Things to do
5-
Al Ayjah Lighthouse
White and banded in red, a working lighthouse marks the harbour entrance opposite Sur, reached across the lagoon bridge or by a small ferry from the corniche. The village behind it keeps carved doors and a watchtower on the hill above. Sunset light on the dhows in the channel draws photographers, and the tower itself is closed to climbers.
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Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve
Green turtles come ashore to nest year round on this headland at the eastern tip of Arabia, with numbers rising through the summer months. Access is by guided tour only, booked ahead through the reserve, and groups go out after dark and again before dawn. Flash photography is banned, the walk over sand is longer than expected, and the visitor centre holds a small museum.
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Sur Dhow Yards
Wooden trading ships are still built by hand at the yards on the lagoon, planked without plans and finished with shell-shaped sterns of the kind that once carried Omani cargo to Zanzibar and India. A small maritime museum sits alongside and the shipwrights allow visitors to watch from the edge of the work. Mornings are the working hours; the site goes quiet after midday.
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Wadi Bani Khalid
Turquoise pools sit at the mouth of a gorge in the Eastern Hajar, fed year round and reachable on a paved road, with a short walk from the car park to the first water. A scramble upstream leads to Muqal cave, which needs a torch and a willingness to get wet. Modest swimwear is expected, and weekends fill the pools by late morning.
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Other
Wahiba Sands
Dunes run some 180km south from the gravel plain toward the coast, coloured orange to near white, with Bedouin camps strung along the northern edge for overnight stays. Drivers deflate tyres at Al Mintirib before the track. Independent driving without convoy support is a bad idea, and camps arrange transfers from the tarmac for guests arriving by taxi.