In September 2025 I travel to Oman. I got invited by Sea & Dunes. They are going to show me the country so we can build a nice product to sell on the Dutch market.
Oman is a country in the Middle East, next to the Arabian Sea. The capital is Muscat. The larger part of the inhabitants practice the Muslim religion. You can find a big diversity in landscapes, from desert to mountains to coastline. There is an easy-going atmosphere, which makes traveling here even more relaxed and nice.
What I noticed in Oman is the hospitality and the friendliness of the people. In my time in Oman I have learned a lot about the culture, the sights, but I also learned a lot more about the Islam and how they look at the world. Because as it goes with every religion, there are more ways than one to practice religion. Which are different in each region/country.
In the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in Muscat there is an information center where you can get all your questions answered about the religion and the Mosque. Me myself had a very inspiring conversation here with an older gentlemen. I can definitely recommend everybody who visits the mosque to also visit the information center.
Everywhere you go, you see the Omani hospitality. Practically in all places you will see coffee and a bowl of fresh dates. Feel free to enjoy these, that is what they are meant for. And the dates, once you have tasted them, you don’t want anything else, so nice and sweet. Besides the Omani cuisine you will also find a lot of restaurants from other countries such as Lebanon, Yemen, India and Türkiye. Mostly spicy dishes with a ton of flavor with a lot of meat.
In the evenings the meal is mostly served with bread. It is some sort of flatbread where pieces can be torn off to eat the rest of your meal with. During lunch meals are often served with (a lot of) rice. Personally I found it enriching to not get served French fries with each and every meal. In every restaurant the choice of salads is rich, so you can choose between 3 or 4 different salads to accompany your meal. In case you are a vegetarian they suggest you best eat at Indian restaurants, for the choice of vegetarian dishes is larger here.
In each country you visit while traveling it is recommended to adjust to the uses of the country, the same goes for Oman. For women it is desirable to wear long trousers or skirts/dresses with a T-shirt – without a wide decollete. Man can just finely walk around in short trousers and a T-shirt. During a hike in Wadi Shab you may see the exception on this (unwritten) rule, because this is a very touristic attraction. Here it is just fine for every sex to walk around in short trousers. This wadi is also an exception on the swim clothes, a bikini for the ladies and only a swim short for the gentlemen is fine. On the less tourist locations it is highly appreciated when you take in the values of the Omani and go swimming a little more covered. For men a swim short and swim t-shirt and for the ladies a legging/short trousers to the knee and a swim t-shirt.
If you were to ask me what my absolute highlights are, that is very difficult! Because I really enjoyed every moment!! So I shall tell about some of my personal highlights during this trip.
Diving at Diminiyat Islands was fabulous, you will find warm clear water there where there is plenty to see. A lot of the fish are very large because of the currents around the islands. You see a lot of soft corals and there ais a large number of diving spots near these islands. Besides being under the surface it is also lovely during your surface interval to have a clear look at the different islands, which you can also explore during a part of the year when the birds are not breeding.
Wadi Shab, what I call an “Oh” and “Ah” walk.it is so incredibly beautiful and after each turn or when looking back you had just another fabulous view. The walk on itself is amazing, the big mountains which surround you because you walk through a valley. After the walk, in the same valley you can swim to a cave at the end. An absolute recommendation! Please do take your time to suck it all in. the walk there and back again will take approximately 1,5 hours, for the swimming part I would also say take your time, at least 1,5 hours. So half a day would give you sufficient time.
Than of course the desert. If you have never seen a desert before, this might be a bit overwhelming. I really love desert landscapes, big plains and emptiness. Ultimate pleasure. Sand as far as you can see in flowing hills. Besides all this I visited the desert during sunset and when the sun goes down and all the stars start appearing it becomes an absolute highlight. No light pollution so the whole galaxy can be seen and enjoyed here. we unfortunately had not enough time to also sleep here in the desert, but if you ask me that is definitely a good idea to take it al in at a slower pace.