Philip Eichkorn
CEO / Managing Director
I am Philip Eichkorn, co-founder and managing director of Canvas Club Oman. In 2014, together with Stefan Ullsperger, I set up our first tent in the middle of the Wahiba Desert – from which our luxury desert camp and later Take Memories Travel Design emerged. Oman was the first country I fell in love with at first sight, and I am still your contact person for the country and its deserts.
Not being reachable and fully immersing oneself in nature and fellow humans is the most beautiful thing I know – you regain access to your environment that often gets lost otherwise.
On my bucket list
Wadi Tiwi – Wadi Hawer
Even after all these years, I still discover new oases and mountain regions in Oman. At the top of my own list is a multi-day Wadi hike with donkeys from Wadi Tiwi to Wadi Hawer. I prefer to set the route and pace myself, just like on our own TheOmanExpedition through the Rub al Khali.
Read more about Wadi TiwiMy next trip
Salalah
Next, I’m heading to the western part of the country, to Salalah, near the border with Yemen. I will be there during the time when the Bedouins relocate their camels in huge caravans through the green wadis after the Khareef – an event I have wanted to witness for a long time.
Learn more about SalalahHow Oman captured my heart
Oman was the first country I fell in love with at first sight, and this love has never left me. In 2014, together with Stefan Ullsperger, I personally hammered the first tents into the dune sand in the scorching heat of the Wahiba Sands – at a time when there was no team, no fixed structures, and the word glamping had just been invented. We didn’t want to build a classic luxury hotel, but rather create a place that feels different. Thus, Canvas Club arose, our camp in the midst of the dunes of the Wahiba Sands, which later also led to the growth of Take Memories.
What excites me most about Oman to this day are the people with their purity and warmth, and the diversity of the country among oases, mountains, and endless desert. I have now seen almost every corner of the country and even paved new routes with our own TheOmanExpedition as the first company ever to cross the Rub al Khali on a self-driving basis. My aspiration is always the authentic experience, far from the standard – I design products like our desert camps and the Oman Expedition myself on the drawing board and test them thoroughly before our guests experience them. There are still places in Oman where, apart from nature and a few locals, there’s simply nothing – and that’s exactly what makes this country so special to me to this day. I also talk about my experiences in the desert in tourism podcasts and as a lecturer at the CBS International Business School in Cologne.
Places that particularly excite me in Oman
Wahiba Sands & our Camp Canvas Club
For me, our camp in the Wahiba Sands is the place where it all began. What has stayed with me the most are the conversations with Ali by the campfire – about the stars, the shape of the dunes, and a life deep in the desert where the Bedouins are its neighbors and the camels are its friends. Exactly this feeling of closeness and tranquility is what Stefan and I wanted to pass on from the very beginning when we set up our first tent here.
Rub al Khali
The Rub al Khali is one of the most impressive landscapes I know: the largest dunes in the world, endless expanses, and several days of complete silence. With our TheOmanExpedition , we were the first company to cross this desert on a self-driving basis – an experience that pushes you to your limits and at the same time humbles you.
Remote wadis and mountain villages
What I love most are the remote wadis of Oman, such as Wadi Shuwaymiah south of Salalah with its white limestone cliffs, or Wadi Hawer with its canyon. I am equally excited about crossing the mountains past small, secluded villages like in Wadi Bani Awf. These places show a side of Oman that many travelers never get to see – and that’s exactly what makes them so special to me.
Mentions
I have published articles in various renowned publications and have been mentioned, including in FAZ, Leadersnet, Kölner Wissenschaftsrunde, Spiegel, DUP Magazine, Touristik Aktuell, TIP Online, Travelnews, CBS, Golfregional, and Vogue:
- FOCUS "Superstar producer Avicii and Oman"
- Frankfurter Allgemeine (FAZ) "Starting a business in Oman"
- Leadersnet (Luxury News) "Philip Eichkorn in an interview"
- SPIEGEL "Oman travel during the Corona pandemic"
- Vogue Germany "Yoga in the desert of Oman"
See where I've traveled
Yemen as a day trip
A day trip from Salalah across the border that has inspired me sustainably – the purest heart of Arab hospitality and people who welcomed us like old friends, although no tourists had been there for years. Currently, we are the only tour operator offering this.
The Oman Expedition
With our own TheOmanExpedition, we were the first company ever to cross the Rub al Khali, the largest sand desert in the world, on a self-driving basis – days of silence, endless dunes, and an experience that pushes you to your limits and at the same time humbles you.
Canvas Club Camp
Our camp in the Wahiba Sands is the place where it all began – in 2014, Stefan and I personally hammered the first tents into the dune sand here, and to this day, it is the conversations with Ali by the campfire about stars, dunes, and a life where Bedouins are neighbors and camels are friends that draw me back again and again.
