A week in Oman itinerary with kids
When I was planning our family trip to Oman for October half-term, I was looking for a country with plenty to occupy us for a week but where we shouldn’t end up exhausted trying to fit it all in.
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Oh, and sunshine. Needless to say, once I started researching Oman, it would have been easy to fill a two-week trip – or longer. But if, like us, you’ve got seven days to burn, Oman with kids is a fantastic option – especially with a mid-haul flight of less than eight hours and a three-hour time difference to British Summer Time.
So this is what I planned as my week in Oman itinerary with kids, with some help from the lovely Stubborn Mule (who arranged my Cambodia trip) plus more suggestions from other travel bloggers if you’ve got longer to spend exploring.
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Day 1 – Muscat
Unless you drive from the UAE, you’ll fly in to Muscat before heading out to explore the country. If you only have one day in the capital, you can’t miss the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque with its famously beautiful decorated interior.
Do doublecheck the opening hours though, especially if you arrive early after an overnight flight, as you only have until 11am to visit.
The other option is to visit the following morning on your way out of the city.
Muttrah and the souk, with its spices, bright textiles and gold stalls is also worth seeing on even a brief stop – take a wander along the corniche too before sitting down to people watch over fresh fruit juice.
We also found time to go dolphin spotting in the Gulf of Oman, which was a magical way to wake ourselves up after a very early landing.
Got longer? Check out the Oman Children’s Museum with plenty of interactive exhibits to while away a few hours.
Stay at
The Best Western Muscat is central for a short stay, plus there’s a small indoor pool, restaurant and very comfy beds to combat jetlag.
If you’re splashing out a bit more, the Chedi is elegantly minimalist and right on the beach (perhaps better without enthusiastic toddlers!), while the Al Bustan Palace would be a fabulous family-friendly five-star splurge.
Day 2 – Nizwa and Jebel Shams
Leaving the capital behind, head to the ancient capital of Oman’s interior – Nizwa. Nizwa has its own fort as well as a souk, known for its silver and coppersmiths, and old jewellery plus it’s famous for its halwa, a traditional sticky sweet.
Then on to Jebel Shams, nicknamed Oman’s Grand Canyon with its dramatic landscape where the country’s highest mountain plunges to a breath-taking canyon.
If you have time, stop at the nearby Jabrin Fort with its balconied courtyard and decorated rooms, as well as Bahla Fort with its labyrinth of corridors and the tomb of one of the Imams who traditionally ruled the interior. You could also stop at both the following day on the way to the desert.
Read what we thought about visiting the forts of Oman with kids
Stay at
The View lives up to its name, set out in the mountains with incredible views from the rooms onto the canyon and a wonderful infinity pool.
Day 3 – Wahiba Sands
Leave the mountains for the desert at Wahiba Sands – with vast dunes, you’ll need a 4WD to explore this huge sand sea with the shifting sands blown over 100 metres high.
Count the camels en route, stop at a Bedouin house for a taste of traditional life or just marvel at the colours of the endless dunes in endless shades of gold and burned orange.
Check out what we got up to during our stay in Oman’s desert
Stay at
A traditional Bedouin camp in the desert – 1000 Nights Camp has the option of staying in a house or several different kinds of tents.
If you’re more of a glamper than camper (like me), the Sheikh tents are traditional Bedouin goat hair dwellings but there’s a toilet and shower that’s open to the sky, plus electricity.
There’s also a pool, activities including a camel safari and barbecue around a camp fire under the stars – climb the dunes behind the camp to watch the sunset too.
Or consider the Nomadic Desert Camp if you’d prefer not to be right out in the desert, especially if you’re driving yourself.
Day 4 – Sur and Ras al Jinz
The seaside town of Sur is famous for its boatyards making dhows, the traditional sailing boats of Oman as well as pretty white buildings lining the streets and a corniche to wander along.
You could also stop at Wadi Bani Khalid on the way, a little oasis with pools fed by natural springs in the mountains where you can swim – or just enjoy the date palms in the shadow of the mountains.
Make Sur your base or continue to Ras Al Jinz turtle reserve, where endangered green turtles come ashore to lay eggs – the centre arranges visits to the beach to observe without disturbing the nests, both in the evening (around 8.30/9pm) and around 5am.
Guests get to go in the first group which is ideal with younger kids.
There’s also a small but lovely museum, with information on the turtles, their place in myth and legends and more about the first people to live in this area.
July to October is the peak time to spot the turtles although you can still be lucky and see them in the months either side as well – five different turtle species live in the seas here.
Stay at
The Ras Al Jinz Scientic Centre – there are rooms to stay in as well as tents. All the tents were booked up so we missed out but the rooms were happily air conditioned after our previous night in the desert.
Check out my review of our stay or you can see a review of the tents here
If you’re staying in Sur, the Sur Plaza has its own outdoor pool.
Day 5 and 6 – Muscat’s beach
Finish the trip with a couple of days relaxing by the coast just outside Muscat – there are several different areas to pick from, around an hour from the airport, with watersports and restaurants as well as the beach itself.
If you do get bored, Muscat itself is around an hour away so you can explore some of the places you missed at the start of the trip… although frankly a day and a half lounging by the pool and beach suited us just fine.
Stay at
The family-friendly Sifawy Boutique Hotel is set on a marina with a children’s pool, snorkelling and boat tours, an inflatable waterpark and the beach in walking distance.
Slightly closer to Muscat is the Shangri La Barr Al Jissah, actually three resorts in one including family-friendly Al Waha.
I’ve heard mixed reviews of the resort as a whole which is why we opted for Sifawy Boutique but you can check out this (good!) review as well as how the resort works as a base for an Oman family holiday.
Day 7 Fly home
Like me, I suspect you’ll be wishing you had longer to explore Oman and plotting a return trip – for now, day 7 is time to fly home once more. We flew with British Airways direct from Heathrow to Muscat.
Stay longer
Some ideas if you’ve got two weeks to spend in Oman with children – or if, like me, for next time….
See another side to Oman on a visit to the lush green south at Salalah
Explore the the north of Oman with kids – Sohar and the Musandam peninsula
Oman with kids: Need to know
We had a driver/guide for the whole trip – some days do involve a fair bit of time in the car. If you’re a confident driver, you could do much of the itinerary yourself although you’ll want good maps as the roads are being constantly updated but the signposts are few and far between.
A four-wheel drive is also a good idea and essential for the mountain and desert – quite honestly, I wouldn’t fancy driving in the desert unless you’ve had practice, especially when it comes to finding somewhere to let air out of the tires, not getting stuck on the soft sand and not getting lost!
As all of the hotels in our itinerary, bar the Best Western, are relatively isolated you’re also committed to eating in the on-site restaurant. This is definitely not a hardship, we had some wonderful meals but it’s worth bearing in mind if you’re looking at deals including dinner.
For lunchtimes, we tended to stop at restaurants en route suggested by our driver – often nothing outstanding to look at but we had some fabulous food, usually biryani and bread or other rice and meat dishes to share and plenty to suit children.
*First published 2017, updated 2020*
PIN FOR LATER: WEEK IN OMAN ITINERARY WITH KIDS
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission. I paid for this trip myself apart from a few upgrades and meals courtesy of Stubborn Mule (who I chose again after having such a great holiday in Cambodia). All opinions and minor camel obsession remain my own.
Main image & Jebel Shams courtesy of Depositphotos, all others courtesy copyright MummyTravels
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wow what a trip – there is SO much to squeeze in! Counting camels is so much more fun than counting red cars like we do at home.
There really is! I could very happily have spent twice as long at each spot, I think – not to mention all the others. And we saw 100 camels one day 🙂
I never realised there was quite so much to do in Oman – just always imagining the pool! Although I really would love to stay at the Chedi… It’s on my bucket list and has been for some time!
Maybe if/when I go back, I will treat myself to the Chedi – does sound lovely. And we managed to get a dip in the pool at every stop except Ras al Jinz (and Muscat, although the option was there)
Oman has recently caught my attention and now this has solidified my desire to go! It’s wayyyy more beautiful than I had thought, from sand dunes to cities! Pinned! #CityTripping
Fantastic! Love to tempt – and there is SO much to do and see there, it’s an amazing mix
What a fantastic itinerary! I LOVE how much you fitted in. We’ve been teasing the idea of Oman for a while – it’s only 3 hours from us in Bangalore. We’d either do it as a stopover on the way to/from UK or a a little holiday. Bookmarking this post to return to very soon 🙂 #citytripping
Thanks! It does seem a lot more written down – and if I were three hours away, I’d be booking another flight right now! You could have a fun little stopover in Muscat, but if you have time, I’d definitely go for longer and explore the interior as well.
Looks brilliant. I really loved your camel photo, what strange creatures! I would like to visit – did you hire a car and what was the driving like? Did you also find it expensive? Wilbur #citytripping
They are – strange but endearing. And we had a driver as I didn’t fancy tackling mountain and desert roads on my own with my daughter – with a good mapreader and some experience off road, you could have a lot of fun driving yourself though. And yes, not the cheapest place: away from the cities/coast, it wasn’t so bad but in Muscat and at the beach, the costs added up pretty quickly.
Absolutely fascinating, with so much to do and see, and so different from a “normal” half-term break. I particularly like the idea of visiting Jebel Shams, which looks amazing! #citytripping
It really was – and the views out to the mountains from our hotel there were incredible
We had our baby moon in Oman! I would love to return with my little one though
So much fun for kids – and I’d already love to go back too 🙂
Sounds like a great adventure. Dubai is the closest we have been here. The camels look very interesting indeed Cathy!! #CityTripping
It really was – such a great trip, and so much more history in Oman I think.
Wow, this looks really nice. I never even thought about Oman as a holiday destination, but it looks stunning!!
#CityTripping
It really is – definitely one to put on the list
This I definitely wouldn’t mind doing 🙂
🙂
oh i can feel the heat from these pics…have always wanted to go to Oman. Looks like an amazing trip! X
It was blissful – and I think you’d love it there
What an amazing destination! I’m not sure I’ll ever find myself in this part of the world, but it’s nice getting to “visit” through you! I rode a camel once… not sure it’s an experience I’d want to repeat! #citytripping
I am one of the few people who actually seems to like camels 😉
It never really came to my mind to visit Oman but I should definitely look into that after seeing your pictures. They’re gorgeous. Plus your initerary sounds really great. #CityTripping
Thanks – there really is so much to discover there, have lots to write and edit and share still too to tempt you further.
It sounds like you made the most of of your seven days. I love the sounds of staying in the Bedouin camp and seeing turtles would be the dream! #citytripping
Staying in the desert was amazing (even with my views on tents!) and getting to see the turtles was just magical, my daughter is still talking about it.
Sounds amazing: a great mix of things to see and do. I’d definitely like to visit Oman with my family.
There is such a variety – and brilliant with kids
Wow! You sure did pack it in! What a fantastic itinerary and you’ve totally sold it to me – I wanna go! #citytripping
We did! And lots more temptation to come 😉
Sounds like a perfect itinerary to me!
It was such a great week.
Jealous! Culture and camels the perfect destination. #CityTripping
It’s a combination that’s hard to beat
Great itinerary, thanks for inspiration Cathy! We are very tempted by Oman for Easter break but ideally we’d love to fit in Zighy Bay as well. Also checked Alila and Anantara close to the mountains & Nizwa but there are few alerts about terrain being very funny and parents keeping an eye on kids at all times. What would be your thoughts on us adventuring with our 2 and 4 years old monkeys in he dessert & mountains; reckon will manage to relax a bit as well or not quite? #Citytripping
Thanks! I would have loved to fit in Zighy Bay and the Musandam Peninsula as well (next time!) In terms of the desert and the mountains, I wouldn’t worry about your four-year-old (by five I had no real qualms and I doubt there’d be a huge difference) and I think you’d be fine in the desert too, as long as you have a good driver (or are confident driving on the sand). Climbing the dune would be a bit of a feat for a two-year-old but the whole camp we stayed in is fabulous.
I don’t know about Alila and Anantara specifically (though both sound amazing, Karen from Mini Travellers is off to the former shortly) – The View had lots of subtle fencing but a determined toddler could have got through so it depends whether you think yours will be tearing off to investigate the edge the second your back is turned, in which case it would definitely take the edge off relaxing…
Oh I want to spend a night or two in the desert in a camp, and glamping in the desert sounds even better. What an interesting trip, and you certainly packed a lot in!
I am very much not a fan of camping but this was such a wonderful experience, getting to be right out in the dunes was one of the most memorable highlights – and it was the kind of trip where each day seemed to bring a new highlight!
How did you arrange your driver/guide? Did you book all your hotels directly or through the guide?
We booked everything through Stubborn Mule – http://www.stubbornmuletravel.com/ – they arranged the hotels with us, and sorted out a driver as I didn’t fancy doing it myself.
What a wonderful destination for families! Oman has a lot to offer 🙂
It is a fantastic place