Are you thinking of doing a day trip from Dubai to Khasab Oman? There is a charismatic charm about Khasab Oman, and it’s definitely something different to do while in the Middle East. There is a beautiful coastline with natural rock climbing cliffs, making it a great weekend getaway from the busy city life of Dubai or Abu Dhabi.
Here are some essential tips for doing a trip from Dubai to Khasab.
Where Is Khasab Oman?
Situated at the northern end of the UAE peninsula, the “town” of Khasab is a modest place, where goats roam freely and Bedouin culture still exists. You can find kids playing football (soccer) on the open, dusty planes and bearded fishermen picking through nets, smoking pipes and seemingly yelling at each other in harsh arabic tones.
For only a couple of hours drive out of Dubai, it is a completely different world. There are no fancy restaurants or malls. Just local people, going about their daily lives in a rocky reminder of an earlier time.
The trip from Dubai to Khasab Oman is approximately 2.5 hours drive. From Abu Dhabi to Khasab it is approximately 3.5 hours drive.
How to get from Dubai to Khasab
While it’s not a busy place, you do need to go through immigration on the Oman border. And that can take time. Make sure you have your paperwork in order. Not only yours but anyone else in the car and the car itself.
The immigration officers were adamant that whoever the car was registered to must be in the car while crossing the border. If you have a rental, it would probably be easier, but I went with UAE residents.
We left Dubai at approx. 5:30AM and by the time we got to the border, there was already a bit of a line (as things move slowly). Allow about 30 minutes to get through customs (it was much quicker coming back into the UAE on our return – was about 5 minutes).
Why Visit Khasab Oman?
- It’s otherworldly. Really, you feel like you have left earth and arrived on some kind of sparse planet. Huge mountains jut radically out of the calm sea and form layers of misty peaks.
- There’s living culture. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the big UAE cities (Dubai and Abu Dhabi). But with the rapid explosion of development and wealth, it’s hard to distinguish where local culture fits in. In Khasab, it’s obvious. It’s a small fishing village with a community feel. Technology is basic and religion is dominant.
- Dolphins. Because who doesn’t love dolphins? Pods of dolphins make their way through the rocky channels of the waterways and seem to spend an awful lot of time on the surface. Which is great for us surface creatures to observe them.
- Rock climbing. While rock climbing is not one of my “go-to” hobbies. Now and again it is a bit of fun. Take away the ropes, those colourful hand grips and the crowd of people below, peer pressuring you with their eyes and you’ve got something much more enjoyable. Throw in an easy “fall back” into warm, clear water and you’ve got a new attractive hobby set in Khasab.
How To Organise A Boat in Khasab Oman?
Arriving into the small port of Khasab there’s no clear direction of where you’re meant to go or how you would even find a boat.
Here’s how we did it:
- Head towards the Khasab Fort.
- Right across the street is a man-made canal. This is where 90% of the fishing boats hang out.
- You can enter and park anywhere (it’s a big empty sandlot)
- If you walk down towards the boats tied up, it’s likely someone will come over to you and offer you a ride.
- Negotiate. We paid about $40USD each for the day. Make sure you get one with shade!
- They accepted UAE money even though it’s Oman.
- There a few boats set up to take out tourists which have some Arabic cushions, a cooler box with water and a very local driver. Ours was Abdullah. He was a legend.
Abdullah couldn’t help but catch some more fish & squid while we were out. He offered to give them to us for free at the end. But we paid him a small amount.
abdullah boat operator Khasab 
Best Boat Route To Take
There’s not really a “route” so to speak. Even though Abdullah’s English was pretty good, we still took out our google maps and pointed at the general area and said: “can we just see a bit of it all?”.
He seemed happy enough to take us on a cruise of our own will. The people I was travelling with were very keen to do some rock climbing, so we spent a lot of the time driving by cliff faces looking for good places to climb, generally with overhangs so that falling into the water was going to be deep enough.
There are plenty of cliffs to choose from. It seemed like the whole area was a rock climbers paradise. We did a pretty extensive coverage over the space of about 5 hours. There are a couple of small islands in the middle of the waterway that we stopped on and had a quick explore, with some remains/ruins of old Bedouin camps to see. There is a long Bedouin history in Khasab Oman that is very much still alive.
And apart from the dolphins, it’s a whole lot of rock. It doesn’t sound all that appealing, but the combination of the mountains and sea made for a breathtaking day out of a boat.
Rock Climbing In Khasab Oman
There is an actual rock climbing site in the area. It is right next to a beach that locals use as a campsite.
If you ask for the rock climbing wall, the locals will know where you mean. Someone has placed the little metal hooks into the rocks all the way up a 20+ meter vertical rock face. You need to bring your own ropes if you want to hit the wall.
Otherwise, there are free climbing walls galore in Khasab Oman. Our boat would just pull up to a rock face of our choice, we could climb straight off the boat and up the walls. If you’re not experienced (like me) just pick ones with some deep water at the base of the cliff so you can fall in.
We climbed and jumped for most of the afternoon. I’d highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in climbing.
Eco Travel Tips
Responsible travel is fast becoming the most popular way to get around. If you are thinking of doing a day trip from Dubai to Khasab, here are some easy eco travel tips to help you explore in a more sustainable way.
- Bring your own food, drink bottles and cooler. Food and water is sparse in Khasab Oman, so you’re limited to petrol station, packaged food and drinks.
- Share a ride. We took 5 people for the journey and shared petrol cost (which is not much in the UAE, however, did save on excess pollution with just one vehicle).
- Learn some Arabic niceties. It is a lot more local and traditional than Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Be respectful when in the town area and cover-up. Learn to say “hello” (As-Salaam–Alaikum [actually translates to “Peace be unto you”]) and “thank you” (Shukran).
- Bring a bag for rubbish. For the most part, as the area is deserted there is little to no rubbish. However, if you go to the rock climbing wall near the campsite, there is a tone of rubbish. Anything you can remove would eventually help.
- If you want to stay near Khasab Oman, try looking for eco accommodation.
Where to stay in Khasab Oman
Thinking of spending the weekend in Khasab Oman? There are a couple of nice Airbnbs in the area, offering private rooms, or entire houses to stay in. Here are some popular places to stay in Oman:
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Aaron is one of the co-founders of The Dharma Trails. His background in marine eco tourism and writing have blended together to create the eco travel platform read by users around the world.
