My daughter and I absolutely loved this trip. We were collected at just after 6.30 am from our hotel. Very nice driver and car. We were taken to a meeting place where we boarded our coach that then took us up to the port. To transfer into Oman to catch the dhow all we had to do was raise our passports and we crossed the border.
To board our dhow we had to transfer across several other dhows which was quite an experience. The various crews helped us dhow cross to get to our particular dhow. I should also mention a very kind Russian lady who help me down quite a drop between the quay and the first dhow. I think that she helped a number of people.
Anyway, once we selected our loungers on the top deck we settled in for a very nice cruise up the coast. The crew offered sea sickness tablets which a number of people took advantage of, me included. All the announcements were made in Russian and English. Later in the day we found two American gentleman and between us we realised that we were the token non-Russians. We don't know how we ended up on the "Russian tour" as one of the American gentleman put but we had a nice time anyway and didn't feel out of place at all.
Once we set off, refreshments were available. Hot and cold drinks, fruit and biscuits. Nice and light. We then stopped for swimming and lunch, with waterborne activities. The food was excellent. I really enjoyed it and there was plenty of it which was nice. The caterer hadn't stinted on the food at all. We swam, went kayaking, some people went on the banana ride (choice of two - children and extreme). We then went to a beach and had a good 30 minutes there before transferring back to the dhow. Another leisurely cruise down the coast back to port.
We picked up our coach at the quay for the drive back. A quick transfer to a 4x4 and we were then driven down to our hotel. We were shattered but would definitely do this trip again.
We thoroughly enjoyed the day. Plenty to see and do. Lots to eat and drink.
We recommend this trip.
PS: To the two American gentleman. If you are reading this, we didn't have time to say goodbye and wish you both luck in your next endeavour.
