How should a first-time traveller plan an Oman itinerary?
Oman is best planned as a road trip with a clear shape. Start in Muscat, then build around Nizwa, the Hajar mountains, wadis and one desert or coast extension instead of trying to collect every famous place.
Answer
The satisfying first Oman route is usually a northern loop, not a national survey. Muscat is the soft landing: sea air, mosque, souq and a sense of how the country moves. Nizwa then gives the trip an inland hinge for forts, villages and mountain roads. From there, add a wadi, a highland stay or a desert night, but do not keep layering on Salalah, Musandam and every coastal stop unless the trip has real time. Oman’s payoff is spaciousness; overpack it and you turn that calm into a driving schedule.