Oman holiday on a shoestring

Planet

This tour visits the Ras Al Jinz beach, one of the largest nesting areas for green turtles in the Indian Ocean. An average of 30,000 turtles nest at this beach. The Ras Al-Jinz Turtle and Nature Reserve was established in 1996 to better protect Oman’s Sea turtles and their natural environment. Clients are encouraged to donate to the research centre.

Once considered an endangered species the Sultanate of Oman has taken on the protective role in the conservation of the turtles, whose ancestors have inhabited the Omani waters for more than 200 million years.

The total protected area is 120km with a 45km of coastline, extending for 1km into the sea. The Ras Al-Jinz scientific visitor’s centre offers a unique Eco-tourism experience, an unparalleled encounter with sea turtles, and promotes social responsibility. It houses a research library and research facilities for marine biology and archaeology promoting social responsibility and sound environmental practices.

Access to the beach is controlled by the authorities to protect the turtles.

People

Your guide for the tour is a local Omani National and will be with you for the duration of your time out on your 4WD adventure, able to share with you their local knowledge of their history, culture, customs and lifestyle. Often the guides have strong links with the local Bedouin people, with whom they interact on a regular basis or have associations with the local tribes.

The aim of this being to offer you a genuine contact and experience of the destination to feel the essence of the culture and history, so you come back with enjoyable memories and appreciation that you and your kids will treasure. It also benefits the local people to get a better cross cultural understanding between the local culture and visitor so that tourism can impact in a positive way.

This tour will give you and your family an exciting encounter with the lives of the mountain village people, the Bedouin tribes of the desert and the fishing people of Sur and experience of traditional Omani activities.

MISFAH: During the tour you will stay at with a local Omani family at their guesthouse in the rural village of Misfah. Not only will this let you experience traditional Omani life it also positively supports the local community and brings economy to the village.

WAHIBA: This trip visits several local communities in the Wahiba Sands Desert allowing clients to purchase handicrafts made by the locals. Any money from the sale of the handicrafts helps the local Bedouins to support their families. Local Bedouin guides are hired to explain their way of life to clients on parts of this tour. This enables them to earn a regular living from the visiting tourists.

The Wahiba desert camp, 1000 Nights Camp, is locally owned and employs local people to help run the camp, provide local food and traditional entertainment supporting the local community. There is no electricity at the camp with no light pollution or sound pollution as the camp uses natural resources to blend in with the environment. All waste from the campsites is taken away and recycled. There is no evidence left of any travellers staying in the desert.