Sur is one of Oman's oldest port towns, sitting on a sheltered lagoon where the Gulf of Oman meets the Arabian Sea, about 350 km south-east of Muscat. For centuries its fortune was built on the sea — Sur dhows sailed as far as East Africa, India, and the Persian Gulf, and the town still maintains one of the last working traditional boat-building yards in the Arab world. Watching a craftsman shape a wooden hull using techniques unchanged for generations is reason enough to come.
The town itself is quiet and lived-in, without the polish of Muscat. The Al-Ayjah Fort and Sur Fort (Sunaysilah Castle) face each other across the mouth of the lagoon. The covered market in the town centre is good for cheap curries and fresh juice, and there is an outdoor cinema by the seafront on summer evenings. It has the feel of a place that gets on with itself and doesn't especially need your approval.
Sur's real draw is what surrounds it. Wadi Bani Khalid, about 70 km to the north-west, is one of the most beautiful wadis in Oman — deep, clear turquoise pools fed by year-round springs, surrounded by date palms and dramatic limestone walls. To the south, the Ras Al-Jinz Turtle Reserve is one of the most important nesting sites for endangered green sea turtles in the Indian Ocean. Watching turtles come ashore at night to lay their eggs is something you won't forget.