The fabled Empty Quarter is the most famous of Oman’s deserts but its inaccessibility means it is only for the very intrepid. By contrast the Wahiba Sands is only a few hours from Muscat, yet it is in no way a “light” version of the desert, stretching nearly 200 miles from north to south and home to towering dunes, valleys of harder, ridged sand and a few Bedouin families and their camels. Excellent fixed camps mean you can spend a night in the desert in relative comfort, enjoying a range of activities from 4×4 drives to camel rides. Most of all it gives you the chance to see a desert sky at night, so filled with stars and so free of light pollution you can read a book by star light, and the familiar constellations are almost impossible to pick out from amongst the million points of light.