After waking up alone with no other people in sight on a several-mile-long white sand beach at Shuwaymiyah in southern Oman, we pack up our tents and camping equipment. My guide and I had found a remote spot on this beach to camp, an essential experience in Oman since wild camping is allowed as long as you’re not on private property, a reminder of the country's strong Bedouin culture.

A few moments after leaving our campsite, however, our decision to camp with no other human beings in sight proves to be a mistake when we get hopelessly stuck in a patch of soft sand. After a very sweaty hour of trying different ways to get out, to no avail, my guide decides to seek help at a village about an hour’s walk away. While I take a break from digging, a pod of dolphins passes by so close to shore that I am tempted to jump into the Indian Ocean and join them for a swim.

We wouldn’t be Wild Frontiers if we weren’t seeking new experiences and venturing to less-visited places. Even in a country like Oman, where tourism is well established, there are still off-the-beaten-path experiences to be found. And despite losing three hours being stuck on a beach, this proved to be one of the many highlights of my trip, especially when two passersby came to help us out without being asked, a telltale sign of the warm Omani hospitality.

Only a fraction of the tourists venture south of the classic northern Oman loop, and you can’t blame them. The north of the country offers a plethora of amazing mountain scenery, beautiful old villages, iconic wadis (dry or wet riverbeds with a semi-permanent water source, resulting in an oasis-like ecosystem) and history – Oman was a maritime trade powerhouse in the last millennium. For anyone with at least 10 days to spare, you could have the most unforgettable trip to the north of this beautiful country.

Going south, however, means truly stepping off the tourist trail, which opens up a whole range of other experiences. Although wild camping is one of them, if that's not your cup of tea, fear not, there are incredible hotels and resorts down in this part of the country, too. While it's true that driving distances are much longer than you'd typically find on a northern loop, many kilometres will be ‘off-roading’ and you will definitely spend a considerable amount of time in the car, but it’s a rewarding road trip for those who make the effort to go further.

Anything below the Wahiba Sands would be considered ‘southern Oman’, and I’ve listed a few highlights of the region below:

These white dunes, located near the fishing town of Al Khaluf, are absolutely stunning and are a few hours south of the Wahiba Sands, so an ideal stop on your way down to Salalah. There are wild camping opportunities here, or you could also stay at the comfortable and brand new Sugar Dunes Beach Resort.

Remember the long beach where we got stuck? Well, this is the one, and I’m pretty sure my guide has learnt his lesson and will share this with his colleagues so it won’t have to happen to you. Although the beach is endless, with a gorgeous sunrise and potentially dolphins visiting close to shore, there is also a nearby wadi (also named Shuwaymiyah). The white rock formations towering above the flats of the coastal and wadi area are nothing short of impressive. Inside the wadi, you will find hundreds of camels and a permanent water spring with some surrounding greenery.

If you only visit one place in the south, it has to be the Empty Quarter. Due to the distances, if you’re coming from the north, you would still need a minimum of two nights to get here, with another two nights spent in the desert to make your journey worthwhile. The start of the Empty Quarter is, well, empty. With miles and miles of flat rocky land, with nothing else on the horizon.

The deeper you get into the region, the higher the sand dunes, and about 100 miles in, you will be driving on flatlands (reminding me a bit of Death Valley in the US), with separate high sand dunes surrounding you. The sunsets here are magical and will forever be an amazing memory to me.

There are multiple entry points into the Empty Quarter: from Muqshin or Al Hashman, and you can wild camp pretty much anywhere, or book the remote (and only) proper bungalow with AC and running water (sulphuric from a local source), the Souly Empty Quarter Eco Lodge. You’ll see no other camps nearby, no matter where you stay, making this the ultimate desert destination in the Middle East!

This city is the largest in southern Oman and an ideal end or starting point for your Oman adventure. There are daily flights to both Doha and Muscat from here, so it’s very well connected and means you can fly out after driving all the way down here. You could, of course, also do an entire southern Oman trip without venturing north, as there is so much to do around here.

Sightseeing in Salalah is mostly split into a ‘West Salalah’ and ‘East Salalah’, each possible on a day trip. In the West, you will enjoy incredible beaches surrounded by impressive mountains that end directly into the ocean. For example, the remote Fazayah Beach, perhaps one of the most impressive beaches in Oman, which is a big feat since the country has a coastline of over 3000km long.

Salalah is also the only place in Oman that receives an amount of rainfall worth mentioning, since the monsoon rains from the Indian Ocean reach the mountainous area around the city. This turns the mountains and coastal region green in June to August, a very unique sight in Oman, which I am desperate to see in real life one day. During these months, however, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula and Gulf states want to visit the city since it’s an escape from the excruciatingly hot and dry summer elsewhere on the peninsula. As hotels and the whole region are very busy during this time, we would recommend visiting from September to October, when some greenery will remain and prices and crowds have dropped.

In ‘East Salalah’, a visit to Taqah village and its castle is a must; if you’re lucky, you’ll also find flamingos in the local lagoon and the beach is frequented by large groups of camels too. Another 10 minutes away is perhaps one of the most famous sites of Salalah: Wadi Darbat. Even in the dry season, there is water in the wadi, which results in a green oasis where people and animals alike love to spend time. For birdwatchers, especially in the later stage of the dry season, this is the place to be: you’ll find Yellow Weavers, African Paradise Flycatchers and many more species. In the green season, and depending on the rains that year, perhaps until November, there is even a very impressive waterfall here.

The city itself also boasts an incredible mosque, a souq where you can fill your last remaining space in your suitcase before your flight home, and the archaeological site and museum of the ancient city of Al Baleed (described by Marco Polo on his voyages).

Although you can stay at incredible five-star luxury resorts such as the Anantara or Crowne Plaza, there is also a more remote but very comfortable beach bungalow camp (Souly Ecolodge Salalah) for those looking for a different experience.

Oman is so much more than the north alone, and I hope you’ll give it a chance too. You’ll be rewarded with unique and different experiences very hard to come by elsewhere in the region.