Starry Domes Desert Camp is a true gem and the ultimate glamping experience in Wahiba Sands. We had an amazing stay in a luxurious dome tent with a magnificent desert view. If you’re looking for a peaceful and intimate setting amidst the beautiful sand dunes, look no further than Starry Domes!
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Our stay at Starry Domes Desert Camp was part of our 4-day Oman road trip. When trying to decide where to stay in Wahiba Sands, aka Sharqiya Sands, there were so many desert camps to choose from.
When we saw the beautiful dome tents of Starry Domes Desert Camp we were immediately intrigued. However, having only recently opened, with no website and only an Instagram page without much information or reviews, we were a bit hesitant to book a stay at first.
We decided to just go for it, and we are so glad we did! Our stay was amazing, and we want to share this detailed review with anyone who may be on the fence about booking this desert camp.
Location
Starry Domes Desert Camp is located within Wahiba Sands, about 15km from the town of Bidiyah in Oman. Set amongst the sand dunes, away from any other buildings, camps, and roads, you will truly feel like you are getting away from it all.
How to get to Starry Domes Desert Camp
You have two options for getting to Starry Domes Desert Camp: you can drive yourself, either from Muscat or Dubai/the UAE, or you can arrange a transfer from either Muscat or Bidiyah.
Self-Drive
If you choose to self-drive, you will need a 4×4 vehicle. However, just having a 4×4 won’t cut it – you need to actually know how to drive in the desert and be prepared.
Important: If you are in a rental car, most rental companies DO NOT allow driving off-road. Check your rental agreement! Driving in the desert is considered off-road. Some specialized local rental companies DO allow off-roading, so make sure you are actually allowed to take your rental into the desert. Otherwise you risk voiding your insurance and incurring a big bill if anything happens to the rental car.
First, make sure you get the directions from the camp owner so you know exactly where you are going. Cell reception is not the best in the desert depending on your cell provider, and there are hardly any other passing vehicles, so you want to be sure you don’t get lost.
Then, make sure you stop in Bidiyah to let out some air from your tires before you start the drive into the desert.
As long as you have directions and feel confident in driving in the desert, it’s not too difficult to drive yourself to the camp. You can even arrange to meet one of the camp staff in Bidiyah so they can lead you to the camp to ensure you don’t get lost.
Pre-arranged Transfer
For those not up for the adventure of driving themselves through the desert, Starry Domes Desert Camp offers paid transfer service. As mentioned above, if you are in a rental car, you most likely should not be driving it off-road through the desert anyway.
Since we rented a car and drove from Dubai to Oman, we were not allowed to take our rental car off-road into the desert. We contacted the camp ahead of time and arranged for a transfer from Bidiyah.
From Muscat:
If you are coming from Muscat and don’t have a car, you can arrange a transfer with the camp. The roundtrip cost is 80 OMR. Note that this cost is per car, not per person.
From Bidiyah:
If you are able to get yourself to the town of Bidiyah, you can arrange a transfer from Bidiyah to the camp. This is the option we chose and we arranged it with the camp owner ahead of time over WhatsApp.
He sent us Google Maps coordinates to his house in Bidiyah and we arranged to meet him there at a certain time. A friendly driver loaded up our luggage in their comfortable 4×4 and drove us into Wahiba Sands, through the dunes, and to the camp.
The cost for the roundtrip transfer is 30 OMR.
Check-In Process
Check-in is done very casually once you’ve already arrived at your tent. There is no designated check-in area as this is a very small tent camp.
In our case, the driver dropped us off at our tent and a few hours later, the camp owner knocked on our door to introduce himself and collect payment.
- Starry Domes Desert Camp Check-In Time: 3:00pm
- Starry Domes Desert Camp Check-Out Time: 10:00am
The Dome Tents
There are a total of five domes at Starry Domes Desert Camp, all of varying sizes.
Room Types:
- Standard Dome (Mars & Venus) – 28 square metres
- VIP Dome (Jupiter) – 38 square metres with jacuzzi
- VIP Dome (Saturn) – 45 square metres with jacuzzi
- Family Dome (Neptune) – 38 square metres, can sleep up to 6 people
Room Review: Jupiter Dome
We chose the Jupiter VIP Dome as it was the largest at the time we stayed (before the larger Saturn VIP dome was completed) and we loved the look of the jacuzzi.
Entry
A patio surrounds the tent and there are stairs leading up to the entry door.
Tip: Don’t leave your flip flops outside as the wind will blow them away (I speak from experience haha)
Upon entering, you will see the bed in the centre of the dome, a sitting area to your right, and a coffee/tea/snack station to your left.
There is no closet, but a couple of hangers are provided to hang clothing on the decorative wooden ladder.
Bed
The Jupiter dome features a comfy king size bed with ample pillows and comfy blankets. We slept very well, especially since it is so quiet and dark in the middle of the desert.
It was so nice to wake up and have this beautiful view from bed in the morning!
Sitting Area
The sitting area is at the front of the tent, which is all clear plastic so you can admire the desert views.
There are two large comfy chairs with a decorative table in the middle.
At night, you can close the curtains for complete privacy.
Bathroom
The tent comes with its own private bathroom, located behind the bedroom area.
Behind the bed, you will find a small sink with a mirror and small shelf above it.
We were impressed that there were even complimentary toiletries provided.
Towels can be found on the decorative wooden ladder next to the sink. We were also impressed that even slippers were provided!
To the left of the sink is a sliding door leading to the walk-in shower/toilet combo. The hot water is on-demand.
It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, and your feet will get wet when using the toilet if you’ve already used the shower. Not a huge issue as this was something we were used to having lived in Korea where the bathrooms also had shared shower/toilet areas.
The highlight was the super cool jacuzzi next to the bed. We had never seen one like it! The side panel was clear, and it had all kinds of jets, neon lights and even a radio!
Minibar
We were excited to see a minibar in the room with lots of complimentary water, coffee, teas, and even chips and cookies.
Patio
The tent features a large patio with a small table. In front of the patio is a nice hammock as well.
It was too windy to dine on the patio at night, but we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise breakfast on it.
Air Conditioning/Heating
Yes, there is air conditioning in the tent! It is easy to keep the tent at a comfortable temperature using the remote control. You can also just use the fan if you don’t need AC.
If you get cold at night, there is also a small heater provided, but we did not need it.
Does Starry Domes Desert Camp have Wi-Fi?
No, there is no Wi-Fi. You may be able to get cell reception depending on your provider. We could only get very spotty reception, so we were barely even able to send messages on WhatsApp.
Just enjoy being disconnected for a day. 😉
Dining Options
Breakfast is included with your stay and is delivered to your tent in the morning. Dinner can be added on for an additional cost, and is also delivered to your tent in the evening.
During our stay, they were working on completing a new on-site restaurant in a cool-looking glass pyramid. It has since opened so that is now another dining option. We would love to go back and try it out!
Dinner
When we checked in, the owner asked us around what time we would like to eat dinner. We said 7:30pm would be fine and it was delivered to our tent.
It was all packaged very nicely and was a lot of food. We received a full cooler with ice cold drinks, tons of Lebanese bread, a plate of hummus, salad, and a platter of grilled meats (lamb and chicken).
The lamb skewers were the highlight for us. They were kind of spicy and so delicious!
Cost: 7 OMR per person
Breakfast
Breakfast was delivered to our patio at 7:30am.
It consisted of croissants, more Lebanese bread, a full container of Labneh (yum!), lots of dates, eggs with tomato, and egg bread. And, of course, Arabic tea.
Activities
The typical desert activities can be arranged at an additional cost, but there are also a number of free activities at Starry Domes Camp.
With only a one day stay, we wanted to just enjoy our dome tent and the immediate area. We didn’t feel the need to book any additional activities. Taking photos on the dunes was fun enough for us!
Zipline
A unique activity available at the camp is a zipline over the dunes, and it is completely free!
Mirrors
Starry Domes Camp gets an A+ when it comes to Instagrammable spots around the camp! They have mirrors set up that allow you to get some super fun shots.
Swing
In addition to the cool mirrors, they also have a very Instagrammable swing!
The sand had been blown up to the swing when we were there so it wasn’t that easy to actually swing on it. Regardless, it still made for some fun photos!
Dune Bashing
For many people, dune bashing is a highlight of their trip to Wahiba Sands. If you’d like to partake in this exciting activity, you can book it for an additional 25 OMR (total, not per person).
I unfortunately suffer from motion sickness so we skipped this activity. However, we did get a little taste of it on our ride back from the camp to our car, so that was a nice treat.
Camel Ride
If you’ve dreamt of riding a camel through the desert and over the dunes, here is your chance! You can book a ride for an additional 3 OMR per 15 minutes.
We’ve ridden a number of camels in our lifetime so we skipped this, but it is certainly a gorgeous setting to do it in!
Star Gazing
Nighttime here is perfect for star gazing and photography, hence the name Starry Domes. There is no light pollution so you can see so many stars. We unfortunately didn’t bring a tripod so we weren’t able to take any good shots, but it was beautiful.
Video Room Tour
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a unique experience in Oman, we highly recommend a stay here! The small, intimate size of the camp and its location make Starry Domes Desert Camp the perfect place for a peaceful and luxurious glamping getaway.
This is an amazing place to capture some beautiful desert photography, drone footage and nighttime shots.
How many nights to spend at Starry Domes Desert Camp?
A one night stay is probably perfect for most visitors, up to a maximum of two nights. With two nights, you could enjoy more of the activities offered by the camp, but anything longer than two nights, you may get bored.
Booking Starry Domes Desert Camp
Booking Starry Domes Desert Camp is done through Booking.com.
Payment is not required at the time of booking. You must pay with cash upon arrival.
Tip: Take out cash from an ATM in Muscat before heading to Wahiba Sands.
After you’ve made your reservation through Booking.com, you’ll likely hear from the camp via WhatsApp message or through Booking.com messaging. This is how you can arrange for transfers, meals and activities.
- Starry Domes Desert Camp Phone Number: +968 9144 1136 (can also use for WhatsApp)
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Check out our other Oman posts!
Oman Road Trip – A 4 Day Self-Drive Oman Itinerary
Driving in Oman – What to expect as a foreigner
Dubai to Oman by Road – Everything to know about driving across the border!
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