trip here, apart from some few trekkers and mountain bikers. For us, it was an amazing experience into a world we have not been to before. The Arabian Peninsular was never high on our bucket list, but Oman clearly changed our views. Our tickets are booked for Muscat in February 2015 already…

The landscape of Jebel Akhdar in Oman, with Jebel Shams as its highest point.

The region of Jebel Akhdar in Oman will take your breath away.

The mountains of Jebel Akhdar in Oman make quite an impression – especially during sunset.

Driving through the mountainous landscape of Jebel Akhdar in Oman definitely required a 4×4 drive.

The mountains of Jebel Akhdar in Oman make you feel like you’re a million miles away from civilisation … partly also because this actually is the case.

There are countries that are easy to travel in without a car. Not Oman. If you want to see the countryside of Oman you definitely need to rent a car. Best is to get it right upon arrival at Muscat airport. Pre-booking makes it a lot cheaper and you also get unlimited mileage (if you rent directly from the companies you only have 200km included per day).

Experiencing the countryside of Oman with a good 4×4 SUV is the best way.

2. Map.

It’s not easy to find a good map of Oman, but at least get any kind of map. One of the things that we noticed is that street signs are often  missing or sometimes the pointing of the arrows are unclear.

If you have a smart-phone just can get a phone card and then simply connect to Google maps – this can be handy at times, especially when driving through the desert or remote mountain regions. Keep in mind: for desert driving, check the map before because you’ll lose reception a lot. Plus one should have some desert-experience when doing this alone.

Street signs in Oman can sometimes be unclear, therefore be sure to bring a good map on your travels.

3. Accommodation.

In Oman you won’t come across various accommodations in every village, so you should better check out the places beforehand. Accommodation is pretty limited – which is good and bad at the same time. Some towns have “local” hotels that are cheaper than the ones found on the internet, but they are very rare.

If you’re adventurous enough, you can just camp instead. It’s great to spend a night out under the stars but of course you need some preparation for that as well…

4. Roads.

All the main roads are in excellent condition, but there is a lot of road construction going on, so signs are often non-existent or placed a bit confusing … if you miss an exit the highway you might have to drive 30km to turn around again. Also, it can be difficult to reach the other side of a town because there aren’t that many over-passes. We got lost a couple of times…

The unpaved trails through the mountains can be challenging at times, so one should have at least a bit of off-road driving experience – plus avoid driving when it’s raining cats and dogs. On the other hand the paved mountain roads can be very steep and you’ll come across road signs to switch into a lower gear. Don’t ignore these and drive moderate because the declines are sometimes really steep!

The street out of Muscat is in excellent condition, but be sure to know where to get off, because the next exit might be over 30km away.

It’s really amazing to see the progress of streets across Oman. You will come across amazing mountain valley with paved roads, even though there is no sign of a village for many kilometres.

Unpaved mountain roads in Oman definitely require a 4×4 car.

5. Food.

Muscat has huge supermarkets, so before you set out we’d suggest to buy some water, toilet paper and other essentials. In larger towns you’ll also supermarkets, but if you visit remote places you’ll be lucky to even find a little shop.

Restaurants are mostly run by Indians and serve great cheap curries of all variations with rice or Indian bread. This food is always fresh even if the place is small and doesn’t look very frequented … a lot of people order by phone and get it take-away. They just tend to look uninspiring, but they serve amazingly good food!

A simple home-made salad can save the day…

6. Petrol.

Nothing obvious here: A very great bonus is that petrol is so cheap in Oman. One liter costs roughly 0,30 € (!!!). Fill up your tank before heading off the beaten path because distances can be really long and the next petrol station might be hundred of kilometres away…