After crossing the border, our first stop was a little sleepy town on Ibri. We parked near the Old Souq and wandered in the heart of town, around the imposing building of Ibri Castle, to explore the ruins of the old town. Then we moved to the enormous Sulaif castle on the edge of Ibri. It has been sensitively restored to give a flavor of the original without rebuilding all its parts. The castle, which is more than 600 years old and has foundations that are said to predate the arrival of Islam in Oman, has seven towers among the extensive battlements. Quotes from the Quran, Persian dates, and hand imprints feature on the underside of some arches.
Border crossing
It was easy and smooth to cross the border between UAE and Oman. On the UAE side, we did stamp our CPD and paid an exit fee of 30,42 AED per person. On the Omani side, we bought the mandatory truck insurance from Liva (23,10 OMR / 30 days) and then moved to customs. They just took a look in the truck and asked if we carried any alcohol, then they stamped our CPD, and we left for passport control, where we got our exit slip. We made in advance our online tourist visa valid for a 30-day stay (20 OMR). Otherwise, we would get only 14 days free visa at the border. In the first shop after the border, we bought our Omantel sim card (2 OMR for a sim card and 15 OMR for 22 GB / 30 days). Recharge of data can be done in any shop – (2 GB / 1 day / 1,50 OMR) or (3 OMR / 1 day / unlimited) or (5 GB / 30 days / 3,25 OMR). After a few kilometers, we hit a local Al Maha gasoline station and took much cheaper diesel than in UAE (0,258 OMR / liter).
Parking location – Ibri: 23.205039N 56.525371E (🚻 – in mosque)