Bar Al Hikman the Maldives of Oman – Travel to the end of the world and experience the paradise of Bar Al Hikman

Bar Al Hikman called the Maldives of Oman. I have not yet been to the Maldives but totally understand why it is called that. It is paradise, a beautiful wetland along the coast of Oman. You’ll find Whales Head Camp here, a place where you have a perfect getaway for a day of complete enjoyment.

Truly a place where you can get all zen again. Away from all the hustle and bustle… away from all the traffic and all the noise of life as we know it. There is peace, there is time and there is no wifi! We only stayed there for a full day and felt like we had been there for a few days.

What a great place and atmosphere they have created there.

Bar Al Hikman the Maldives of Oman

After a few hours’ drive across seemingly endless plains, we arrive at Whales Head Camp by about 4 o’clock. On the plains, there is suddenly some greenery and in between we see the black and white Bedouin tents where you can spend the night. There is also the big building, 2 stories high, so you get great views of the surroundings.

We are enthusiastically welcomed there by the crew and when we are just there, the 4 Saudi Arabians leave the camp. They are 4 men on big motorbikes who crossed the plain just like us….only on motorbikes! They are going to travel on again and have only been here for lunch we hear. What an adventurous journey!

Relax and unwind at Whales Head Camp – Bar Alhikman

We go for a walk in the lagoon, along the edge of the clear blue water. The beach is wide at this time, in the middle of the day, as the water is at its lowest. We marvel at the many crabs we see and the sounds we hear in the background. When we return after an hour, we notice that the water is already rising higher.

We are told that the water is high in the evening but then retreats for a while during the night. Then it will rise again and when we wake up it will be at its highest and we will be able to swim in front of Whales Head Camp, our accommodation. It is still hard to imagine but we are confident that we will be able to snorkel, supp and kayak tomorrow.

We are all looking forward to it.

We enjoy the peace and quiet, the beautiful sunset and walk right out of the afternoon… into the balmy evening.

What a little paradise Bar Alhikman is.

Travel to the end of the world
Imagine yourself in paradise of Bar Al Hikman

At Bar Alhikman you are offline and we talk.

The location is small-scale, which gives it a nice and protected feeling. You spend a day living with the Omani Crew at Whales Head Camp. The crew is chatty and happy to entertain us, like teaching us how to fold the traditional cloth around the head. And after a pleasant evening chatting with the crew, half go to bed on time and a few have some fun adventures with the many crabs on the beach!

Sunrise early morning at Bar Alhikman

Then, when we come out in the morning and look around, we see that the water is almost up to our shelter. The world then suddenly looks different. We see movement in the water everywhere. When we look at the water from our accommodation (2nd floor), we see fish swimming everywhere. From quite large to super small fish. Several birds are then also standing there catching their meal. What a super beautiful sight it is!

And imagine… all you hear is the sound of the birds…

Supping and kajakking at Bar Alhikman

After breakfast, we all grab a sup or kayak and take a nice tour. There is one kayak that is made of transparent plastic but of course all the fish have long gone by the time you sail over it. The scenery and temperature are lovely at this time, early in the morning. Very occasionally we see a small turtle shooting away in front of us but we don’t really see any fish.

Snorkelling at Bar Alhikman – The maldives of Oman

Since we decided to leave after lunch, we still had time to go snorkelling. So we handed back our sup and kayak and got on the boat. It was half an hour by boat to where we were going to snorkel.

On the way, we saw many fish jumping out of the water, skimming over the water and some turtles swimming away in front of us. I especially love those flying fish skimming over the water. Some really keep going metres across the water. How do they manage it?

What a paradise is the lagoon Bar Alhikman!

Sleeping at Whales Head Camp – Bar Alhikman

If you stay at Whales Head Camp, you can choose to sleep in a Bedouin tent where you are thus lovely on the beach. Your own spot in paradise!

But you can also sleep as we did, with the whole group on the top floor. From there you have a great view in the early evening and morning with the sunrise. What a lovely spot!

Whichever one you choose doesn’t matter, Whales Head Camp is a wonderful place to completely unwind.

On the well-known booking sites, Whales Head Camp cannot yet be found. You can contact them via them instagram and ask for information about staying overnight in their little paradise.

Coming and going – Bar Al Hikman, Oman

Bar Al Hikman from Muscat

It is about 500 km and will take you about 5 hours. It is mostly a long road with few turns. The last part of your trip is off road driving across a salt flat. There is not really a road anymore so you will have to rely on the fact that your navigation will give you direction on how to cross the salt flats. We were happy with guide/driver Abdullah who knew where to go.

If you consider that the clue was… After the big tree you turn left then it does mean you have arrived at the end of the world. There are no signs, no roads or other directions to show you the way. Just a rough direction with several tyre tracks in the wide empty panorama ahead.

Bar Alhikman from Sur

This is about 350 km and again will take you about 5 hours. You can drive a bit inland or along the coast. In terms of time, it won’t make much difference. This is the route we drove. The first part we drove through Oman’s huge mountains to later drive for hours along the vast coast.

Bar Alhikman fom Nizwa.

This is about 350 km and will take you about 4 hours of driving. You will end up on the long road from Muscat to Salalah and will then have to turn right at the big tree because you will arrive from the other side. Unfortunately, I can’t give a better description.

Stop on the way to Bar Al Hikman

If you are coming from Muscat or Sur, you can stop at the Pink Lagoon on the way. A beautiful and interesting natural phenomenon.

Water birds come here on their migration. When we were there, it was quiet but who knows, you might find a lively Pink Lagoon there.

After standing here on the plain in the wind and heat 🙂 we had a quick lunch along the road at a Pakistani restaurant.

Would you drive a few hours to spend the night at the lagoon Bar Al Hikman the Maldives of Oman?

I am glad we did it anyway, on my first tours I looked away from it but it has really been worth spending hours in the car for.

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I hope you enjoy this beautiful world as much as I do