Ras Markaz is hands down the most gorgeous beach I’ve seen so far in Oman! This beach is one of the secret gems of Oman that very few have heard of let alone experienced. This is how you get there from Duqm:
To get to Ras Markaz, you should zero your odometer at the shell petrol station (which is, sadly, the major landmark in Duqm!) and drive in the direction of Hayma. Don’t rely on anyone to be able to help you out with directions in this middle-of-nowhere-place. None of the men I tried asking at the shell station (or the “Coral Reefs Market” next to it) seemed to understand any English. None of the hotel employees seemed to know any directions (even though their English is obviously very good). The directions we did receive from the hotel manager had us lost in the backroads of the Duqm wasteland for 2 hours! (Better if we hadn’t asked!)
After 17.5 kms, you should see this sign. (Not 1 km that we were first told, nor 5 kms that we were told later!) Head straight for al Jazar (but that is not your destination!).
Another sign you should come across that lets you know you’re on the right road. The directions we received mentioned Ras Markaz being on the “Ras Madrakah” road but the problem is that this was the first time we saw a sign mentioning “Ras Madrakah”!
At exactly 49 kms from the Duzm shell station you will find this turnoff for Ras Markaz.
It’s a pretty rough road the 14kms to Ras Markaz so a 4X4 is recommended.
At 14 kms, you can see the beach and cliffs in the distance. The road suddenly switches to sweet asphalt after an extremely bumpy 14 kms of dirtroad.
The paved road leading down to the beach – “At Ras Markaz, a newly paved blacktop cuts a serpentine path down to the beach
below, affording breathtaking views of the seafront.
”
Voila! The view coming down!
Ras Markaz is said to be a “kilometre-long stretch of virgin beachfront“, but it seemed much longer than just one kilometre.
Mommy and Naomi at the beach which we had all to ourselves!
Plenty of sand so Gershom was happy! 🙂
Yours truly taking a swim at our own private little beach for the day
Another short vid:
Just before we left, Mr. Crab popped out to wave goodbye. 🙂
Have any of you been to Ras Markaz? I’m not much of a camper but this seemed to me to be the perfect site for a camping trip!
Andy in Oman 
Hello Andy:
My name is Gemma and I am writing to you from Spain.
My mother and myself spent 3 wonderful days of our 2011 holidays in Oman and we are willing to come back again one day… (inshallah!!). Not long ago I started to read your blog and it is not needed to say that I would to be where you are… lol. Now I have a doubt about your last post and I would like to ask you two simple questions:
1- How many kms from Muscat to reach this wonderful beach?
2- How many hours by car more or less?
I would like to participate in your blog posting some comments from time to time, so please be patient with my english!!!!.
Thanks!!
Gemma
Hi Gemma,
I hope you get a chance to enjoy more of the Sultanate. I’m not about how many kms exactly from Muscat but It’s 5-6 hours from Muscat to Duqm and then about an hour to get to this beach from Duqm. Will get back to you with the kms when I find the notes I took on the drive. Please feel free to comment anytime. Your English is great! 🙂
That’s a slice of heaven right there. Those cliffs with the blue in background.. *_*
Yes, Kapil. It’s a gorgeous spot!
Did you see the big shipwreck (or grounded ship at least) on the way between Duqm and RM ? I spent a very pleasant 30mins bobbing around in the water there once, on the way to a worksite in a truck with a busted AC in the middle of summer 🙂 White sand and bright blue sea … beautiful
Blewyn,
No, we didn’t see any shipwreck. Sounds fascinating! I think you must have taken a different road as we didn’t see any of the ocean until we showed up at Ras Markaz!
Some great pictures there Andy… definitely a spot I’d like to find myself!!
Thanks, Sythe. Always nice to see a comment from Oman’s top English blogger! 🙂 I’m sure you and “Mrs. Sythe” would love it!
Hi Andy
thanks for the info, a real gem by the looks..
regards camping, did you see if it was possible to gain access to the beach by 4×4..?
cheers
doobre
Doobre,
Hi! Thanks for commenting. It is a real gem of a beach! We saw one family drive unto the beach and then they drove clear up to the other end of the beach. There were tracks from fishermens’ trucks as well, so yes, there is access to the beach! Cheers! 🙂
This is so beautiful eh? I should spend more time outside Muscat!
Since you said you are not much of a camper, I assumed you did not camp there. So did you drive from Muscat and back in a day then? Or did you spend a night close by the beach somewhere?
Hi, Jado! Well, since posting this one, I posted pics for now of the “floating hotel”, Veronica Duqm so you might have guessed (rightly!) that that’s where we stayed. We spent 2 nights in Duqm which was a nice way to break up all that driving! 😉
Andy, we NEED high-res pictures!!! This stuff is wallpaper material.
I thought these were high-res pics! 😦 I guess I should at least be happy that you said my pics were “wallpaper” material rather than “toilet paper”, haha! 😉
good one, planning to visit this private beach in national day holidays…
Enjoy! I hope you have a fabulous time there!