2012 Fall Tour Group
Nephi’s Bountiful: 9 unforgettable days exploring in beautiful Oman
Personally escorted by Warren Aston
Departing October 9, 2012
To register for the tour, please send email. Read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Tour cost is $1480 pp twin share, includes breakfast buffet daily, 2 lunches and a dinner, tours, transportation, transfers and entrance fees as per itinerary, bilingual local guide, domestic flights in Oman.
Not included: visa fees, other meals, drinks, personal expenses, insurance, tips. Multiple airfare options from East Coast US from $825 roundtrip incl. taxes (or from $269 ex Jordan or Israel) More affordable than ever!
To keep costs as low as possible we offer you the option of flying to Muscat with the airline of your choice. This means you control the carrier, the travel dates and stopover options if you wish. We will advise you on this and for a small service fee we can make the bookings for you. If you have them, you could even use frequent-flyer points!
There are no health requirements. A tourist visa is issued upon arrival (cost varies; US citizens cost is 20 Omani Riyals, about $52).
Reservations are made by emailing us at bountiful-tours@hotmail.com with names and mailing addresses. Space on the tour is then confirmed by payment of a non-refundable $300 deposit per person. The balance of the tour cost is due 60 days before departure. To further reduce costs, we do not accept creditcards but receive payment from your bank direct to our account. This is a simple and inexpensive alternative to credit card or PayPal surcharges. Please email us if you have any questions about this.
Tour Itinerary
The tour commences in beautiful Muscat, the capital of the Sultanate of Oman. In Muscat we will have the rare experience of attending LDS church services in a Moslem country before visiting the magnificent Grand Mosque, the fish market and the harbor. Finally, we will inspect the unusual Sohar, a ship made of wood planks sewn together with coconut fibre; no metal was used. It sailed safely from Oman to China (the “Sindbad Voyage”).
We then fly southwards to the friendly oasis town of Salalah, in the very different Dhofar region. Here we transfer to our traditional seaside hotel with a buffet breakfast daily and opportunities to enjoy the beach at our doorstep. We will first orient ourselves at the new Frankincense and Maritime Museum where numerous items are highly relevant to the Lehi story.
We tour the ongoing excavations of the ancient capital, the blowholes at Mughsayl and the BYU excavation site, Job’s Tomb and Bedouin encampments where we can meet people living a traditional lifestyle. There will be a chance to try camel’s milk!
We will spend a full day at each of the two candidate sites that have been proposed for Nephi’s Bountiful. Having the opportunity to fully assess each of them against the very detailed criteria Nephi recorded allows each person to make their own minds up.
In the process of traveling to the Bountiful sites we see other historically-significant locations in the region and magnificent panoramas from the surrounding mountains. We will also make an evening visit to Salalah’s famed incense souk where frankincense, myrrh, incense burners and other souvenirs of this unique place can be purchased.
The final morning will be free for relaxing, shopping or optional tours. We will review the experience together and then fly back to Muscat in the evening for our flights home.
We are happy to assist anyone wishing to extend their stay in Muscat or Salalah, pre or post tour or both. A range of optional tours within Oman and to the mystical island of Socotra are also available. Just ask!
HOW TO BOOK
1. To hold your space on the tour, simply email us direct at bountiful-tours@hotmail.com. Initially we will need the following for each person:
- Full name as per passport
- Date of birth
- Nationality
We will help you arrange flights if joining from US, Canada, Australia, UK, Europe or other parts of the world.
2. We will email you back to confirm your space on the tour and flights (if applicable). We will give you simple instructions so your bank can wire your deposit directly to the tour account. Most banks allow you to do this online from home. Using a wire transfer is simple, fast and inexpensive. Many banks will charge a small fee ($20 to $30 is normal) for wire transfers. However, this fee is insignificant compared to accepting credit/debit cards that would result in several hundred dollars higher tour costs. We are unable to accept checks as they are subject to significant delays for currency conversion in paying our suppliers.
3. Your bank wires the deposit to our bank.
4. Upon receipt we will email your receipt and begin sending additional details to you.
Read the Frequently Asked Questions.
Operated in conjunction with Bountiful Travel and Tours [Australia], Qld License TAG1218