The best Itinerary for Oman for 7 days

If you are planning a trip to Oman and looking for the best itinerary for Oman then you are in the right place. We have visited Oman over 5 times and love returning to check out different places each time. This itinerary for Oman has been put together after many tried and tested trips. Oman is an incredible country that is becoming more and more popular and on the tourist trail. All the information, tips and ideas are here…

Is Oman good for families?

Yes, 100% there are so many things to do in Oman that are good for families. Especially if you are an outdoor, adventure loving family you will be blown away by the natural beauty, wildlife and outdoors activities. We have been visiting Oman with our boys since they were toddlers and will continue to make the trip back to experience the great outdoors!

How many days are enough in Oman?

To fully experience Oman I think you need at least 6 days. However, you could easily stay there for 2-3 weeks and not be bored! For a whistle-stop tour of Oman, cramming in all the main sights then we would recommend at least 6/7 days in Oman.

What is the best way to travel around Oman?

Without a doubt, the best way to travel around Oman is driving yourself. The roads are good, traffic is fine and you can go at your own pace. We usually drive to Oman from Dubai so that we have our own car. You can check out our post here on Dubai to Oman Road Trip.

Be aware that there will be a lot of driving during this itinerary for Oman. If you have more time then stay longer between each place to break up the driving. However, we firmly believe that the driving is worth it for the places you will see and experiences you will have.

If you are planning to fly into Muscat then we would recommend hiring a car so that you can drive yourself around easily. You could always get a taxi for the first few days in Muscat, check out holiday taxis, and then hire the car when you are ready to explore more of Oman. We always use Rental Cars for the best prices.

This itinerary for Oman includes a small glimpse of all of our favourite things about Oman from the beaches, boat trip, souks, forts, wadis, hikes and mountain experiences. We would splurge on hotels at the start in Muscat and the end in Jabal Akhdar. They are truly one of a kind hotels that you won’t experience again. Hope you enjoy….

Our itinerary for Oman…

Days 1 to 3 in Muscat, Oman

Muscat is full of many things to do. We would recommend longer than 2 nights in Muscat, if you have the time to fully experience everything. Our top recommendations for 2 nights in Muscat would be:

Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque – stunning and spectacular, this mosque is definitely worth a visit during your time in Muscat. The mosque is free to enter but we would recommend paying 2.5 OMR for an audio tour to explain everything as you are walking around. Women will need to be covered with a head scarf to enter.
Mutrah – make sure to find time to visit the old part of the city, alongside the corniche. Wander round Mutrah Souk, walk along the corniche and make sure to visit Mutrah Fort. It is worth the climb up the steps to stroll through the ancient fort and to see the views, try and time it for sunset. Mutrah Fort is inexpensive at only 5 OMR for a family of 4.
Dimaniyat Islands Boat Tour or Muscat Dolphin Boat Tour – we have done both of these trips during previous trips to Muscat. Dimaniyat is simply beautiful, 45mins away from Muscat where you can go snorkeling with turtles. If you are looking to see Dolphins then Muscat is an incredible place to do that. Schools of dolphins will swim aside the boat as you tour the coast of Muscat. Make sure to include one of these trips in your itinerary for Oman.

Read our post on How to Spend a Weekend in Muscat for more information.

Dimaniyat islands should be included on the best itinerary for Oman

Where to stay in Muscat…..

Muscat has a huge range of amazing hotels from ultra luxurious to budget and everything in between. We have stayed in a few different hotels during our many trips to Muscat. These are our top picks:

Top Luxury Muscat Hotels

If you are looking for a true luxurious escape whilst in Muscat, check out the relatively new Jumeirah Muscat Bay. A stunning hotel from the Jumeirah group. There is also the renowned Chedi Muscat and The Ritz Al Bustan Palace for incredible 5* properties.

Luxury Muscat Hotel

We stayed at the gorgeous, luxurious 5 star beach resort at InterContinental Muscat for our most recent trip to Muscat. They have beautiful, sea-view family rooms, amazing facilities and lots of restaurants and bars to choose from. This is a licensed hotel as well so it was lovely to enjoy a cocktail at sunset.

Read our review of the InterContinental Hotel Muscat here.

Mid Range Hotel

We also spent two nights at the stunning 5* Grand Millennium Hotel Muscat. This hotel is perfect for large families with villas, apartments and interconnecting rooms. Rooftop pool, mall access and city centre location with affordable prices are things we loved about this hotel.

Read our review of the Grand Millennium Hotel Muscat here.

Budget Hotel

We have also stayed at the Ramada Encore Muscat Hotel which is a budget hotel without compromising on quality. Good sized family rooms with great Italian restaurant and rooftop pool in a city centre location with budget prices.

Hotel lobby of Grand Millennium Hotel in Muscat

Day 3 – Bimmah Sinkhole, Wadi Shab and Ras Al Jinz

The drive from Muscat to Bimmah Sinkhole takes around 1.5hours. There is plenty of parking just outside the park. Allow around 1 hour to visit Bimmah Sinkhole, walk around and go swimming in the natural pool. It is a beautiful, natural pool that is worth stopping at and exploring.

For all the information about visiting Bimmah Sinkhole, check out our post here.

After Bimmah Sinkhole, drive another 20-30minutes further down the road to Wadi Shab. Allow a few hours here, at least 2-3 hours to fully experience the wadi. There is parking, but it gets busy so get there early! Once parked at Wadi Shab, you will need to get a small boat across the water to find the hiking trail. Make sure you have coins with you to pay for the boat, only 1 OMR.

The hike at Wadi Shab is breathtaking. Wander amongst cliffs and mountains alongside the water. If you continue along the path all the way you will eventually hit a waterfall and a pool for swimming. Wadi Shab is not to be missed on your itinerary for Oman.

For more information about visiting Wadi Shab check out our post here.

Where to stay on Day 3

We would recommend driving another 1 hour to Ras Al Jinz and staying here for the night to break up a full day of driving. Ras Al Jinz is also home to a turtle sanctuary and depending on the time of year you might be able to see turtles hatching.

The most popular hotel here is Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve where you can go for turtle hatchings. However, there are cheaper options. Sama Ras Al Jinz has little chalets walking distance to the turtle reserve. Also check out Turtle Beach Resort and Turtle Guest House (where we stayed) for a very cheap, simple option walking distance of Ras Al Jinz.

In Ras Al Jinz you will be given the option of the night turtle spotting or sunrise. Personally, I would opt for sunrise. The evening tour has many coach loads of people and can feel a bit like a tourist factory. It is also extremely dark and hard to see where you’re going on the soft sand. A few friends have done the sunrise option and had nothing but magical things to say about it!

Bimmah sinkhole in Muscat. Best itinerary for Oman

Day 4 – Wadi Bani Khalid to Nizwa

After enjoying the turtles it is time to get back in the car and head to another wadi at Wadi Bani Khalid. This is a 2 hour drive but I think the wadi is worth it. A beautiful wadi, very family friendly with plenty of opportunities to swim. Follow the flag paintings on the rocks to guide you the way to the most beautiful part of the wadi for swimming. Spend an hour or 2 here enjoying the scenery and swimming. There are small vans to get snacks and drinks. Make sure to include Wadi Bani Khalid in your itinerary for Oman.

After enjoying Wadi Bani Khalid we recommend you make your way up to Nizwa this is a 2.5 hour drive. There isn’t really anywhere to stop on the way for an overnight trip to break up the journey.

Nizwa was the ancient capital of Oman and is a gorgeous old town. Aim to get here for around 4/5pm so that you can stroll around the walled city at sunset and experience the souk and hustle of the city.

Where to stay in Nizwa

We stayed at the stunning Antique Inn, within the town walls. A true traditional Oman hotel with the bonus of a swimming pool to relax for a few hours before another drive the next day.

A similar hotel to the Antique Inn Hotel is the Nizwa Heritage Inn which is also inside Nizwa old city walls. These two hotels have been protected to maintain a heritage site within the old city. They are ideally located so you can ditch the car and just wander the narrow streets. There are not many restaurants in Nizwa. We ate dinner, traditional Omani food, at the hotel restaurant which we enjoyed.

However, if you are looking for something bigger and more modern on your trip from Muscat to Nizwa, check out the Hotel Golden Tulip Nizwa. It is set on spacious grounds with mountain views and a swimming pool and is reasonably priced. However, be aware that it is not located inside the city walls.

Day 5 and 6 – Jabal Akhdar

After breakfast in Niza, visit Nizwa Fort. Fort Nizwa is the largest fort in Oman and is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. The castle was built in the 9th century with the fort added on in the 17th century. With the Hajar Mountains in the background, the views are stunning.

This is your chance to chill in the mountains after all the driving around. There are lots of hikes to do if you looking for that, the hotels will have the full information.

We stayed at the most unique hotel, built into a cliff. A little offroading is needed to get there, you will need a 4×4 or you can organise transport from the base of Jabal Akhdar. Check out our post on a Traditional Oman Hotel. This was one of the most memorable trips we have ever had. The Suwgra is a transformed cliffside hotel and is ideal for the adventure seeker.

We also have a long awaited trip planned to the Anantara Jabal Akhdar, the most stunning property high up on the mountain. Gorgeous hotel rooms, some with pools, an infinity pool, restaurants and hiking awaits and we can’t wait. Watch this space for all the information as it happens….

Day 7 – Return Home

Whether this is back to Muscat for a flight out of Oman or a drive back to the UAE. A 2 hour drive back to Muscat for a flight onwards or a 5 hour drive back to Dubai through the Al Ain border.

Longer in Oman – Travel to Salalah

If you are looking to spend longer than 7 days in Oman then we highly recommend including a visit to Salalah, Oman. It is possible to drive to Salalah, the best route would be to continue on the Highway 31 from Nizwa to Salalah. The 880km drive takes around 8-9 hours and is long, flat and boring. Alternatively, hop on a quick flight from Muscat with Salam Air or Oman Air, it only takes around an hour. There are some great beach resort hotels in Salalah like Crowne Plaza Salalah and Anantara Al Baleed Salalah.

You can read our post on Discovering Oman: The best things to do in Salalah here for all the information about Salalah.

Oman is wonderful country that we love and will continue to explore. Subscribe to our blog to get our posts as we publish them to keep up to date with our adventures. You can also check out our Instagram @dubaiandbeyond_ for lots more pictures and videos on our Reels, Posts and Highlights.

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Disclaimer: This post The Best Itinerary for Oman for 7 Days, has affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

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