A Once-in-a-Lifetime Photography Experience
Sultanate of Oman, November 10-19, 2027
WORK IN PROGRESS
Details about the 2027 edition of the tour are still being finalized. Please consider that everything mentioned on this page is subject to change.
If you want to stay informed about updates, as soon as they are ready, please fill in the form below, with no obligations.
After having led a wildly successful tour of Oman a few years ago, I am ready to welcome you to this somewhat mysterious, but extremely safe and welcoming country in the Middle East.
Although the phrase is overused, Oman really is an undiscovered gem of a country. Dwarfed on the global stage by its neighbour, Dubai, Oman actually has far more to offer the visitor looking for a genuine Arabian experience and a trip with some culture, as well as the chance to soak up the sun. Oman’s climate is very sunny, and while it does rain, this is a rare and normally brief occurrence. In spring and autumn, daily temperatures are in the mid to high 20s Celsius, and over the winter, a very pleasant low to mid 20s Celsius.
Oman has much more to offer than just a great climate, however. Oil and gas revenues have allowed it to develop into a modern, forward looking state. For the visitor, Muscat certainly provides an easy introduction to the Arabian peninsula – there are banks, Western-style shopping malls, ATMs, good roads, fantastic restaurants and top quality hotels. These blend with the city’s graceful, traditional buildings, wonderful souqs, superbly restored forts and rugged mountainous vistas. Outside the capital, facilities are scarcer, but the main places of interest are still very accessible; with perfectly comfortable hotels joined by tarmac roads. Perhaps the aspect that makes travelling easiest is the natural friendliness and hospitality of the Omani people. Nearly everyone comments on this; they are always ready with a smile and will invariably do their best to help you out.
Our guides will lead us to the most iconic spots in this diverse country and I will teach you how to take the photos of a lifetime.
If you want to get away from your world and are looking for places that are unlike the excessively popular destinations that everyone tries to capture, then this tour is perfect for you.
You will experience and photograph a unique country and will come back from it rejuvenated.
Shed your preconceptions and prepare to be surprised!
What You Can Expect
- The tour will start in Muscat on Wednesday, November 10, and end there on Thursday, November 19, 2027.
- The duration of the tour will be 10 days (9 nights).
- We will be staying in some of the best hotels and resorts Oman has to offer. See the Accommodations section below.
- You will travel in a small group setting of no more than 8 people.
- You will have the assistance of a professional photographer who has already been to Oman twice.
- We will travel in private 4×4 vehicles, ensuring maximum flexibility and comfort.
My husband and I were fortunate to travel on Ugo Cei's photography trip to Oman. The country itself is an undiscovered treasure, filled with nature and welcoming people. Traveling with Ugo was a pure pleasure. He offered us a thoroughly researched itinerary and lots of photographic guidance. We shot portraits, landscapes, markets and all manner of subjects and Ugo was always there to offer tips. Do yourself a favor and try out one of his workshops!
Discoveries and Activities
The type of photography you will doing during this tour can be classified as Travel Photography, meaning you will have a chance to shoot landscapes, cityscapes, people, food, architecture, bits of ancient history, traditional events, markets. This tour is recommended for those who are hungry for images and don’t disdain pursuing multiple subjects on a single outing.
The experience is immersive and intensive.
Modern and Historical Sites
Our journey will start with the exploration of Oman's capital and biggest city, Muscat. The highlight of the visit will be the imposing Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, one of the few mosques in the Middle East that are open to non-Muslims.
Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Muscat
The landscape of Oman is dotted with ancient forts, reminders of when the country was one of the superpowers of the world and whose fleet commanded a large swath of coastline, from India down to Zanzibar. Most notable is the fort of Nizwa, which we will visit.
Nakhl Fort
NIzwa fort and mosque
Markets
Omanis have always been traders and even today, when most of Oman's riches are in its oil and natural gas reserves, the country's markets and souks are the liveliest places and a smorgasbord of opportunities for travel and street photographers. Most notably, Omanis generally don't mind being photographed, if you ask nicely.
Amongst the highlights will be the popular Muttrah Souk, the nearby fish market, and the world-famous cattle auction that is held every Friday morning in Nizwa. Also in Nizwa, you will be able to witness the trading of rifles and traditional daggers.
Muttrah fish market, Muscat
Muttrah Souk
At the cattle market in Nizwa
A Night in the Desert
The Sharqiya Sands (formerly known as Wahiba Sands) are a huge desertic area characterized by sand dune ridges that extend southward for hundreds of kilometers. We will spend a night in a desert camp there, admire the sunset, share coffee and dates with the local bedouins, go 4x4 driving up and down the dunes, ride camels, admire the endless stars of the desert night, and generally have lots of fun while taking lots of pictures.
Sharqiya Sands
Coffee and dates, a staple of Oman hospitality
Coffee in the Desert
Camels
Under a Desert Sky
The Itinerary In Detail
Day 1 · Arrival in Muscat
Upon your arrival at Muscat International Airport (MCT), representatives of our organization will be waiting for you and transfer you to our chosen hotel.
You will get some time to freshen up and relax after your flight, before we head out in the evening to photograph the exterior of the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque as the sun is setting and the lights come up.
The day will end with a dinner in a typical restaurant.
Day 2 · Muscat to Nizwa
After breakfast, we reach the Grand Mosque again, which is open to non-Muslim visitors until 11AM. Before that time, you will have an opportunity to photograph all of its architectural details and the magnificently decorated interior.
After lunch we will meet our local Omani collaborator, who will be with us for the rest of the tour. They are not only an excellent guide, with the ability of opening for you doors that would be shut to most tourists, but also a professional, award-winning photographer. From their unique vantage point, they will be able to give us an opening visual briefing that will set the language of the week: reading light, working the frame, anticipating the decisive moment, and photographing people with respect.
In the afternoon, we start our transfer to the city of Nizwa, where we will spend the night.
Day 3 · Nizwa — The Heart of the Documentary
In the early morning, we will visit the Nizwa livestock market. This will be your first immersion in the local culture, away from the western influences that are more prevalent in the capital. You will have a chance to create a strong documentary of a chaotic and noisy scene that offers an incredible amount of subjects: the traders, the dust, the movement, the low raking light.
From the cattle market, we move to the produce and craft souqs and to the old quarter around the fort in the golden hour.
In the afternoon you will have time to relax and to download and start processing the photos of the day and of the day before. We will close the day with our first evening image review.
Overnight in Nizwa.
Day 4 · Al Hamra and Misfat Al Abriyeen
After breakfast we will travel to the city of Al Hamra. where you will find mud-brick homes, elders, palm groves and layered compositions.
We then travel to Misfat Al Abriyeen — a village suspended in stone, where alleys, falaj water channels and light slipping between walls reward patient, quiet shooting.
We continue to Bahla for the night.
Day 5 · Bahla — Clay & the Potter's Hands
A complete documentary story in a single day: the pottery craftsmen of Bahla, the ancient alleyways, the great fort in the first light. We close the interior chapter, then begin the drive east toward the sands.
At the end of the day we reach our accommodation for the next two nights: a desert camp nestled amongst the sand dunes in Bidiyah.
Day 6 · Bidiyah — The Dunes and the Bedouin
Dawn in the dunes — light, shadow and environmental portraiture. A full day inside Bedouin life: the coffee ritual, the camels, the rhythm of the sands. A sunset visual-storytelling session, then a night beneath the stars. Two nights here mean two dawns and two sunsets — time to return to the same ridge when the light is right.
During the day, we will also have a chance to do our second image review.
Day 7 · Ja'alan — Salukis and Arabian Horses
After breakfast, we leave the camp and head towwards Ja'alan, where we sill spend the afternoon with a breeder and his family — Arabian salukis and pure-bred Arabian horses, photographed in the low golden light. This is a pre-arranged encounter, not a staged performance: the dogs and horses are part of the family's daily life, and we photograph them as such — the training, the running, the bond between the animals and their keepers. A rare subject, and one very few photographers have documented in Oman.
At the end of the day we continue to the coast to reach the city of Sur, where we will spend the night.
Day 8 · Sur — Shipbuilders & Living Traditions
A full day in the coastal town of Sur. In the morning, the traditional dhow shipyard — master craftsmen shaping ocean-going vessels by hand, as they have for generations. In the late afternoon, a pre-arranged cultural encounter: women of Sur in traditional dress, sharing time-honoured customs unique to the town — photographed with permission, dignity and care.
In Sur, we will have our third image review session, before we spend one more night there.
DAY 9 · Sur → Qurayyat → Muscat
We leave Sur and follow the coast back toward the capital. In the late afternoon light, we stop at the salt works of Qurayyat — geometric pools, reflections and the slow craft of salt-harvesting. We arrive in Muscat for the final night.
Day 10 · Muscat
In the early morning, we will take a van to reach the fish market in Muttrah, where we will be able to photograph the fishing boats offloading the night's catch and auctioning it, and the fishmongers preparing and selling it inside the market.
Immediately after that, we will visit the nearby souq to take in the atmosphere of a typical Arab covered market.
We then return to our hotel to enjoy our last breakfast in Oman, followed by some relaxation by the hotel's bar and pool before your transfer to the airport. Timne permitting, we might do a final image review.
The following articles will give you more details about the things you can experience when you travel to Oman with me:
Extensions
This tour covers a wide swath of the country, including its most populated areas, but in case you wanted to see more of Oman, me and my associated tour operators will be happy to help you extend your stay. You could spend a few days relaxing on the beaches and cruising the khors of the Musandam Peninsula, spotting dolphins. Or you could admire the sea turtles hatching in the Ras Al Jinz Nature Reserve. Or explore the Dhofar region in the south and its frankincense forests. Finally, you could bathe yourself in luxury in the neighboring Emirates and experience the glamour of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Just let me know!
Cruising in Musandam
Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Inclusions and Exclusions
What is included
What is NOT included
Some Words From Our Past Guests
Dates and Prices
Starting date and location:
November 10th, 2027. Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Ending date and location:
November 19th, 2027. Muscat, Sultanate of Oman
Duration:
10 days (9 nights)
Price:
€6,500
Contact Me For More Information
If you’d like more information, get in touch with me using the form below and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Foreign construction workers in Oman
Al Jabal Al Akhdar