Flight: EY382 Abu Dhabi - Muscat 09.10 - 10.20

Private transfer to your hotel: After passing through immigration and collecting your luggage at Muscat Airport, you will be met and welcomed to Oman before being transferred to your hotel. An early room check-in will be requested but is subject to availability on arrival.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Family Room)

Guided tour of Muscat: Today you will be taken on a guided tour to see some of Muscat’s highlights including the Grand Mosque (only open in the mornings, Saturday to Thursday), the Amouage Perfume Factory, the Opera House, Al Alam Palace, Jalali & Mirani Forts and the famous Mutrah Souq.

Pick up your hired car: After your tour, return to your hotel where your guide will show you your hired car which will have been delivered. The guide will give you a briefing about the car and the programme that you will be undertaking in Oman. From this afternoon until you return to Muscat at the end of your holiday, you will be self-driving in a hired car with no guide. You will be provided with useful information about places you might like to visit and a portable wifi device which will allow you to access maps throughout your adventure.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Crowne Plaza Hotel (Family Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Self-drive to Wahiba Sands via Wadi Arbaeen: After breakfast, head east along the coast from Muscat towards the town of Sur, famous for its dhow (traditional wooden boat) building industry. En route, you can stop to see Wadi Arbeen and, if you wish, swim in the untouched pools there before continuing to Sur for lunch (payable locally). From Sur, head south towards your desert camp in Wahiba Sands, where you should arrive at the camp in the late afternoon. Your total driving time today is around 350km and, with stops, this will take you most of the day. Settle into your camp before the enjoying a special desert sunset and dinner. Before you turn in, make sure you look up at the night sky and do some stargazing!

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Desert Nights Camp (Deluxe Family Tented Suite)

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Sunrise on the dunes: This morning you have the option of rising early and heading up to the top of a nearby sand dune to enjoy a memorable desert sunrise.

Visit Wadi Bani Khalid: After breakfast, set off in your hired car to explore to explore Wadi Bani Khalid, an easy journey of around 50km and around one hours drive away. One of the largest, greenest and dramatic wadis in Oman, it is not difficult to see why Wadi Bani Khalid has become a popular stop for visitors to the Eastern Hajar Mountains and Wahiba Sands region. Here you will see a number of local villages whose economy is based around the wadi’s banana plantations and it is also a great place to swim in one of the large clear pools. From the pools, there is a rough track which leads up to Muqal cave. Here, if you can make it through the narrow entrance (some stooping is required), you can step inside the dark and cool cave chamber and look at the rock formations with a torch.

You may like to ask staff at your camp to prepare a picnic lunch to take with you today and enjoy at the wadi before returning to your camp in the afternoon (payable locally).

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Desert Nights Camp (Deluxe Family Tented Suite)

Meals: Breakfast & Dinner

Self-drive to Jebel Al Akhdar, via Nizwa: After breakfast, continue your self-drive adventure in Oman, heading west and into the Al Hajar mountains. Your first stop today will be to visit the fascinating local market at Ibra. From there, continue on for another couple of hours to the famous city of Nizwa. A small city, but historically significant as it was once the capital, Nizwa has charming souqs and a delightful old town to explore, not to mention an impressive fort. After exploring the town and a chance to have lunch (payable locally), head north on a scenic road into the mountains to your resort in the Jebel Akhdar region. The total journey today is around 250km with a driving time of around four hours.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort (Premier Canyon View Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Day at leisure: Today is at leisure to enjoy the facilities at your hotel, get stuck into some local activities or explore Jebel Akhdar independently.

Optional three villages walk: Today, we recommend having a guide and setting off on a walk through the breath-taking scenery. On the walk you will stop at three separate mountain villagers (Al Aqr, Al Qyn and Ash Shirayjah) and learn about the local culture. You will be shown their ancient ‘falaj’ water irrigation system which is vital to the life of the farms that hang from the cliffs in terraces. The walk should take you around three hours and whilst if you have a reasonable level of fitness it should be manageable, there are some steep and rugged sections of path.

Please note that this guided walk is not included in the tour price and will involve an additional supplement - please speak to your Bamboo Travel consultant if it appeals and we will add it to your tailormade proposal.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Anantara Al Jabal Al Akhdar Resort (Premier Canyon View Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Self-drive to Muscat, via Al Hamra: After breakfast, set off on the final journey of your self-drive adventure back to Muscat, taking a detour to visit Al Hamra and Misfah on the way. Nestled in the foothills of the mountains, Al Hamra is one of Oman’s most venerable traditional towns, with narrow streets and buildings made from crumbling mud-brick, hundreds of years old. A short journey on is the scenic village of Misfah, famous for its ancient ‘falaj’ water irrigation system. After time exploring, continue on to Muscat. The total journey today is around 300km and, depending on road conditions, the driving time should be around five hours.

Hand back your hired car: On arrival at your hotel, you will be met by a representative from the car hire company to hand the car back. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure to relax by the pool or on the beach.

Accommodation: Stay tonight at the Shangri-La Al Waha Resort (Family Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Days at leisure: These days are at leisure to relax on the beach and enjoy the facilities at your hotel.

Optional dolphin watching & snorkelling cruise:  If you are looking for a great experience to have in these last couple of days, how about adding in a private cruise to explore Oman’s vibrant underwater life. We can take you off in the morning looking for dolphins before mooring up in the bay next to the village of Bandar Khiran. Here is a great place to do some snorkelling. Please note that this is not included in the tour price and will involve an additional supplement - please speak to your Bamboo Travel consultant if it appeals and we will add it to your tailormade proposal.

Accommodation: Stay these nights at the Shangri-La Al Waha Resort (Family Room)

Meals: Breakfast

Private transfer to the airport: After a leisurely day you will be met at your hotel and transferred to Muscat Airport in time to check-in for your flight home.

Please note that, unless agreed otherwise locally, you will need to check-out of your hotel room in the morning. The hotel will allow you to store your luggage and use the pool and other shared facilities in the afternoon so you can change and freshen up.

Flight: EY381 Muscat - Abu Dhabi 23.45 - 00.50 (overnight)

Meals: Breakfast