Things to know before choosing a desert camp at Wahiba Sands

Nothing says ‘Middle East adventure’ like an overnight trip to the desert. And Wahiba Sands is where everyone comes to live out their Lawrence of Arabia dreams when in Oman. It’s not the only desert in the country, but it is the easiest to access and the most developed, while still giving you the feeling of leaving civilisation behind.

I love deserts, but having done a few desert camps in other countries, it wasn’t necessarily top of my Oman wish list. However, our trip to Wahiba Sands ended up being truly fantastic and we didn’t even have the perfect weather conditions I'd been hoping for.

It is worth noting that I do think how much you enjoy your desert adventure will come down to picking the right camp for you, and there’s a lot of camps to choose from!

In this guide, we’re going to share some of the things to look out for when choosing a camp, as well as full details on the one we chose (which we paid full price for, so you don’t have to worry about bias!).

Things to know before picking your Wahiba Sands desert camp

Size matters

There are a huge number of camps at Wahiba Sands and they vary a lot when it comes to size. If you’re looking for a quiet more intimate desert experience then you want to pick one of the smaller camps.

The smallest camp we could find online had four tents (the one we ended up picking had five) and our host told us some have as many as 70!

The bigger camps will have more potential noise from other guests, as well as people heading out on ATV and dune bashing trips, as well as the hum from generators (and AC units) operating everything you need to sustain a camp in the middle of the desert.

Some people will undoubtedly prefer a big camp as there will be more amenities, but if you’re looking for a quiet desert escape then you’ll want to factor size into your search.

Avoid Friday’s and Saturday’s if you can

The Omani weekend is on Friday and Saturday and this is when the desert becomes much busier. The wonderful thing about the desert is how vast and silent it generally is, but it’s also a place where sound carries.

You don’t need a guide or permit to enter the desert, so it’s a popular place to come for Omani’s with their own 4WD’s, as well as those that like to stay in the fixed camps.

It’s likely that you didn’t come to the desert to experience the constant sound of engine noises as people tear up and down the dunes. If you can only visit on the weekend then I would still go, but you’ll need to manage your expectations when it comes to noise.

You don’t need a 4WD

Every single camp we looked at offered 4WD transfers into the desert from various meeting points around the nearest town, Bidiyah. Although these transfer are expensive for what is generally quite a short drive, it’s still much cheaper than hiring your own 4WD for two days.

If you’re nervous about driving on the sand, then it also avoids that problem (though if you do have a 4WD they will help you by letting air out of your tyres and advising how best to drive on sand).

After reading a lot about needing a 4WD to get around in Oman, we actually found that wasn’t generally the case, not just at Wahiba Sands, but much of the rest of the country.

The vast majority of places in Oman that most tourists will head to are either 2WD accessible, or have the option of a short 4WD transfer.

Do you need a 4WD to get to Wahiba Sands

Not all camps are in the dunes

While all of the camps are in the desert, not all are up in the dunes. And I am so, so glad that we opted for one that was because that is what made the whole desert experience so special.

There’s a big difference between being on the valley floor looking up at the dunes and being among the dunes themselves.

Our camp in Wahiba Sands was my favourite of any we’ve ever done largely because we were surrounded by the beautiful sand dunes. It was so incredible to look out your window and see nothing but rolling dunes.

You don’t have to take tours inside the desert if you pick the right location

Although everyone we met did take either a camel, ATV, or 4WD dune bashing trip in the desert, you don’t have to. We didn’t do any of these things, but that partly comes down to the location of our camp and it’s the reason we picked one inside the dunes.

If you are up in the dunes, you can walk around them without the need for a guide and watch sunset, sunrise and stargaze in a picturesque location. This was my number one requirement when picking a camp as we like to do our own thing on our own schedule.

Being able to walk from our tent for five minutes up a dune to see the sunset was really special. And ditto for sunrise. We didn’t get lucky with stargazing as it was so cloudy, but had it not been we would have been able to walk just a few minutes from camp and escape almost all light pollution.

The camps are generally of a great standard

I am sure there are some duds out there, but we couldn’t believe how good the standard of the camps were. We ended up picking one of the lower priced options (by no means lowest, but on the cheaper side) and it was great. Much better than the one we stayed at in Wadi Rum in Jordan.

You could also spend hundreds of dollars more and no doubt get a very ritzy experience. But in essence, I would say don’t worry if you don’t usually like camping or rustic glamping because you have lots of great options at Wahiba Sands.

Not all camps are open year round

The vast majority of camps will shut down for summer and many (including ours) do not open between March and September. We chatted to our guide and he said this was not just about heat, but also wind.

It’s the windiest time of year in the desert and that’s not going to be ideal, both in terms of being blasted by sand when you’re out and about and it shaking the tent all night.

We had a really windy (12 m/s) sunset on our visit in October and I was still finding sand in unusual places days later. If you’re visiting between November and February, this is generally the least windy time of year and has the clearest skies.

Our experience in Wahiba Sands

The camp

We stayed at Sunrise Desert Camp based on two main criteria - that it was small (just five tents) and that it was in the dunes. The reviews were great and I would say it lived up to them. It’s located 10km into the desert and takes around 15 minutes to drive to from the meeting point in Bidiyah.

The first part of the drive is on a level sandy road and the last maybe five minutes or so are up in the dunes, with two short steep bits (but everyone we stayed with who drove themselves said it was easy).

The tents have a decent amount of space between them, you can very much see the other tents, but you’re not on top of each other. If you want the most secluded one I would ask for the one at the far end - furthest away from the dining tent.

Incidentally I did ask whether the camp would ever be extended and was told no, because people book the camp based on the small number of tents, so even if you’re reading this years from now, it should hopefully still be small!

Aside from the sleeping tents, there’s also a dining tent. If you book to have meals at the camp you’ll all eat together. You can find free water, tea, coffee and fruit here 24/7.

Outside the dining tent there’s a raised platform with a fire pit surrounded by low cushions for the evening.

The camp offers camel rides, ATV’s rides and dune bashing trips. You can also walk into the dunes for sunrise, sunset and stargazing. To watch sunset you need to walk over one small dune, but you could watch sunrise from your tent if you wanted to!

The tent

The tent was really spacious with a large (probably king size) bed and a single bed beside it. The mattress was a bit softer and comfier than many of the hotels we stayed at in Muscat which was a big surprise.

There was no AC (only a fan), but even in October when the day time temperature was 34C we didn’t need it, in fact we didn’t even need the fan.

The night time temperature was 23C which still sounds hot, but you have a large window on both sides of the tent which you can leave open to let the breeze run through.

We couldn’t believe we were sleeping under a duvet and not in the least bit hot! The tent is run on solar power and you have one light above the bed.

The private bathroom is on the porch of the tent and has a flush toilet and shower. The shower actually has pretty decent pressure for the desert. We didn’t really need it for one night, but it’s useful to de-sand yourself if you’re also visiting on a windy day!

The porch also had a little table and chairs with an uninterrupted view of the dunes.

I really liked the whole set up, but possibly my favourite bit was the window on the back side of the tent which we always kept open and had the most beautiful view of the rolling dunes.

The food and general experience

Our host at the camp was Faiz and he was great and spoke fantastic English. He drove us to and from the camp (20 OMR return) and also had dinner with us and sat around the fire pit drinking tea afterwards which was really nice. He was very friendly and happy to answer any questions about the desert or life in Oman.

Faiz is only at the camp two weeks in every four and if he’s not around it will be the owner (who I think was called Ali, but we didn’t actually meet him).

We were told he doesn’t speak English, but there is another person there who does who can help translate. I only mention this because I read a lot of reviews where chatting to the locals was a big part of what they were looking for in their desert experience.

The camp itself was quite social because you ate meals together and also sat around the camp fire together, but there is seating at your tent if you didn’t feel like socialising.

Food costs extra (at time of writing it’s 7 OMR per person for breakfast and dinner (approx USD $18.20). It’s buffet style for both meals.

During our visit dinner was vegetable masala, dhal, rice, grilled chicken, hummus, salad and bread. It was nice enough but not a highlight. Breakfast was eggs, french toast and small pancakes with various toppings. I would have preferred local bread as sweet bread doesn’t really go with eggs, but it was ok.

To sum it up

I really loved our time at Wahiba Sands, especially because we were in the dunes and also because the tent was really comfy. I’ve never had a desert experience with a private bathroom before so that felt like luxury!

The main thing I wanted to do at the desert was watch sunset, sunrise and stargaze and though the weather didn’t play ball for some of that, the experience being in the dunes was so lovely that I didn’t mind. Though if we’d had a sky full of stars that would have been the icing on the cake.

I thought the tent itself was great value, the food was also pretty good value. I did think the transfer was massively overpriced, but it was still a lot cheaper than hiring our own 4WD. If you had your own then overall for the quality and experience, I think it’s a really good deal.

The other small camp we had been weighing up was called Rashid Private Camp which also got fabulous reviews. We actually stopped there on the way back so we got a peek of the layout and it was quite similar to ours.

Some of the tents were fractionally further apart and it was also in the dunes, though I think ours might have been ever so slightly more beautiful!

We met two people that stayed at Rashid’s and said it was wonderful, so it’s another great option. It is more expensive than Sunrise Desert Camp, but the tents are slightly bigger. We didn’t see the inside but I imagine it’s good based on the stellar reviews. They also had a large Instagrammy style swing which looked quite fun!

The other option I looked at and thought could be good was Thousand Nights Camp which I believe is the furthest camp into the desert. The tents look fabulous and quite fancy. However, they look pretty close together and in the end we decided we wanted a smaller more intimate camp right in the dunes, but if you want something a little more luxurious it’s worth checking the reviews for this one.

Getting to Wahiba Sands and facilities at Bidiyah

Wahiba Sands is located close to the small town of Bidiyah, which can be accessed with any car. The final bit into the desert requires a 4WD or a transfer with your camp if you don’t have one. Bidiyah is just under 200km and a 2 hour drive from Muscat, roughly 2 hours from Nizwa and 1 hour 15 minutes from Sur.

It’s just under an hour from Wadi Bani Khalid so it makes sense to do this before or after Wahiba Sands if it’s on your itinerary.

The town of Bidiyah does have some grocery shops, but nothing big and flashy like a Carrefour, so if you want any particular supplies get them ahead of time. If you need a coffee before heading to the desert the fanciest place in town was Cactus Speciality Cafe. The inside was really modern and nice and the coffee looked great. It wasn’t as good as it looked but decent enough - if you don’t want too much milk don’t opt for a flat white.