[MUSANDAM PENINSULA, OMAN] — When you land in crazy Dubai, the Six Senses driver is there to great you. A kind Indian man from Kerala (as seemingly every helpful service person in this region is), dressed in a nice black suit and tie.
As you weave your way through Dubai’s twenty lane highways, the skyscrapers disappear, the highway gets successively narrower, the gigantic 200 foot-long real estate billboards become faded and empty. Sand dunes start to appear. Camels start to pop up, randomly, in the dunes on the side of the road. Your blood pressure drops a hundred points as you realize “Ahhhh, this is what I came for.”
We’re on the Road to Paradise.
Heading towards Oman’s famed Musandam Peninsula, the sand dunes soon turn into rugged bare mountains, sharp as teeth. , the landscape and houses start to look like the Oman you’re familiar with than all the glass and glisten of Dubai.
Oddly separated from the rest of Oman, with a gap of the UAE in between — like the Upper Peninsula in Michigan — Musandam instantly looks like Oman. Beautiful rugged. Sparsely populated. A crinkly carpet of soothing monochromatic shades of taupe and brown.
Musandam is a stiff finger of jagged mountains that form the Straight of Hormuz, a narrow gap between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Iran is just across the way, to the north.
The road steepens, crossing a mountain pass and the stacking up of the brown crinkly mountains, folded like crepe paper across the windshield. A hopscotch of distinctive Omani-style houses and their cement walled compounds lining the properties, each claiming their land.
We drop back down into the busy seaside town of Dibba. After meandering through dozens of roundabouts we reach the Omani border control, where the driver hands over my passport and papers and slowly rolls down the back passenger window. A stern looking Omani soldier looks over the papers, then looks up at me in the backseat of the large black Yukon And smiles. I’m back in Oman!
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The road leading out of Dibba soon runs out of pavement. “Only ten minutes more!” my friendly driver exclaims. The road quickly turns violent. As bumpy as can be. Wash-boarding bumps slow us down as we pass an empty reservoir, “Normally, this is completely full.” my driver says, as he shifts the Yukon into Extra Low.
We hang a sharp right past a guard house, “Six Senses Zighy Bay” the sign says, as the driver waves at friends in the booth, who wave us on. The road instantly turns into steep switchbacks, lined with heavy bulldozers and cranes and workers tending to the pavers — nearly the whole road is lined with hand-laid pavers to prevent erosion, I can’t imagine the cost to build it.
Upupupup we go, up and over the steep, gnarly mountains. With a swift hard right, “We are ready for you here.”
We are on a high mountain pass, Zighy Bay lies below us, opening its great smile to the sea below. An intense contrast of the yellow mountains and the emerald sea.
There are two ways to get to the resort. You can drive the zigzag road down to the resort, OR… you can paraglide in to the Check In.
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It was years ago that I first learned of this place, right after they opened. I’d seen travel articles about the Alila Jabal Akhdar set on a canyon ridge (in my previous post) and Googled it. “Oman? Where’s that?”
And then later, I read about this stunning beach resort, where you could paraglide in. I was SOLD. “I’m in!” Took me a while to figure out the logistics, but finally, I was here.
My heart was racing for what was about to come.
Before they built this resort, this was a very isolated part of the Musandam Peninsula, the perfect circular bay, talcum powder beaches, emerald green water surrounded by a stunning wall of straight-up mountains.
A small village was here for hundreds of years, mostly people from the same tribe. This area was so isolated that they developed their own Arabic dialect in each pocket of valleys. (This is a pretty conservative area, local people don’t really use the beautiful beach all that much that I’ve seen.) For years after they first built the resort there was no road in. You could only reach it by boat or microlight (a propeller powered hanglider) — my idea of a perfect location.
But eventually they dug that crazy impossible road, steep zigzags cut directly into the mountainside, so steep you need to keep it in 1️⃣ to get either up or down. Now you have the choice of arriving by 4×4 or paraglide in. (I think you’ve seen what method I chose)
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The resort is big, but not in that way. Only 80 or so villas — all the rooms are villas, tucked under the palm trees to escape the baking in the sun. What makes it feel big is that you don’t really see anybody. Between the activities, the beach, the boat rides, the two big pools and multiple restaurants, people are spread out all over, so you rarely run into anyone.
The weekend I was there, at the end of November, it was a big holiday in the UAE and the place was completely sold out, but it felt like it was at 25% capacity. Now THAT is what luxury is.
When you first look at them from the outside, the 80 different villas don’t look like much. Very unassuming. Just a bunch of jangly fences made out of driftwood in the local style. That’s the point.
When you first look at them from the outside, the 80 different villas don’t look like much. Very unassuming. Just a bunch of jangly fences made out of driftwood in the local style.
That’s the point.
But inside they are a dream. Each villa is basically its own stick-walled compound, using natural materials to meld into the landscape. Each is tricked out with its own pool, outdoor showers and huge interiors, like a walled compound so you have the most incredible privacy. You could be naked the whole time, unseen in your private space… which I may or may not have been most of the time.
The villas are designed to accommodate your party size. Single room villas (mine, pictured) up to big family villas an multi-family compounds right on the beach.
The villas are basically built right on the sand, you walk barefoot most everywhere. And sand is your friend the whole trip, it becomes part of the experience.
You really do feel like you’re coming home to you own Robinson Crusoe shack on the beach — if Robinson was played by the World’s Most Interesting Man, in smoking jacket, Osklen board shorts and sandy feet… and the shack was on the cover of Architectural Design.
For being in a completely arid land, the amount of water around here is astounding. Every room is actually a villa with its own private pool. Then there are the large community pools, with sexy hammocks and sun screens to cool you off in the calm December sun. There’s a fine spa, which Six Senses is known for around the world.
And then you have the beach! And the cool, crystal clear green water.
The morning sunrises are jaw-dropping. Wake up early and head to the water. The golden rays creeping up the shore as the sun rises over the horizon. Poolmen, preparing for the day, laying out fresh towels to greet the sleepy guests.
And then there’s the fabulous and famous spa. Six Senses is known for their spas, hence the name. I was out adventuring most of the days, so only got to squeeze in a deep tissues and Thai Sound Bath between flying and boating around in multiple modes of exotic transport. Loved every minute of it.
Shua Shack was just a delight. A breezy shaded spot down by the beach, filled with not just tables but couches and chairs to hang out in the shade all day, sipping on mint tea.
One night each week, they host a special traditional shua night, set under torches and candles, where they bury lamb in a charcoal pit and cook all day over the coals, then do a grand reveal at dinner and pull it out of the pit, breaking it into moist chunks of love.
There are two main restaurants in the center of the resort. The Summer House and The Spice Market and also a casual bar that serves tapas. Stunning outdoor places that take advantage of the cool Omani nights. Zero humidity.
Lovely food at every meal. In the mornings, there’s a full-on Arabic breakfast — my favorite meal of each day — and at night they flip over to a buffet of Middle Eastern dishes from The Spice Trail.
One of the most special nights at Zighy Bay is their super cool restaurant on top of the mountain called Sense on the Edge, a couple thousand feet above the bay — perched on the edge of a steep cliff… right next to where you launch for the paragliding. The views are unreal, as is the food. As my dumb luck would have it, I was there during this week’s amazing full moon. Kill me now. They have a fixed course meal of five-, seven- or nine-course meals, complete with a wine pairing for each course. Thp-thp-thp.
Zighy Bay is similar to a lot of amazing new “adventure hotels” — killer destinations in the middle of nowhere, that are not just for relaxation and spa time but also oriented around creating cool experiences.
This killer green bay, in the middle of the remote barren mountains. Where Lowa trail runners are more appropriate than Gucci driving moccasins and popped collar.
This was my first time flying in a microlight glider. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. And will do again every chance I get.
In addition paragliding in to the jaw-dropping location in the middle of nowhere, they have guides to take you hiking or mountain biking, Arabic cooking classes, rock climbing, or they’ll take you for a sunrise or sundown in some remote location.
The weather in December was some of the best I’ve ever experienced, anywhere. No humidity. 80s in the day, cool at night. Barely any breeze at all. Uni-Temp™️ as we would call it in college — where you can stand naked and feel neither hot or cold.
In addition paragliding and microlight flying, they have guides to take you hiking or mountain biking, snorkeling, Arabic cooking classes, rock climbing, or they’ll take you for a sunrise or sundown in some remote location.
You can also take a dhow cruise along the rugged coast, stopping to snorkel in the crystal clear waters and then do some Omani-style line fishing and catch your own dinner that the hotel will grill up just right. I was expecting a little bit sexier of a wooden dhow, this one looked more like something on the Lake of the Ozarks. I think their main wooden dhow was either already chartered out or in the shop, never could figure it out.
I caught barracudas in no time, simply drop some bait on a line, holding the spool in your hand. Brought it back to the Shua Shack and they grilled it right up for me. That was cool.
The hotel is also awesome at arranging special moments all around the area. On a mountain top. On the beach. In a canyon. To celebrate the sunrise, or sunset. Everyone likes a sunset.
You start out first, leaving the hotel and winding your way through narrow slot canyons (where you can also mountain bike). We kept going up through the canyons, passing mountain-topped villages — once isolated from the rest of the world. Even past an ancient Muslim graveyard. To the Sabatyn Plateau, overlooking the Grand Canyon of the Musandam Peninsula.
Alcohol is forbidden in public across Oman, but you can imbibe freely on hotel properties. You forget that until you venture outside, which is why we had this date champagne.
The village of Zaghi used to be the only thing around here, isolated from the rest of the world an accessible only by boat. Populated mostly by the same tribe, they work in partnership with hotel, with some locals working in administrative positions or as licensed drivers. Omanis don’t really do manual labor, so most of the service roles at the hotel are done by guest workers from India, the Philippines and Indonesia.
This is the amazing Taner, from Bodrum originally, the GEM — Guest Experience Maker — assigned to me for my five night stay at Six Senses. (Poor guy). As GEM — the operative term is “maker” — boy, did he make everything happen. A GEM is your personal daily contact at a Six Senses for anything you want to happen, or not.
Taner was ever-present, from greeting me as I climbed out of my paragliding entrance to Zighy Bay to shaking my hand as I left. He was everywhere, or invisible.
I swear the guy implanted me with a GPS chip. No matter where I was in the resort — climbing out of the saltwater pool or coming back from a hike; sometimes I was just thinking about doing something cool — and out he popped with his notebook of my personal activities.
“Hello, Mister Daniel, what are your plans today? (Knowing it already) Is there anything else you’d like to do today? I know you have your ‘Thai singing bowls’ treatment at 4, but do you want to do anything else today before or after?”
Or “I noticed you asked for an ice bucket at 7pm every night, (pre-dinner martinis, obvs) would you like sliced lemons or anything else?” I felt like this resort was mine, not theirs.
And if I added something to my busy busy schedule, soon I’d have an updated Agenda printed out, delivered to my villa to help me keep it all straight, since I obviously didn’t even know if it was a Wednesday or Thursday. I was on vacation.
It was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had in a hotel, anywhere.
I’d never stayed at a Six Senses resort before, but time and again I’d heard how amazing they are. “You’re going to love it.” my travel agent said, which is why she was also smart to to book @sixsenseszighybay at the end of my trip.
It ruined me for life, it was so good.
[EDITOR’S NOTE: By the time you come here, Taner will probably be gone. He’s going to help open up the new Six Senses in Turkey after he gets married. I plan to go visit him. “Come, I’ll introduce you to my family!”]
You should go here.
— Last Visited December 2017 —
Here are other posts I’ve made about Amazing Oman, including this overview of my whole trip. Here is Six Senses Zighy Bay’s website. And on the great boutique hotel site Mr & Mrs Smith.
A great review of Zighy Bay in The Telegraph. Another review of Zighy Bay in Forbes. A great family perspective of Zighy Bay from Eric at Travel Babbo, with much better pictures than mine.
Here’s great info on the spa and hotel from Conde Nast Traveller. and a review in Jetsetter.com.
Here’s link to a Google Map I made tracing the route I took over my two weeks in Oman. You can bookmark it to use for later. You can also zoom in to check out the incredible satellite maps of Oman’s changing geology.
I used Louise Brooks at Scott Dunn Travel to book my entire trip and she was amazing. They have a fantastic website that has tons of pictures and details and different itineraries for what you’re in the mood for. I wasted a year and a half trying to book through another well-known British travel company and they kept giving the run-around, or forcing me into a fixed two-two-two trip — which would have been a total waste. I swear, I spent half an hour on the phone with Louise Brooks and just got exactly what I wanted, full detailed two week itinerary in half a day. Easiest vacation I ever planned, a full two week trip planned in half a day, bought and then I left the following week! (DM me if you want my agent’s contacts).
Here is Conde Nast Traveller’s Oman Travel page. I think the UK version has a lot more destinations and detail in it than the US version… which just repeats the same 12 travel places every year. And an even better Oman Overview that has tons of stuff I’ve never seen before. Gotta go back!
Here’s a good overview article from the US Conde Nast Traveler on Why You Should Visit Oman, then Gulf’s Undiscovered Gem.
A brief article in Vogue on why you should go to Oman. If Vogue is suggesting it, you know it’s a safe country!
Here are some perfunctory facts and helpful info from Travel & Leisure on How To Travel to Oman.
Lonely Planet’s Guide to Oman. And a short article on 9 Reasons to Visit Oman from CNN Travel.
A terrific collection of articles from The Guardian on Oman. And from The Telegraph Top 10 Reasons to Visit Oman.
Here is the Alila Jabal Akdar’s website. And the Canvas Club Luxury Tents’ website.
And lastly Fodor’s deep guide on Oman.
[LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA] — We were on a two day shoot…
[PARIS] — I’ve been to Paris a bunch of times…
[TORRES DEL PAINE, CHILE] — If you’re going to Patagonia…
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