Oman – conditions of participation
BaltiCCycle (BC) is not a commercial tour, all organizers are volunteers, and the collected registration fee goes only for covering organizational expenses. Joining BC you become a part of the team, and we expect from you a good will and a right understanding of our principles and rules. Your assistance in organizing the daily program and solving all difficulties is highly appreciated.
Notes. The ride will happen on the conditions we offer below if enough participants – at least 10 covering all parts of the route – register for the tour. We need to know this in advance (for booking campsites, car hire, etc.); therefore, the deadline for registration is set for November 19, 2024, two months before the start date. If we do not gather enough participants, the membership fee will be refunded to you, and you can go on the ride yourself, sharing all expenses with the other participants. After registering you will be regularly informed by email about the registration progress. The ride is open to everybody but before signing you should think about your mental and physical capability to complete it not making problems for yourself and the group.
BC participants gather for the ride from different countries. We recommend bringing on your bike a national flag or another symbol so that local people can see us as an international-friendly cycling community.
Organizational rules. We try to keep our organizational principles similar to the previous BC tours, but each of our routes is different; therefore, it is impossible to work out all the details in advance.
- The average day distance is ~80 km, though some days are exceeding 100 km.
- The rest days are planned once a week or even day by day if there are interesting places to visit.
- We will sleep in tents in official campsites, sometimes in wild places (the support car will bring drinkable water and take out rubbish) and hostels when camping is not available.
- The BC support car will carry our luggage the whole trip. The service of luggage transportation is limited to 20 kg. You can pack your stuff in 2-3 compact bags.
- The maps with a marked day’s route will be available for downloading from the internet in pdf format. If you need you can print them in advance. Instead of printing, we recommend downloading gpx tracks and maps to your GPS devices.
- The day’s route description will be available for download in advance. Every morning during a map meeting the day’s program will be explained.
- From sleeping to sleeping place you can travel individually or in small groups. When according to the program some common event is planned we will cycle in one group wearing T-shirts and other BC symbols.
- In case of a serious emergency, you can call the driver asking to transport you to the nearest first aid or service centre. In case of injury, sickness or other reasons when the participant is not able to continue cycling for more than 2-3 days the organizers can offer to transport the cyclist and the bike, but not longer.
- When planning the route, we try to avoid roads with high levels of traffic but not everywhere it is possible. You should be very careful cycling on busy roads. The longer part of the route will go on asphalt roads.
Membership fee. It is fixed at 30 €/day. You have to indicate the number of days you plan to travel in the table of the Registration Form, and your membership fee for the whole tour will be counted automatically. To organize the whole event with fewer troubles we ask everybody who has the intention to take part in the ride to fill out the Registration Form as soon as possible. If the registration and the half of membership fee are not received until November 19, 2024 discounts are cancelled, and the fee increases by 10 %. If the second part of the fee is not received 10 days before your start day, the fee increases by 10 % too.
The membership fee will not be required from those local cyclists who help in organizing the ride and will cycle for less than 3 days. They have to cover only the sleeping costs. The organizers would appreciate it if local participants would purchase a package with ride symbols (T-shirts, flag and sticker).
The membership fee includes:
- sleeping places in tents or hostels;
- car following the group with all luggage, first-aid kit and basic bicycle repair instruments and tools; possibility to call the car in case of emergency;
- transportation of luggage 20 kg;
- downloadable copies of maps with the marked route (pdf, gpx files); list of recommended sights as well as a short description;
- T-shirts (for more than 10 days participation), flag and sticker with BC2025 ride symbols;
- daily consultation regarding the route and cultural program;
- cozy surprises prepared by organizers or local authorities.
Discounts. The discounts are applicable only if the Registration Form and half of the membership fee is received no later than November 19, 2024. Discounts don’t accumulate.
- 15% – BC veterans who cycled more than 100 days in the previous BC tours; if a cyclist reaches 100 BC days during the ride, the discount is counted from this day; and for pupils and students (not more than 26 years old), and families (3 and more people);
- 100% – participants who fully prepare some part of the route (maps, descriptions, camps) will NOT have to pay the membership fee for that part of the route and the same number of days in the same ride or the next BC rides or they receive other gratification agreed with organizers;
- a privilege discount – participants who obtain potential sponsors or support organizers before or during the expedition in another way (preparing the route, driving the support car, etc.) will receive negotiated personally.
Additional paid service (optional):
– booked by registration:
* transportation of additional personal luggage up to 20 kg (2 € per diem);
* T-shirt with the logo of the ride – an additional one or for participants cycling 10 or less days – 20 €;
– booked during the ride:
* possibility to use transport of organizers for arrival/departure to/from the ride for a total distance up to 100 km (5 € per 10 km).
Arrival/Departure. Costs of the arrival/departure are not included in the participation fee. You can join and finish the ride at any point of the route, and you have to plan yourself how to do it. We can pick you up for the additional fee (5 € per 10 km) for the total distance of 100 km. You should contact the ride organizers at least two days before. Leaving from the intermediate points of the route should be not a problem: the public transport connecting towns is available almost everywhere on the route. Click here how to prepare your bicycle for plane transport.
Since we end in Dubai, you can plan to fly in and out of this city and get to the start of the trip by another means of transport. You can also fly directly to Muscat and return from Dubai
Visas. You have to check if you need visas at the Oman consulate in your country. For example citizens of Poland can stay in Oman without tourist visa only 14 days, for longer stay must apply by internet, filling the form or in the Embassy of Oman in Berlin. If you come from the Emirates, you can buy it at the border (20 rials in 2022). Your passport should be valid for at least half of the year ahead from the departure from your country. You can be asked to show your back ticket, booked accommodation, and insurance.
You will get electronic visa to the Emirates at the border, it is valid 90 days.
Ferry. We will use a ferry for the transfer from Shinas to Khasab. The ticket price is not included in the membership fee, and you will pay for it during the ride. We will try to book tickets for the group in advance. If due to weather conditions the ferry is cancelled we will cycle the alternative route to Sharjah.
Catering. It depends only on you. It is recommended to bring along a gas stove for preparing meals in the campsites. There may be some sections without shops or cafes and participants should carry emergency rations.
Vaccination. No obligatory vaccinations to enter Oman, but there are some recommended: hepatitis A, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, typhoid, rabies. If you want to be vaccinated, do it a few weeks before departure and take a yellow booklet with stamps.
Necessary equipment and documents:
- bicycle prepared for travel (carriers with panniers or saddlebags, safe brakes, reflectors and lights); click here for the recommendations how to prepare the bike;
- good bike wear for different weather conditions, especially sun protection creams and glasses;
- cyclist first-aid kit (more parts and tools in the support car);
- first-aid kit (more medicines in the support car), remember of preparations against insect bites;
- valid passport (at least half of the year ahead);
- INDIVIDUAL MEDICAL and TRAVEL INSURANCE is obligatory, no group insurance is provided;
- camping gear (tent, sleeping bag, gas stove etc.);
- money for personal expenses i.e. bicycle repair, food, museums, ferries and other expenses);
- mobile phone;
- GPS navigation or off-line maps on mobile phone.
Children until 18. Children can take part in the ride only together with parents (one or both) or another adult who is authorized by the notary to take care of and is fully responsible for the juvenile.
Luggage transport. We strongly recommend carrying all necessary personal stuff in the panniers on your bike. The service of luggage transportation by the support car is limited to 20 kg. If you plan to transport more kilograms in the support car you have to indicate when registering and pay in advance (2 € per diem). Neither organizers nor drivers are responsible for the safety of your luggage.
Resignation rules. The date of resignation is fixed up when the resignation letter is received by organizers: before the ride by email sigitas@bicycl.lt or bc2025@bicycle.pl, during the ride, it should be delivered to the leaders of the expedition and confirmed by them. The date is important because it determines the amount of the refund. The membership fee is returned in the following manner:
- up to 30 days before the start – 80%;
- less than 30 days before the start – no money repaid, however, 50% is deposited in the participant’s account for the next year’s BC tour;
- during the ride, after 10 days of participation – 80% unused fee (for first 10 days no refund);
- money is paid back under the above-mentioned circumstances within 30 days after the end of the ride;
- money is not paid back to the excluded tour participants;
- if you decide to change the sleeping place provided by the organizers to another, you will cover the cost of it, the organizers don’t give money back if you don’t sleep with a group;
- if due for some reason the participant separates from the group for one or more days (nights) no refund for this lost time is applicable.
Organizer. CROTOS – The Travellers’ Association: +48 604 255 722, bc2025@bicycle.pl, Maryla Zielińska; +37068659375, sigitas@bicycle.lt, Sigitas Kučas.