Just had 8 days family trip self-driving exploring Oman, we stayed in a mixture of 5 star luxury to a small boutique family run hotel, in a town, on a mountian and by the sea.
Drove around in a 4x4 on sand, tarmac and gravel, fuel was cheaper than Coca Cola
We like going to the less popular destinations as we want to see the world through our own eyes not through the biased news reports on CNN or BBC
Was slightly concerned it would be a bit too quiet as it was Ramadam but with everything being very quite subdued with no coffee shops, restaurants open during the day it only made the pace more relaxed. We even had a hotel with the best mountain views all to ourselves
What an amazing country, I'd put it right up there in my 'Top 10 Favourites'
If you want a taste of the true Middle East, desert, beaches, mountains, culture/history, wildlife, oasis, warm and friendly locals, great food etc etc I can recommend it as perfect destination without all the falseness of somewhere like Dubai offers.
Best day was waking up in a desert camp, early morning quad bike ride in the desert before breakfast, sand dunes as far as you could see
A quick lunch then some splashing about in warm surf on a white beach that was all ours
Then finally watching sea turtle laying eggs and a baby turtle starting out its life under a moonlit sky, no Disney animatronics involved as the poor little fella was only an hour old but already had lost an eye in a dust up with a crab
Could have easily stayed another week and explored the south of the country with its green rolling hills and the north with its crystal clear fjords