Oman Family Adventure

DAY 1 YOUR OMANI ADVENTURE BEGINS

Your family holiday begins with an evening overnight flight from London to Muscat. The flight time is around seven-and-a-half-hours and while ideally the children will sleep, they may well be too excited. In which case, they will be kept fully occupied by the exclusive fun packs, meticulously designed and created with the help of children’s party people Sharky & George, full of games and challenges designed to keep them entertained and informed about Oman.

DAY 2 ARRIVE IN MUSCAT

Welcome to Muscat! Your flight will arrive in the early morning and your personal chauffeur will be waiting for you and your family in the arrivals lounge to take you on the forty-minute drive to your luxury hotel. Once you've checked in and had a chance to settle into your interconnecting family rooms, you'll have two whole days to enjoy the amazing surroundings with your family. The youngsters will probably want to jump straight into one of the many pools, and who can blame them? Muscat is a fascinating place, so once they've cooled off, you might want to consider taking them out to explore the city.

DAY 3 ACCLIMATISE IN MUSCAT

You and the family will have all day to enjoy the facilities at the hotel or take an optional excursion if you prefer. Under eights will love the hotel's Kid's Club and the supervised play areas are open from 8am to 8pm, so you'll have some uninterrupted time to lounge by the pool.

For some great family fun together, head out on a speedboat to try and catch sight of dolphins swimming and leaping about in the crystal clear Gulf of Oman. Most commonly spotted are spinner and common dolphins, which are usually seen in huge numbers. Keep your eyes peeled for whales too, including humpback, sperm, orca and even blue. As well as dolphin and whale spotting, you'll all be able to go snorkelling with the turtles who live on the coral reefs here. Have your Go-Pros and cameras ready as this trip is perfect for snapping some great holiday pics.

DAY 4 HEAD FOR THE HILLS

After an early breakfast at the hotel, your personal chauffeur will collect you and the family in a 4x4 for the exciting and adventurous drive up into the Hajar Mountains, for the next part of your Oman family holiday. On the way, the children will be enthralled by the scenery change from the coastal area of Muscat to the steep mountains of the Jebel Akhdar. A favourite game of ours is to compete to see how many wandering goat herds they can spot. You'll pass through the village of Birkat al Mawz, which translates as 'Banana Pool' – you’ll see why when you visit. Stop off at the villages of Al Aqr and Al Ayn for a walking tour with a local guide. The villages showcase an excellent example of the Omani's traditional water channel systems, or Falaj, with Falaj Al Hathmeen running through it. After Birkat al Mawz, the road climbs through Wadi Madaeen to the Saiq Plateau, which is 6,560ft above sea level. This is where you will find your hotel for the next three nights.

DAY 5 ANCIENT OMAN

Spend today exploring some of Oman’s most imposing castles and forts on a guided tour of Nizwa. The city of Nizwa was once the ancient capital of Oman and is brimming with cool artifacts and buildings that explorers of all ages will be fascinated by. Take a stroll through the old souq, where you will see and smell plethora of spices, trinkets and traditional Omani silverwork. Bahla Fort and Jabrin Castle are nearby and are the ultimate ancient establishments for the little ones to take a step back in time.

When you've finished exploring Oman’s ancient civilisation, tuck into a fantastic plateau picnic lunch before returning to the resort to spend the rest of the afternoon together. You can indulge in luxurious spa treatments, develop your tennis on the hotel’s courts, or cycle around the local town where you could buy some Omani sweets.

DAY 6 MOUNTAIN CUISINE

Get ready for a morning of culinary delights. We've organised a private tour of the hotel's kitchen gardens which will give you and the youngsters a fascinating insight into the ingredients used in local Omani cuisine. Then you'll all be able to put your chef's hats on and participate in a cookery class where you can compare the end product over lunch. Have a lazy afternoon with the family by the pool or make the most of the hotel's great facilities. Get competitive with a game of tennis or cycle around the local area. After dinner, take the children stargazing on a specially built night-time viewing platform.

DAY 7 DESERT DRIVING

Check out after breakfast and get ready for another exciting day. You'll be visiting some fantastic places on the way to Wahiba Sands, where you'll be spending the night at a luxurious Bedouin-style campsite. Lunch will be enjoyed a little closer to the Wahiba Sands in the beautiful oasis of Wadi Bani Khalid, where you can enjoy a dip in the natural pools and waterfall - a favourite with locals and tourists alike.

Hold on tight when you arrive at Wahiba Sands. After some instruction in desert driving, your driver will hand over the wheel to the grown-ups, so you can all experience the thrill of driving over dunes. Make yourselves comfortable back at your luxurious Arabian camp before stopping at the top of one of the dunes to enjoy sundowner drinks as the light fades. Spend the evening regaling the day’s adventures and telling tall tales under the clear Arabian night sky.

DAY 8 BACK TO MUSCAT

Today is the day to become an early bird. Hike to the top of a dune to watch the sun rise and the day come to life, before enjoying a hearty breakfast – a just reward following the dune climb. You’ll then begin the journey back to Muscat which will include lots of adventurous elements along the way. The road is beautiful and it is the perfect opportunity to explore your first Wadi – Wadi Shab. From the road, a 45-minute walk and short trip aboard a boat takes you to this beautiful oasis, which also makes the perfect lunch stop. Before arriving into Muscat, there will also be the opportunity to visit Quriyat, a traditional fishing village and far cry from the Mutrah fish market in Muscat. After arriving and checking in to your interconnecting family rooms at your Muscat hotel, you and the family can relax by the pool or splash around in the warm waters that fringe the beach.

Days 9 TO 11 A MUSCAT DEEP DIVE

Make the most of your free time over the next two days, enjoying all the hotel’s fantastic facilities, restaurants and pristine beach. If the kids have still got energy to expend, there's plenty to keep them active. On one of the days we can arrange a fascinating private tour of Muscat, leaving you feeling as though you’ve travelled back in time. Wander through the fish market (little ones might want to hold their noses) and see fishermen hauling in their catch – even tuck into a deliciously fresh fish dinner on the waterfront, and wander around the Grand Mosque and Al Alam Palace for a final glimpse into Omani history. The souq is an awesome place for youngsters to try out their haggling skills and become utterly absorbed in an almost-alien way of shopping, so a stop here is a great last adventure before heading home.

DAY 12 TIME TO HEAD HOME

You'll all be waving a very fond farewell to Muscat as you leave the hotel to make the short, 40-minute journey back to the airport for the morning flight back to London. The flight takes around eight hours, arriving at lunchtime in the UK.