Sunshine Tours Oman
Jetlag had myself and Kathleen both up really early , maybe we were conscious around 5 am and we both decided that today is the day we should leave our amazing hotels grounds to see Muscat . Kathleen was researching a bunch of tours and found one that we wanted to book for a half day private tour so we booked it .
We went for our breakfast and came back to the room thinking we’d hit the gym and go for a dip in the pool with our tour booked for 2 pm . Then we received an email saying our tour won’t be going into Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque which we heard is stunningly beautiful, so I frantically emailed and called and got a hold of someone who said she was sorry and I said is there any way to make this work as we want to see this beautiful place . She said she’d check if a guide can get us and start earlier and she called back within minutes and asked if we could be ready in 20 minutes so we took a u-turn on our plans and got ready to go on our tour .
Our tour guide arrived promptly in his SUV and introduced himself as Ahmed and we jumped into his vehicle and went out into the streets of Muscat . Our first stop was the mosque and we were not disappointed as we began to get to know Ahmed . He took us through the mosque and explained everything thoroughly to us and we actually learned a lot about the mosque and the Muslim faith . The mosque itself is just unbelievable! There is a female and a male mosque … the mens mosque is a work of art with one of the largest (2nd) Iranian carpets in the world and this unreal Swarovski chandelier that illuminates the whole building with its stained glass windows . The mosque is rather new so it’s not quite historical but the beauty of it and the people there shone through with every glimmer . I was gonna smacked at the art and the architecture there and if you ever visit Oman you should definitely go to visit with a tour guide . There is a guide in the mosque also that expressed how much he loves Canada and made us feel very welcome . If there is one thing I could say I love the most about Oman I would hands down say it’s the people here . Omani people are very very friendly and crime is not really a thing here .
On our way out we were brought into a room where we were offered tea coffee and dates … totally for free ! Not a tourist trap , just amazingly friendly kind people that wanted to talk to us but we were on a tour and had to leave . Remember I told you Oman is about the people and we had a special invite to go to Ahmed’s house for a coffee and some snacks where we met some of his family . As a traveller this is the best experience to actually be invited to see how people live in their countries . We then found out that Ahmed actually owns the tour company as he was greeted by everyone everywhere we went . Everyone greeting him were his employees and they all seemed to respect Ahmed . The more we got to know him the more we felt like a friend was showing us around .
After our visit to Ahmed’s home we were taken to Mutrah Souq where we did some tourist shopping . Ahmed told me to haggle for stuff and I swear I tried but he wouldn’t let me pay for anything as he bought us some nice gifts . I swear I tried to pay and offered him the money but he didn’t want it . How many tour guides buy you gifts on your tours ? We really were lucky to find this tour .
After the souq we went to the Sultans Palace and got a history lesson about Oman which is quite interesting . Did you know that Portugal invaded here hundreds of years ago ? I didn’t ! The palace is gorgeous and I knew I wanted to get one of my crazy pictures in my goalie gear here and even scouted how I’d like the shots to be taken . Ahmed asked the guards there if it would be ok as I wouldn’t want to offend anyone and they said it would not be a problem . I didn’t have my gear so it’s something I should plan with the local hockey team , the Oman Wadi Dogs .
We then drove over to the harbour and saw a few other historical sites as Ahmed explained the history of Oman to us . Unfortunately the Opera House was closed due to the dismantling of the stages built for Oman Day which was the day before . It’s a beautiful building and everything is so clean here in Oman . The Opera House is right beside our hotel so that was the last stop before Ahmed dropped us off where I gave him a hug and we exchanged info to stay in touch .
One thing I would suggest if you ever visit Muscat is to contact Ahmed and his company directly by sending them an email … the website is https://www.sunshinetoursoman.com/
I can guarantee you they will take care of you and you will have a very nice experience with any of their tour guides . They really care about keeping their clients happy and I can’t say enough good things about our experience.
After we were dropped off we took a nap and then woke up and ate in the Irish pub that’s on the hotel premises then chilled out under the stars while smoking some shisha . It was a perfect ending to a perfect day .
