Sur, Ras al Jinz and the coastal wadis

The coast around Sur, in eastern Oman, packs the country's best-known wadis, a seafaring town famous for its dhows and Oman's only beach where you can legally watch green turtles nest into just over 100 km of road. From Muscat airport, the coastal highway reaches Bimmah Sinkhole in 2 hours, Wadi Shab in 2 h 30, Sur in just under 3 hours and Ras al Jinz in 3 h 40, driving times without stops. Allow two days, three if you want time in the wadis, and spend at least one night at the end of the road, close to the turtles.

October to April is the time to come. In Sur, average highs top 40 °C from May to July, although summer is also when most hatchlings emerge.

Sur at a glance

The coastal road

Heading south-east from Muscat, the highway runs between the mountains and the sea.

Bimmah Sinkhole

Right beside the highway, 155 km from the airport, Bimmah Sinkhole (Hawiyat Najm in Arabic) is a collapsed hollow in the limestone, filled with turquoise water. It measures 50 by 70 metres, is about 20 metres deep and sits only 600 metres from the sea. Locals once believed a meteorite had made it, hence the Arabic name, "the well of the falling star". The municipality has fenced it into a park with toilets and a staircase down to the water.

Wadi Shab

A wadi is a valley whose river runs only part of the year; Oman's finest hold water in rock pools long after the rains. Wadi Shab, 175 km from the airport, is the most famous of them. A short boat ride takes you across the river at the entrance, then a path climbs between limestone cliffs and palm trees to a chain of pools you can swim in. At the far end, you swim through a narrow opening into a cave with a waterfall inside.

Experience Oman, the tourism ministry's website, has sensible advice:

• you need to be able to swim to reach the waterfall, and a life jacket is recommended;
• wear hiking boots or water sandals, not flip-flops, on the rocky ground;
• bring water and snacks, as there are no shops in the wadi;
• pack sunscreen, a hat and a spare swimsuit.

The best period runs from September to May. Day tours from Muscat cost from about €85 per person for Wadi Shab alone (8 hours), or about €70 for a shared tour of Wadi Shab and Bimmah with lunch (9 hours).

Wadi Tiwi

Wadi Shab's neighbour, Wadi Tiwi, is the place for guided canyoning and abseiling.

Qalhat and the Bibi Maryam Mausoleum

Between the wadis and Sur lies the ancient city of Qalhat, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018. Only one building still stands: the mausoleum of Bibi Maryam, from the early 14th century, a domed cube of coral and limestone once covered in stucco and blue Persian tiles.

Sur, the dhow town

Sur is the capital of South Sharqiyah, one of Oman's eleven governorates (administrative regions). Oman's Foreign Ministry describes it as a centre of traditional boatbuilding: this is the home of the dhow, the wooden sailing ship that carried the trade of the Arabian coast.

By the 6th century, Sur was already trading with East Africa. Its sambuks and ghanjahs sailed as far as India, Zanzibar and China, and were used for pearling too. The Portuguese held the town in the 16th century; once Imam Nasir bin Murshid drove them out, trade with India and East Africa revived. Decline came in the 19th century, when Britain outlawed the slave trade and the Suez Canal diverted the India trade.

Two sights tell the story:

• The Fatah Al Khair dhow, now a maritime museum, which the tourism ministry lists among Sur's landmarks along with the old lighthouse.
• Al Sunaysilah Fort, on a rocky plateau above the town. Its origins are disputed: some sources credit Imam Nasir bin Murshid in the first half of the 17th century, others say the Portuguese built it before the Omanis took it in 1648. It has three round towers and one square one, a mosque with two mihrabs, a Quran school room and a prison. Its open-air theatre seats 1,200 for cultural events.

Ras al Hadd and Ras al Jinz

Ras al Hadd, 35 km from Sur, is the headland where the sun first rises on the Arabian Peninsula, where the Sea of Oman meets the Arabian Sea. Its castle, begun in the 16th century, overlooks the mouth of a lagoon. The walls are nearly 3 metres thick, the ceilings are made of Indian teak and timber from Mombasa and Zanzibar, and a tunnel of about 500 metres once led to a freshwater well. It was restored in 1989 and again in 2008.

South of the headland, Ras al Jinz Turtle Reserve protects the nesting beach of the endangered green turtle. It was created by royal decree in 1996, its visitor centre opened in 2008, and it is run by Omran, the state tourism development company. Inside the reserve, an archaeological site over 4,300 years old has yielded pottery from the Indus Valley and bitumen from Mesopotamia bearing the imprint of a woven mat, probably used to waterproof a boat.

Watching the turtles

The reserve is the only place in Oman where the public may legally watch turtles. Viewings take place on the beach with the reserve's guides.

• Evening viewing: starts at 9 pm local time; arrive by 8:30 pm.
• Dawn viewing: starts at 5 am local time; arrive by 4:45 am.
• Fees for foreign visitors: 12 Omani rials (OMR, the local currency) per adult, OMR 6 for children aged 6 to 12, free under 6. Viewings are included for guests staying at the reserve.

Times can change with the season, and the reserve asks visitors to reconfirm before setting off.

Turtles nest all year. According to the reserve, most hatchings happen between May and September, and a Sultan Qaboos University study found nesting densest from June to October. In winter you are more likely to see females laying than hatchlings heading for the sea. Torches, camera flashes and car headlights disturb the turtles, and the reserve controls them on the beach. Our guide to watching the turtles at Ras al Jinz explains how a viewing works, and the Ras al Jinz turtles page covers the season.

Where to stay

Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve is Sabaro's choice on this coast, and the most practical base for the turtles since it sits inside the reserve. It is a simple eco-lodge rather than a luxury hotel, with around thirty rooms and tents. The air-conditioned Carapace rooms suit families; the fifteen eco-tents, also air-conditioned and with their own bathrooms, stand on a small rise nearby. Meals are served at the Sea Giants restaurant, and the turtle museum opens from 9 am to 8:30 pm local time. Expect to pay from about €230 a night for two, including breakfast and the turtle viewings, plus any local taxes.

Staying at the reserve also spares you a night drive: it is best not to drive after dark outside Muscat because of animals on the road.

Weather in Sur

The 1991-2020 normals for the Sur weather station give an average high of 26 °C in January, 32 °C in March, 36 °C in October and 31 °C in November, rising above 40 °C from May to July. The sea is around 24 °C in winter and reaches 30 °C in June.

Staying safe in the wadis and at sea

Foreign ministries do not all give the same advice for Oman: yours is in the "Travel advice" table on this page, and our Oman travel situation guide follows how it changes. The risks specific to this coast are natural ones:

• Flash floods. From October to March, wadis can fill suddenly after a storm. Avoid wadis when heavy rain is forecast and for at least a day afterwards, and, if caught in a flood, head for high ground without trying to cross.
• Falls. Wadi trails are unsecured, even at Wadi Shab, and that fatal falls happen.
• Boats. Tourist boats are not always up to standard; insist on a life jacket for every passenger.

See our guides to Oman's wadis and driving in Oman.

Combining the coast with the rest of Oman

Sur is 110 km, about 1 h 30 by road, from the camps of the Wahiba Sands. A classic loop leaves Muscat inland, spends a night in the dunes and a night at Ras al Jinz, then returns along the coast via Wadi Shab and Bimmah. Add the mountains around Nizwa and Jebel Akhdar and you have a ten-day tour of northern Oman. Our beach page covers the best places to swim.