Trying to decide where and why to travel to a destination has gotten much trickier since having our tiny human in tow; just because there are so many variables to take into account now that we travel with Milo that we had never considered before. Oman quickly snuck to the top of our travel list while in Bahrain because of the short hop of a flight and the outdoorsy destinations which we had been craving like hiking, swimming in the ocean, and spending time with wildlife. Oman can be a great place to visit for a family living in either the middle east, India, or Northern Africa because of the accessible flights (only 1.5 hours from Bahrain!) but an accessible great place doesn’t come without challenges. Here are a few pros and cons I have jotted down about Oman that I hope guide us, if we ever have the chance to visit again.
Good:
- Home of the most outdoorsy activities in the middle east; If you and your family love to be outside, hike, find swimming holes, explore diverse landscapes, or snorkel come here.
- Kindness of people (especially towards children). I cannot say enough how comfortable the people were in this part of the world with Milo; It is magical to see how kindly random strangers will treat our child.
- Easy interaction with animals. When we visited the beaches, there are crabs and fishes to admire easily, camels and goats everywhere, and of course we got to see our fair share of Turtles at the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve. We love animals and it seems like any trip with extra animal sightings makes us all happy.
- Less touristy and more comfortable.
- Like in Bahrain, children are thought of everywhere- for such a small country there are so many play spaces, at airports, restaurants, and even hospitals. Anywhere one could visit with a child- there will be lots of accessible fun.
Bad:
- There is not much between big towns. Not much at all. Oman reminded us of driving through the desert near Utah and Arizona.
- The tourist industry is forming… in an odd way. Oman has so much natural beauty to visit but it seems that many travel companies are pricing out activities that in my mind should be less expensive. For example, to rent a 4×4 with a tent on top was more expensive than renting a car+ accommodation in 4 nice hotels because it is almost like a cool but overpriced outdoorsy niche.
- Most of Oman seems a bit disorganized.
Overall trip description: Initially questionable becomes wonderful
Tiny Treks 