I’ve been back from my week long whirlwind trip to Oman for a couple months now, just the right amount of time to reflect on it and really appreciate it all. I get the question a lot, “Wow, where’s Oman. Why’d you decide to go THERE!?”

The answer is, I don’t know really. My friend Angela texted me one day asking if I could travel in late March and I said yes. We’re both really well traveled so I brainstormed a short list of countries that neither of us have been to and Oman sounded interesting and exotic, so we decided on it later that day!

We were both pretty busy with work and it was a spur of the moment trip, so we kind of planned on the fly. We ended up having a great time with some varying types of experiences in Oman. We stayed at luxury hotels like the Shangrila, Anantara Al Jabal al Akhdar, and the Sheraton but we also went tent camping for four days. The Shangrila had absolutely impeccable service and the Anantara had fantastic views and some great rock climbing right at the property. The highlight was definitely camping with Wadi Shab Adventures though. We visited Nizwa and Misfat al Abreyeen on the first day and then drove to Jebel Shams and found a beautiful camping site in a dry river bed.

The next day we had an early breakfast, packed up and hiked the Balcony Walk which was absolutely gorgeous! We enjoyed lunch that day at a restaurant that I believe was called Najmah al Yemen. One of the only options around there, but a good one! That afternoon we drove to Wahiba Sands, took some beautiful photos, and camped with a Bedouin family. The next day we headed off for Wadi Bani Khalid but our guided took us to some lesser visited pools where we had to hike in about 45 minutes (rather than hitting up the standard tourist spot). On the way back from this hike we met a group of local women having a picnic. They invited Angela and I to sit with them and have tea and cake which was one of the most special parts of the trip!

That afternoon we headed to Ras al Had and found a really secluded, beautiful spot to camp at overlooking a beach full of turtle nests. The next morning we packed up early and made it to Wadi Shab before the rush at8:30. Getting to the limestone pools in the back before anyone else was so fantastic! Afterwards we checked out the sink hole and then headed back to Muscat to enjoy our final day sight seeing. The highlight of the trip was definitely camping with Wadi Shab Adventures, we were really lucky to find them!

It was a quick trip, but I know I’ll be back again. It was so magical and I’d really like to share it with my husband, spend more time in the desert, and also check out Salalah to the south. In the meantime, I’ll keep sharing stories and photos as I love to inspire others to see more of the world!