Your Guide, Author at Blue Skies of Oman Tours and Car Rental

Dolphin watching

Large numbers of pods of dolphins visit the shores of Oman every year. Boat trips depart daily from Muscat and Musandam to watch them frolic in the clear blue seas.

The most commonly sighted are spinner dolphins and long beaked common dolpins. However you might also see Indian Ocean dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, common bottlenose dolphins, Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins and striped dolphins.

As well as watching dolphins play you will be able to view the beauty of Oman’s coastline and spend time snorkelling in the invitingly warm water.

Your guide will collect you from your hotel, take you to the marina and and return you to your hotel at the end of your trip.

Turtle watching Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve

Turtle Watching

Your guide will meet you at your hotel in Muscat and you will first drive to Sur where you will be able to visit the only surviving dhow building yard in Oman and also the Maritime Museum. From here you will proceed to Ras al Hadd and your beachfront hotel for the night

Oman is home to several important nesting sites for four different species of turtle: the endangered Green Turtle, the Olive Ridley Turtle, the Loggerhead Turtle, and the critically endangered Hawksbill Turtle and turtle watching is one of the most popular eco-tourism activities in the country.

The turtle sanctuary at Ras Al Jinz allows visitors to intimately witness the female turtles nesting and the eggs hatching without any danger of disrupting the process.

Tours run at 9pm and 5am.

The next day your guide will drive you back to Muscat via Fins beach, Wadi Tiwi, Wadi Shab and Bimmah sinkhole.

Island camping odyssey

Your guide will meet you at your hotel and drive you to the marina for a 45 minute boat trip to the Daymaniyat Islands. The waters around the islands boast excellent visibility, abundant soft and hard corals, shoals of colourful tropical fish as well as larger marine life including leopard sharks, barracuda, moray eels, rays, turtles and huge sea horses.

The islands have been protected by a nature reserve since 1996 as they provide an important nesting site for hawksbill and green turtles as well as a wide range of migratory birds. Access to the islands is restricted between May and October due to nesting birds.

On arrival your guide will set up camp on the beach, ensuring not to disturb any turtle nests while you swim and snorkel. You will then have time to explore the island before dinner which will be a BBQ on the beach. Fishing around the islands is prohibited.

As the day comes to a close you can watch sunset from the beach before sleeping under the stars.

The next day after more swimming and snorkelling you will return to Muscat.

This trip is only a available between November and April.

Villages, desert and dunes

Your guide will meet you at your hotel in Muscat and you will drive to the village of Fanja which is situated next to an extensive palm grove that runs alongside Wadi Fanja. Here you will have the opportunity to take photos of the old mud houses and Bid Bid castle. The next stop will be the old villages of Ibra and Minzifa with their many beautiful watchtowers and Ibra’s traditional souk. Finally, before reaching the desert you will visit Wadi Bani Khalid with it’s large, natural pools lined with lush, green palms and intricate eroded rocks.

On reaching Wahiba Sands you will visit a Bedouin House where you will see how the local Bedouin have lived for hundreds of years. Your guide will take you on a thrilling ride through the stunning dunes whose forms change with the direction of the wind.

At the end of the day your guide will return you to your hotel in Muscat.

Wadi Bani Auf and Snake Canyon

Your guide will meet you at your hotel and your trip will start in Nakhl where you can visit the 17th century fort and the nearby thermal, hot springs.

You will next head to Wadi Bani Auf which is widely considered to be the most memorable off-road drive in the country. This is Oman at its most nerve-janglingly dramatic, with stupendous scenery and a different photo opportunity around every bend. You will have time to hike into Snake Canyon with it’s towering cliffs on either side for a picnic lunch. The deep pools are perfect for a cooling swim on a hot day.

After your hike you will continue through Wadi Bani Awf to the scenic village of Bilad Sayt, set on the north east slope of the Al Hajar mountains before returning to Muscat.

Proper footwear is required for this tour as the boulders and stones on the hike into Snake Canyon are smooth and can be slippery.

The Grand Canyon of Oman

Your guide will pick you up from your hotel in Muscat and drive the 240km to Jebel Shams, the Grand Canyon of Oman. Jebel Shams is the highest peak in Oman at 3,028m. You will stop at Wadi Ghul at the base of the mountain along the way. Jebel Shams is the perfect place to escape the heat of Muscat with summer temperatures averaging around 20 degrees. During the winter months it can often drop below freezing! The north summit is the true peak of Jebel Shams but this is a restricted area as it’s occupied by a miltary base. The southern summit is open to the public however and is suitable for trekking via the W4 trail. You will have an hour to hike along the balcony of the canyon.

You will return to Muscat via Bahla where you will be able to see the oldest fort in Oman with it’s 12km wall. It is believed to have originally been built in pre-Islamic times and was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1987. Return to hotel in Muscat.