MUSANDAM – DUBAI DAY TRIP TO OMAN
Dubai, without question, offers a lot for visitors and residents. However, a trip from Dubai to Oman is a fun activity. Though you cross borders, a Musandam Tour from Dubai is quite easy to do – so it is the perfect getaway for a day!
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It took me four visits to Dubai before I finally reserved a full day to see Oman. Okay, I just got a tiny glimpse of the northern part of Oman, but it honestly is one of the top day trips from Dubai. That is why I added it to my “50 top things to do in Dubai” list.
In this post, you will find out what to expect if you book a trip to Oman and Musandam for a day.
The Musandam Peninsula is located in the northern part of Oman, about 200 kilometers from Dubai. On your way, you will also cross Ras Al-Khaimah, which is also a perfect base for taking a day trip to Oman.
DAY TRIP FROM DUBAI TO OMAN / MUSANDAM
There are different Musandam tour packages from Dubai, and it really depends on what you are interested to see and how much you like to spend. I will add a few different tours later for you.
Why Visit the Musandam Peninsula?
The Musandam Peninsula is a beautiful place in Oman – very authentic and full of history, especially when compared to the hustle, bustle, and general glitziness of Dubai.
Getting there takes a while, but you will be rewarded with boat trips, lovely scenery, and incredible views of the stark limestone mountains.
However, although Musandam is getting more popular these days and attracts many tourists from Ras Al-Khaimah and Dubai, it still retains its originality and natural feeling despite having a touristy touch to it.
To start your Musandam tour from Dubai, you can either a) travel by car to Khasab, which is about a three-hour drive from Dubai, or b) do a guided tour (like I did), and then you will be picked up from the hotel.
A guided tour to Oman from Dubai is probably the easiest way. You could also fly from Dubai to Khasab if you prefer, but I actually recommend getting there by bus.
You can stay there, overnight as well: I personally think a day trip is enough, but if you can decide to stay longer you can book your accommodation in Oman.
What to Know
We were picked up from our hotel by the tour company, and after picking up some other people, we drove for about three hours to get to the border of Oman.
From there, it took about an hour to get through border security to where our dhow waited for us in Khasab, a village just beyond the border.
Packing List Musandam
If you have a visa for the UAE, you shouldn’t need an extra visa for Oman, but you definitely have to bring your original passport with you and take a copy of your passport.
It wasn’t needed for us, but it was recommended by our tour guide.
To make the most of your Oman trip from Dubai, it’s also important to take everything you’ll need with you: swimming gear, sun lotion, etc., and of course your camera.
Dhow Cruise from Khasab
We did a Musandam dhow cruise from Khasab. The dhows are the original Arabic boats which are decorated with adorable Arabic cushions and rugs.
Click here to find the tour we did.
You can choose to sit on the top of the dhow or the ground level, and then you start your trip!
Food and drink are often included, it does depend on the tour operator, but most tour operators have similar offers.
Ours included fresh fruit, water, juices, tea, and coffee all day long. Then for lunch, there was a small buffet, and soft drinks were served. It was nothing exciting and all quite simple, but it was definitely enough for the day.
If you are looking for something completely tranquil, then tours like this might not be the perfect choice for you as there is often music on the boat, which I personally enjoyed. When I went, it was a mixture of international, Indian, and US music.
We sailed for about thirty minutes traveling past the mountains and what they call the fjords (although they aren’t officially fjords). Once at the beach, we had the option to hop into the water or to take a small boat to get us right up to the beach.
I really enjoyed my full-day trip to Oman but to be honest, I was a little bit disappointed by the water. If you visit Oman to see the pristine clear water you see in the pictures sometimes, you will be disappointed.
The water was not very clear, it was oily, and the area smelled like oil, so bear this in mind before you go.
Activities in Musandam
We decided to take the smaller boat down and then only had to walk a few meters to get onto the beach.
The beach, although nice, was a little bit dirty. Sadly, there was trash lying around where people had just thrown rubbish on the beach. Of course it is the fault of the tourists, but it would have been better if there had been a big rubbish bin.
Guys, seriously- take your trash back to the boat if you do not see a rubbish bin. No rubbish bin is no excuse for being a stupid tourist.
We had about an hour at the beach/boat, and there were options to do banana boat riding (which was included in the price) or a speedboat trip which was really enjoyable, although it was a short ride of fewer than five minutes.
No trip would be perfect without food – and so these tours also include a buffet and more music, and it was an enjoyable atmosphere with around thirty other people on the boat. The buffet is simple, some rice, noodles, salads, and a few more things (including meat) but okay for that day.
Musandam Scenery
In total, we spent about five hours there, and then we sailed back, again through the “fjords” – it was kind of really beautiful with the fog and the mountains, and then we headed back to the border.
However, I have to mention it again. The water was kind of disappointing!
Just before that, some people had the chance to go fishing from the boat.
As a vegetarian, I skipped the chance: I didn’t even want to see how people do that, but it is an option if you or any of your party enjoy that.
Conclusion
Finally, we headed back to the bus and through the border, which took another hour, and after that, we headed back to Dubai.
Is it worth visiting Musandam from Dubai?
In total, the day trip took us about 14 hours, around six and a half of it on the bus, which was a lot longer than I expected.
So, if you know that and you don’t expect the crystal clear perfect water, then a Dubai to Oman day trip is perfect.
The prices are reasonable when you consider that there is food and drink included, and you will not find anything like this in Dubai for that price.
