Extraordinary journeys in Oman

Well, where to start!
Speaking for the two of us, whilst we realised that we had signed up for quite an unusual trip, not in our wildest dreams did we expect it to be quite so spectacular in every way. The route, the scenery, exemplary organization, the camps, the food, the whole crew were beyond any expectations we had. As ever, attention to detail is paramount, and in this, Hud Hud worked miracles. Particularly exemplified when times were quite challenging – the first v chilly night (whoever expected hot water bottles!) and the second soggy night experience. We have been lucky enough to have rallied and travelled fairly extensively over the past few years, and reckon that your Oman trip is right up there with the very best. Finally, very best wishes for all your future endeavours – you’ve certainly set the bar quite high now.
Regards,
PS. We are taking home 2 very prized possessions- our Spirit of the Rally award, and a pot of Roy’s marmalade!

Having returned home safely, I just want to let you know how much we enjoyed our stay in Oman. Bijan was right: “Hud Hud may not be the cheapest, but they certainly are the best!” From the moment we were met upon arrival at the airport, everything went very smoothly and was most enjoyable. A particular word of appreciation for our guide, Jamal. Very knowledgeable, a good driver and pleasant company. So with him at the wheel, we had no hesitation to take the adventurous routes over the Selma Plateau and Wadi Bani Auf. Glad we did that as they are indeed two spectacular drives! Also special mention of the camp staff, Celeste and her team. They did a marvellous job in the middle of nowhere letting us fully concentrate on the marvel of being totally alone. A rare luxury in this day and age! The Al Bustan, the Alila and the Chedi were all perfect in their own way and you had booked us in exactly the right sort of room. Thanks again and best regards.

The expedition phase was the most marvellous experience. The mountain treks and camping in Jebel Akhdar and Shams were spectacular and the contrast with the desert section was dramatic. Our guide, Jonny, was simply superb and cannot be praised enough. He was very professional, gave us challenging routes and was very personable and humorous. He found us excellent camp-sites and his cooking and general camp admin was absolutely on it. He was a real star for us and it was much appreciated. Our black tie dinner in the desert was a real joy. For the boys, arriving at the formal camp with beds, sheets and an ensuite shower and WC was a real treat. For the girls, having had 5 days in the Al Bustan hotel, a chance to experience the desert was a real delight for them. The food here was excellent and the staff were all very helpful and courteous. We all loved the occasion. Finally, my thanks must go to Claire who helped me plan and put in place all the arrangements and run through all the myriad of details over the last 12 months. Her time, effort and advice was invaluable. A trip of a lifetime, really.

We are looking back to a magnificent trip. We had a great time. The trip was very well planned and the people at Hud Hud did execute your plans perfectly. Rachid is a very good host, guide and driver. We felt safe, learned a lot about the country and admired the Omani people through what we’ve learned during our trip. The choice of the hotels were excellent.

I would like to thank you both for what was an extraordinary experience for all of our team over the last couple of days. The camp, the Hud Hud team, the Guides (Abdul Rahman & Khalid especially), the places we visited were all amazing and the food you guys served in the middle of the desert and on picnics was amazing!! I expect we’ll be visiting again soon :).

The first thing to say is that we enjoyed it immensely. We were blown away by the country, its contrasts of hot/cold, flat/mountainous, wet/dry, ancient/modern. We were fascinated by the culture, the people, by life being lived in so many different ways. We were astonished and delighted by the ability of your teams to conjure food and drink, light, warmth and comfort, in the middle of various types of nowhere… just for us. We were informed, intrigued and entertained by the excursions and activities.

We did not really know what to expect when driving out across the sands, perhaps to be greeted by bearded Arabs and a sheep’s eye dinner. The reality was a surprise and so completely different! Everything was arranged with such style and attention to detail while keeping the Bedouin characteristic adjusted by modern comforts, which at our age were much appreciated. Your lovely staff looked after us with discretion and in such a friendly manner. Congratulations to the cook for producing gourmet meals from a pretty basic set- up. Thank you for the very important part which you played as hostess and manager of the camp to make our desert adventure the highlight of a short visit to Oman and exactly what we had hoped that it might be.

I would like to thank you all very much, for organising such a fantastic and highly enjoyable event for our Family Fun Day. You went to great lengths to create the team building exercises and ran the day seamlessly. I have had excellent feedback from the members and their families, so well done to all.

Mr H. called me yesterday, they really enjoyed their excursion in Wahiba Sands. He said that the organization was excellent, all the services were perfect.

May I take this opportunity to thank you and your team for a wonderful holiday. Every day was a carefully chosen different experience. I was bowled over by the hospitality from total strangers. The care and attention to every detail by you and your team was amazing.

Suffice to say that these clients had the most incredible holiday and absolutely loved their time with HudHud – they ran out of superlatives really – it truly was the highlight and a great way to finish their holiday. They thought the set up was incredibly smooth and slick and the team wonderful so thank you very much for everything you and they did to ensure they had such a great trip!

In short it was one of our best trips ever! We all loved the different experiences that the journey offered, the super friendly people, the beautiful country and the food. We have seen and experienced a lot of Oman which was what we wanted. The desert/tent was the highlight – I definitely want to do more. The staff was very friendly, competent and helpful and gave us enough privacy at the same time. All well organized, the warm showers, the sunset drinks, the daily excursions, the lunches out in the nature and the amazing dinners/breakfasts in the Bedouin tents.

We had a great time… I thought the camp was superbly sited and the food excellent…

We had an absolutely fantastic trip in Oman. We loved everything and wouldn’t change a thing. Oman is an incredible country and we were lucky to have Abdul and Masud to guide us. They were both fantastic. All the food was great and we loved the accommodation. Wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you for your excellent suggestions and for arranging everything so perfectly for us.

Just few lines to thank you about our trip to beautiful Oman…it was amazing, and outstandingly organized! Our 4 days “cheek to cheek” with Rashid were unforgettable: we talked about everything, about Omani people and their traditions, religion, family, sultan.. He was so open to answer all our questions in such a delicate and professional manner that I cannot describe! Not to mention our stay at the camp: excellent service, excellent staff, excellent food, outstanding tent! The staff was there…, but in such a discrete manner…!! Just this experience made our trip to Oman! Oman is such a beautiful, peaceful and hospitable Country! So, GRAZIE for making our trip unforgettable…

Khalfan was a delightful guide, knowledgeable and thoughtful, accommodating and considerate, all the things a good guide should be. And the team at the camp made our stay in the desert one we’ll always remember with great pleasure – Sebastian and Casey the perfect hosts making us immediately at home, and Roy’s fabulous food set before us by John with a cheerful Sri Lankan smile – they gave Nancy and myself a wonderful experience, a magical way to experience the desert. So, very many thanks to your team for all the hard work that must go on in the background to piece together such a fabulous experience.

…we all more than enjoyed last week, we had an absolutely wonderful time! Your team are fantastic, they were incredibly charming and efficient. The camp sites were in perfect locations, completely private with stunning views and total peace and quiet. The meals totally surpassed all of our expectations… Abdul and Mohammed were fabulous guides. They were both incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful and flexible; always happy to tweak the itinerary to our needs (and constant photo stops!!). We all came away saying just how lucky we were to have had them both showing us around.

Time flies, our trip seems so far away now! Back in cold London! Both camps were amazing: the setting, the food, the organization, it was a dream.

We can’t thank you enough for the life-changing experience you presented us with during our trip to Oman. Hud Hud truly has set the bar really high when it comes to unique -yet luxurious – hospitality. Even under the harshest conditions (the unfamiliar desert), you and your crew made us feel comfortable, at ease, relaxed, privileged and truly blessed. The food was fantastic, the tents were cozy, the sky was unforgettable and every single member of your crew was cultured, travelled, helpful, kind and utterly prepared.

We had a memorable, terrific adventure with your team. Rashid is our Omani brother… gentle, expansive with comment when called upon, unobtrusive when appropriate (swimming at the sinkhole)… a delight to spend time with. Jo and her team were absolute delights and could not have been more accommodating. The food was really excellent…would definitely use Hud Hud again and give you a glowing reference. And happy to recommend your team to others.

We had a fantastic trip and both Chedi and Hud Hud were amazing. We loved Oman.

Thanks again for a fantastic desert experience all round, we really enjoyed it and learned.

Now back in UK with Xmas behind us and nursing fond memories of our time in Oman, and particularly our few days with you in the Empty Quarter. Our thanks to you and the team for making it such fun.

The Hud Hud Team provided an once-in-a-life-time experience to our group of multi-national executives. The ability of the organisers to deal with unforeseen events and maintain the full program without compromise on quality and content made our management meeting an exceptional experience in a truly unique environment.

Just returned to the UK and would like to thank you very much indeed for a wonderful experience in Oman. We hugely enjoyed our drive through the Wadi and the two days camping on the fantastic beach. The return journey to Muscat via the abandoned village was wonderful. It is probably my favourite photograph of the trip – us having a picnic in our directors’ chairs in the deserted street.

My Hud Hud Oman adventure remains close to my heart. It was a quintessential spiritual experience. Add the classy execution of the logistics and the beautiful campsite into the mix and I must say the experience was exquisite. I share my story of this adventure to all and sundry. May others be privileged to enjoy time with you and may abundance rain down on Hud Hud.

Thank you so much for a really fabulous three days that we spent with you. Probably our best ever time on holiday!!!!

I just wanted to send a quick note to thank you for the fabulous, if foreshortened trip to the desert. It was truly memorable and neither of us can believe how much we took in in so short a time. We got a real sense of Arabia, continued in our short stay at the Chedi – and we would both love to come back – which is a first with so many destinations around the world.

Nights are spent under a mass of stars in luxury camps that give you the sense of having stumbled upon a colonial-era expedition.

My selection of the best campsites worldwide… It’s a fairytale Safari.

With Hud Hud’s perfectly calibrated expeditions, one is seduced by the desert’s romance, but equally one begins to understand the reality of the Empty Quarter’s name.

At night, I slept in a spacious tent decked out with linen sheets, listening as the waves of the Arabian Sea broke on the beach and studied the Milky Way with a space-age telescope. And throughout this unadulterated adventure, how many tourists have I come across? Precisely zero.

Oman, the coolest customer in the Middle East – this is the way to do it.

The world we explored every day was hard, barren and alien, the world we encountered at night couldn’t have been warmer or more welcoming. After each day of intense exploration, we’d go back knowing that not only was there an iced drink waiting for us on a beach or on the side of a dune, but a warm shower under the stars, a simple dinner served by gentle smiling Omani men around a candlelit table and a soft bed, with fresh white sheets, to collapse into. And best of all to go to sleep to: the sound of silence.

For many people these days luxury isn’t about gold taps or Rolls-Royce transfers, it’s about escaping from others.

Our first campsite looks like a film set from Lawrence of Arabia: three black-and-white-striped goat-hair tents (bespoke from Aleppo, Syria) and a majilis, or sitting room, decorated with coffeepots, cushions, Indian silks, and fine wool blankets from Dhofar. The magic of the place lies in arriving at the perfect hour, when the setting sun turns the dunes pink and russet, light fills the west-facing tents, and Sean’s staff bring cool drinks-with ice cubes.