Salalah E’id Al Adha Trip 21st August to 25th August 2018

Salalah E’id Al Adha Trip 21st August to 25th August 2018

Let’s escape the UAE heat and enjoy the cooler climate of Salalah during its Khareef season. This trip is open to all DO members and their families and will be exciting for both Salalah first-timers as well as repeaters! We will plan for 5 days of driving, exploring, sightseeing, and camping in and around Salalah and the wider Dhofar region.

The drive involves very long stints of tarmac driving with one stopover each to and from Salalalah. This will help break up the long drive so that we do not have to drive in one shot all the way, the total of which is close to 1,400 Kms. by Road, via Nizwa and would require about 12-14 hours of continuous driving.

The visa for Oman is not available at the Border now but has to be applied for and availed online in advance, the copy of this visa is to be carried along with valid passports and UAE residence visa.
The URL to apply for the online Visa is as follows,
https://evisa.rop.gov.om/

Day and date: Tuesday, August 21st till Saturday the 25th of August ‘2018.
Drive Type: All Level Camping & Sightseeing/Exploration Adventure

Meeting Point: Emarat Petrol Station – Dubai – Al Ain Rd. Approx. 10 Kms. after outlet Mall or 28kms. from Dubai Mall on Dubai – Al Ain Road, E66
Google maps users (just copy and paste in Google maps): N25.016103, E55.455772

Meeting Time: 08:45 am on Tuesday, August 21st, ‘2018.
Drive Start: 9:00 am on Tuesday, August 21st, ‘2018.
Drive End: Saturday the 25th of August ‘2018, with an option to exit earlier if your schedule requires so.

Duration: 5+/- days
Drive Route: Dubai, UAE to Nizwa, Oman, onward to Salalah, Oman and then back with an optional stopover at Ibri.

Drive Terrain: Very long stints on the tarmac, mountains, graded tracks and rocky tracks (There are no sand dunes, on this trip of ours)

A brief outline of the trip is as follows:

Day 1, August 21st ‘2018 – Dubai to Nazwa
via Dubai – Al Ain Rd/E66 and Route 21 (4 h 30 min of driving 419 kms. + Border Crossing)
We will drive approximately 5 hours to reach our first stopover at Nizwa.
Nizwa Fort & Souq are historical landmarks and are recommended to be visited post Lunch, after check-in at Nizwa.

Day 2, August 22nd ‘2018 – Nazwa to Salalah
via Route 21 and onward via Route (8 h 30 min of driving 874 km)
We will drive approximately 8 hours, 30 mins. to reach our Hotel at Salalah.

Day 3 & Day 4, August 23rd & 24th ‘2018 – Salalah & Dhofar
Various historical & tourist spots around Salalah.
We will explore various mountains, waterfalls, beaches, and various other sites throughout the Salalah/Dhofar region. We will mainly be on the roads less traveled and the option is to either check into a hotel or camp in secluded sites away from the crowds. We will visit different sites from our trips from last years and try to explore some more so that even if you were on the trip last year, there will be more to discover this year.

Day 5, August 24th ‘2018 – Salalah to Dubai with an optional break over on the route back, with options of Nizwa/ Ibri / Sur/ Muscat.
I will be stopping over at Ibri on the way back, overnight at a hotel.This requires approx. 9 hours of driving to cover 940 Kms.via Route 31.

Key things required
1) A very reliable 4×4. This is a long, demanding trip and you need to have complete faith in your ride.
2) Petrol stations are generally available but are few and far between. We plan to stop at almost everyone as you never know how far for the next one. 1 jerry can is required nonetheless to be safe.
3) Working spare tire and lug wrench or other tools to be able to remove/change the tire
4) Spare fluids, belts, hoses, etc
5) Shops are very basic like your typical small grocery shops. ALL food and drink for the whole trip for each car and passengers should be carried. We will be able to re-load with ice at the grocery stores but we must bring cool boxes full of food and drink for the Road trip.
6) All other offroad/recovery gear you would normally carry.
7) A complete first aid kit and lots of insect repellant, insect bite cream, sunscreen, etc.
8) Costs: You will need to budget approximately AED 1,000 for fuel depending on how thirsty your car gets; visa to leave UAE is AED 35/person and to enter Oman is AED 50/person; all of your food and supply requirements
9)

This will be a great trip but will require preparation and be stocking up on supplies so plan early. If however, this would be a new/first-time experience for you, please reach out to me directly to answer any questions that you may have or help you with your preparation.

HOTEL BOOKING IN ADVANCE IS RECOMMENDED AS ALL THE HOTELS WILL BE EXTREMELY BUSY AT THAT TIME & WALK-IN CHECK-INS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE.

I look forward to exploring Salalah with you!!