Awe inspiring Nizwa and Jabel Shams. - We had a wonderful time on this tour. The communication with both Mustafa and Hilal (our guide) before we left was excellent - so we were fully informed as to when we’d be picked up and by whom, were provided the itinerary for the day, and had contact info for both. We were picked up by Hilal bang on time and left Muscat for Nizwa in a comfy Land Cruiser. Hilal was a very knowledgeable and considerate guide, he was able to answer all our questions along the way and made sure we were comfortable. We had a guided tour of the fort at Nizwa, and once the official guide left Hilal took over and provided an excellent commentary on the items on display in the museum space. After this, Hilal took us to the souk and market where we tasted delicious Omani sweets and bartered (with Hilal’s help) for some jewellery (it would be rude not to buy something 😉). From Nizwa we drove through the most rugged, dramatic and beautiful landscapes to Jabel Shams, where we stood in awe at the edge of the canyon - it is truly magnificent. Hilal gave us the choice as to when we would eat lunch and we chose to do this after we’d visited both sights - this served to break up the drive home. It’s a full day tour and we honestly could not fault any part of it. We learnt so much about Oman’s past and present from Hilal. He was the perfect guide and I would highly recommend going anywhere with this tour company (Pink Stone Travel and Tourism). If you choose this trip, be sure to look out for goats in trees 😃.

A Day of a Lifetime! - Yesterday we had the day of a lifetime, and made memories that will last forever. The day started wonderfully when our guide, Hilel, arrived perfectly on time, and came into our hotel lobby to greet us. He drove a well appointed and perfectly comfortable white SUV with excellent air conditioning and plenty of bottles of cold water. He introduced himself and said in English his name means moon so we could call him Hilel or Moon, which we thought was very professional and considerate as sometimes inter language names can be hard to remember. His English was good. He reviewed our itinerary with us again and walked us through the drive times, when we will stop for breaks and refreshments. He stressed then and throughout the trip that it was our trip, we could stop whenever and as needed with no problems. We tested him on it as we drank alot of water and had to make frequent stops and he was cheerful, gracious and supportive the whole time. We stopped at the Fort, a number of souks (plenty of chances to shop with no pressure at one place or another, but he did bargain prices down for us!)(and insisted on carrying our bags for us every tho we protested), a small town for a traditional lunch, the canyon, another very old village (amazing architecture) still very much intact and then stopped for special tea and sweets on the way home. Bring lettuce or other produce with you so you can feed the adorable goats you see everywhere. They are super sweet. At the fort you can meet with traditional Omani women selling their items very timidly and sweetly (no hawking which was nice) and can have one make a traditional sweet pastry for you right on a stone! Delicious! The fort was really cool to visit and we learned alot we didn't know. But of course, the star of the show, besides the lovely Omani people we met throughout, was the Canyon. It was like a religious experience. We really were awed by it. We could hear the wind blowing through it and felt like we were on the top of the world. It is a bit of a long drive, all told, but broken up by many delightful stops, yet it was well worth the drive, we are SO happy we went!!! We also felt the other star was our guide, Hilel. He was a very safe driver, which on winding roads is so important. He was kind, intelligent, really really funny, and really considered us our guests that he was showing around. By the end of the day we felt like family. We recommend him whole- heartedly. We will never forget our day.