Oman & the UAE

[boozewz]

Awesome photos Cols. Thanks for sharing! Would love to see the tracks of that trip. Just one day when the stars align, would love to do it. Doing a trip like that, to the Empty Quarter in KSA would require special permit from the Border Guards, so glad to see Oman does not require that.

Cheers

 

[cols110]

Yeah it is a great place but to be honest you really aren't supposed to be in there without an official Omani guide. There are a few key points to miss so you don't get stopped.

If your serious the best place to start is with Mike Notts guide book https://www.facebook.com/Advanced-Off-Road-Adventure-Routes-UAE-Oman-1391301034531568/ as it covers a lot of this route. I have done 3 variations of the trip and twice with Mike and for a first I timer down there I would recommend his route and also head to Ramlet Jadilah whilst down that way.

I would love to get into Saudi and explore along and around the old Hejaz Railway a few of my friends did it a few years back and sadly I couldn't join them and now access into to Saudi is alomost impossible.

 

[boozewz]

Thank you sir!

As for getting into Saudi, tourist visas should be opening up very soon. Watch the space.

 

[goexplore.ae]

Yeah it is a great place but to be honest you really aren't supposed to be in there without an official Omani guide. There are a few key points to miss so you don't get stopped.

If your serious the best place to start is with Mike Notts guide book https://www.facebook.com/Advanced-Off-Road-Adventure-Routes-UAE-Oman-1391301034531568/ as it covers a lot of this route. I have done 3 variations of the trip and twice with Mike and for a first I timer down there I would recommend his route and also head to Ramlet Jadilah whilst down that way.

I would love to get into Saudi and explore along and around the old Hejaz Railway a few of my friends did it a few years back and sadly I couldn't join them and now access into to Saudi is alomost impossible.

Thanks for the sharing the photos and link to Mike's book. I've thoroughly enjoyed exploring the easy parts of Oman over the past 12 months, having lived in Dubai for 7 years, and now want to get out more.

I also really, really want to visit Saudi. I have a lot of friends from the Kingdom, and hopefully can get 'sponsored' to visit one day for photography.

 

[Rorywg]

Great photos and really good to see what looked like a terrific Dads & Sons trip.

I did more or less the same route a few years ago, also inspired by Mike Nott's book. We went down through Wahiba, rather than Umm Semim, and wasted too much time there, so had to rush things a bit on the return leg. We had a bit of a confrontation with the Saudi border police when we got carried away with photos at the trig point marking the KSA/Yemen/Oman border. Lucky escape.

I am hoping that the opening up of Saudi will make it easier to get in there and wander around. Do, please, post if you hear anything on this front!

Thanks for the glimpse into your adventures.