Oman had captured my attention a few years back. It seemed a dream destination for a short, but scenic bikepacking trip filled with culture. I finally got the opportunity to nip across from Georgia in early 2025, and this is my trip report.
Why Oman?
Unlike its’ glitzy neighbours, Oman has opted away from skyscrapers and excessive construction projects. Instead, Oman has retained a lot of cultural heritage. I love exploring nature on my bike, but adding cultural sights into the trip makes it a top destination for me.
Trip Highlights:
Snake Canyon: An absolutely mindblowing dirt road to cycle/push. The dust is so fine it’ll get EVERYWHERE but the views make up for it.
Jebel Shams Canyon Lookout: A super tough, but rewarding climb. Just be aware that the wind can pick up suddenly overnight.
Al Ayn: Make the detour off the highway through this village, it’s only add 10 mins but it’s worth it.
Nakhla: The fort and hot springs here are totally underrated and it’s a beautiful town.
Wadi camping: They’re all fantastic, Wadi Ghul was my favourite though. Temperatures are mild enough to sleep under the stars without a rainfly, and you might just have some curious goats visit in the morning.
The Route
I don’t like to overplan my bikepacking routes, but I also want to make sure I get the best out of a region. So, this requires a little forward thinking. I did some research into ‘must see’ places and interesting roads to ride and went from there.
You can see the full route I completed here:
Day 1: Leaving Muscat
I enjoy back roads far more than major highways but it’s almost impossible to cycle Oman and avoid the massive freeways that crisscross the country. Day one was all about getting as far out of the capital as possible and closer to the good stuff – the Al Hajar mountains. This night I made camp in a non-descript valley quite close to the village of Al Ayn.
Al Ayn was a pleasant surprise with traditional mud walled buildings and a cool date palm plantations along the river. I didn’t plan to camp in this area, I had just decided that was enough for the day and started looking for a discreet site to camp. However, along the Muscat-Nizwa highway, villages are frequent and it’s difficult to find discreet camp sites. This is how I ended up miles up a side valley.
Day 2: Nizwa
Day 3: Wadi Ghul
Day 4: Jebel Shams Canyon Lookout
Day 5: Temporarily Lost It
Day 6: Into the Heart of Snake Canyon
Day 7: Out of Snake Canyon
Day 8: Nakhla and Back to Muscat
Practicalities
There are a few important things I made note of during my trip that would come in handy to other bikepackers, both male and female.
How to Dress
Oman is very open to tourism and people are understanding, but remember that it’s a deeply conservative country. I'm no stranger to cycling solo as a woman and I've experienced my fair share of harassment before.
To be respectful, I carried a sarong to wrap around my waist for when I wanted to explore off the bike for a longer period. But, cycled in tight fitting bib shorts, because long pants annoy me too much. I did enter grocery stores in my cycling shorts, and noticed that this appeared to make people feel uncomfortable.
However, all my 'off-the-bike' clothes (of which I had 1 set) were long and loose fitting. I definitely wouldn’t advise swimming in a bikini if there are other people around.
Food and Water Resupply
Water is surprisingly easy to come by, in fact, I only had one occasion that I had to ask people if I could fill my water bottles. There are water tanks located all over the place with free filtered water. You just have to keep your eye out for them. There is a chance the tank is empty though.
Little grocery stores are also pretty frequent. I only carried a maximum of 2 days worth of food at any time. My diet was pretty average, but tinned tuna and instant noodles are easy to find in almost every shop. My personal favourite is tinned hummus or moutarbel (like baba ghanoush) with flatbread.
Wild Camping
In comparison to my experience wild camping in other places, I found Oman incredibly safe. As a woman, I am very particular about where I wild camp solo. By the end of my trip I had no qualms with setting up camp even after I had been spotted by locals. People will simply wave and carry on. I never had issues with people returning after dark or giving me any trouble.
If you can find a bit of running water to camp near, that’s ideal, but not always possible. Oman receives the majority of its rainfall in winter. Because my trip was at the end of winter, many of the wadis are starting to dry out.
Wild Animals and Mosquitoes
Literally, mosquitoes were the only issues I experienced. I read online that mosquitoes are only a problem in the wetter regions like Salalah, but I found them all over. This shouldn’t be surprising, where you find water, there are often mosquitoes. Take mosquito repellent or wear clothing that cover your legs and arms on dusk.
As for wildlife, the only wild animals I encountered were some stray cats. Wildlife unfortunately appears to be incredibly shy of humans and mostly restricted to a few remote reserves.
Getting There and Away:
I flew with AirArabia from Tbilisi via Abu Dhabi to Muscat. I’ve packed a bike before with AirArabia and they were pretty good. I had a checked luggage limit of 20kg and carry on capacity of 10kg. Usually I will pack a lot of luggage within the bike box, but with a 20kg limit this was almost impossible for me.
Inside my bike box I packed my tent and items that couldn’t go in carry on. Then I collated my bikepacking bags into one cheap stripey shopping bag and used that as my one 10kg carry on bag.
Leaving Muscat, I contacted Cycle Omania, a bike shop that is located fairly close to the airport. They are more than happy to provide cardboard bike boxes, but they will also box your bike for a reasonable price. From there, you just order an XL taxi and it’s about 4 rial to the airport.
The Verdict
Oman gets a big thumbs up from me. Oman can pack a lot into a short trip both in terms of scenery and cultural immersion. Although I found some days incredibly tough, it was super rewarding experience overall.
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