A young woman with long, wavy hair smiling outdoors in a desert-like setting with camels in the background.

Luca Krohn

Head of Oman

For over seven years, I have been involved with Take Memories and the Orient – not just at the desk but on-site: I lived for several months in Oman, worked with our team in the desert camp of Canvas Club, and visited and stayed in every hotel that we recommend to you. As a woman, I have also traveled alone through the region and can therefore share from my own experience how safe and welcoming Oman and the UAE truly feel.

luca@takememories.com
A woman with wavy light brown hair is smiling in an outdoor market setting with colorful beads and decorations hanging above.
What defines Oman and the UAE for me is the pure hospitality, a security in which you can simply leave your car unlocked, and a diversity between mountains, desert, and turquoise blue pools that I have hardly experienced anywhere else.
A young woman in a purple dress leans out of the window of a moving train on a lush, green hillside.
A woman stands on a stone pathway in a tropical garden at sunset, with palm trees, a gazebo, and the ocean in the background.
A woman shopping for pottery in a craft store, smiling and reaching for an item on a display table.
A smiling woman sitting on a colorful cushioned mattress on the desert sand during sunset in Oman.
A woman with long curly hair, wearing a beige cap and red sunglasses, is smiling outdoors in a safari setting.

On my bucket list

Egypt

Right at the top of my personal wish list is actually a trip outside my two special areas: Egypt. I want to glide over the Nile on a traditional felucca, visit the new museum in Cairo, and finally stand in front of the pyramids. It is the one place where I am still just at the beginning of my discovery journey.

Discover Egypt with us

My next trip

Back to Oman

Next, I will go back to Oman, to my team and into the desert. That is where I love to spend my nights: under a starry sky that almost overwhelms you, in a silence and seclusion that I cannot find anywhere else.

Discover Oman with us

About Luca - How the Orient captured my heart

I actually came to the region by chance: My best friend did an internship at Canvas Club, our desert camp in Oman, years ago and advised me to apply as well. Since we place a great emphasis on Oman at Take Memories, I have been intensively involved with the country from the very beginning – and I have stayed.

I lived for several months in Oman and worked with our team on-site: set up tents in the desert camp, cooked together, and spent evenings sitting together to improve things. I have traveled by car through the country myself and now know every turn; many guides and hotel partners have become friends of mine. As a woman, I have also been traveling alone – an experience that has shown me how unfounded some prejudices about the region are.

What still excites me is this very diversity: rugged mountains, endless desert, and turquoise blue pools in between, often just a few hours’ drive apart. Additionally, the warmth of the people, the security felt in everyday life, and the friendships that have formed over the years. Much here is still pleasantly pure – and that is what never lets me fully go.

Places that particularly excite me

Musandam

The north of Oman, the region around Musandam, has particularly captivated me. The hospitality here, in this small, remote region, is noticeably greater – you can feel the pure joy of the people when visitors come and show interest in their homeland.

The fjord landscape there is unique to the Arabian Peninsula. During my first dhow trip, I felt terrible for three hours, and afterwards, I had real respect for a second trip. But the water in the fjords was so calm that nothing happened to me – instead, I enjoyed the landscape to the fullest while dolphins swam beside our boat and the team dove for shells that we ate fresh on board.

In the evenings, I went fishing with a few Omanis, completely without a rod – just with a line on a spool. I thought it would take ages, but the fish bit immediately. Later, we had the catch prepared at the restaurant. Such evenings are unforgettable.

Crossing the Rub al-Khali

One of my most intense experiences so far was the six-day crossing of the Rub al-Khali, the "Empty Quarter," with a group of 16 people. We started from the Wahiba Sands and drove by jeep all the way to Salalah, where we finally arrived at Alila Hinu Bay.

For six days, we had no mobile reception. We only drove the jeeps over the dunes, guided by walkie-talkie from our guides, who knew exactly how to navigate the formations best. Every evening, we set up our camp somewhere in the middle of the desert. The colors and heights of the dunes change from day to day, even though it's just "desert."

What stuck with me the most were the evenings by the campfire, completely without connectivity. This seclusion from civilization, this simple being without any connection to the outside, is such a rare feeling that I will carry it with me forever.

Anantara Qasr Al Sarab, Abu Dhabi

In the UAE, Anantara Qasr Al Sarab is my absolute favorite hotel. I took this trip together with my colleague Laila, with whom I also travel a lot in the Emirates. After several hours of driving, this resort suddenly appears in the middle of the desert, almost like a small village among the dunes. Once there, you really need nothing more – we lounged by the pool and enjoyed the silence around us as if civilization no longer existed.

The most beautiful moment for me was the early morning when we got up for a hike over the dunes. The light, the silence, the vastness – a moment I would recommend to anyone who spends a night in this hotel.

See where I've traveled

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