trying to reach turkey from egypt, any way possible
 

Hi, We are 4 motorcyclists from Cape Town stuck in Aswan, 19.02.2012, waiting for the barge to bring our bikes from Wadi Halfa. We're trying to plan the way ahead through jordan and syria to Turkey, over the next week or so. Any updated advice and personal experience is welcome w.r.t. access to syria, visa processing in Egypt, eg. how long it takes, if at all; having GPS, cameras, laptop.

No worries, Turkish menalines will start transferring cars,trucks and bikes between alexandria and mersin very soon...tomorrow evening will post all details here as told by the company mngr. 5 days ago...

It was planned to start the ferry services between 2 countries by first week of last december..
Hope nomore delays happen.
Keep fingers crossed until Feb.27 Mersin-Alexandria and Feb.28 Alexandria-Mersin.!!!
Best wishes.

This is some good news, are there any ferries from Isreal to Turkey perhaps? We want to go from Egypt to Jordan then Isreal and try to get to Turkey.

Chiromal how busy was the ferry going into Egypt and was it not possible to get your bikes onto the ferry rather than the barge?

good news started coming
 

First start is on feb.27.

MERSIN(TURKEY)-ALEXANDRIA(EGYPT)
every monday and thursday afternoon (certain)

ALEXANDRIA-MERSİN
every wednesday and saturday
roll on/roll off ferry service for trucks,cars,bikes and passengers

ship owner... Turkish menalines
ship name.... Rüzgar
capacity...... 120 trucks
photo.......... Below

Ticket Sales
MERSİN agent.........: Atakol (0324)2386830
ALEXANDRIA agent...: Kadmar Shipping

alexandria
32.saad zaghloul str.
(203)4862832- 4860689-4840680/3 lines
fax (203)4848326
general@kadmar.com

Also has offices in...:
cairo
15 lebanon street,el mohandesein,cairo
20-(0)-233445734 and 33052284

port said
El mahrousa building, mahmoud sedkey and banama str
20-(0)-663344016 and 18 fax.17
20-(0)-663354330
portsaid@kadmar.com

Just had a meeting with company owner in istanbul main office and will meet again a few hours later to learn prices and schedule (not clear yet)..

There are so many trucks waiting for this ship on the way to/from Gulf countries so make your reservations at once and get your tickets.

Wish you all happy and safe trips.
mehmet zeki.

istanbul bisiklet motosiklet thanks very much for the info:thumbup1:

Attention pls...
 

nomore news for today..let's keep fingers crossed for nomore delays and let's keep this thread at first page as this information is very important to all friends who are stuck in the area..
I will continue updating situation 7/24 as ı get current information from the sealines company main office mngr.

Best wishes from İstanbul Bikers Club.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/istan...00832336638060

Thanks a lot, istanbul bisiklet motosiklet! I am looking forward to read your new posts.

Thanks very much mate.

Just to clarify, especially for those of us with a 4x4 or bigger, can we drive our own vehicles on and off this boat?

As you say roro which can often mean that the port people drive on and off, which usually means many things are stolen etc.

There is no way an Egyptian port worker is driving my landy at the moment ;)

Indeed, Roamingyak, indeed. I'm not really looking forward to having things stolen from the inside or roof of my carefully packed Landcruiser, or even worse.

Would that indeed be a realistic scenario? Can't you just stay in/around your vehicle on the ferry?

Information received so far:

1-you will be travelling together with 120 trucks which will continue driving to gulf countries full of goods.
2-after completing customs formalities,you will drive in and out the ship yourself.
3-cabin upstairs with beds will also be available at extra charge.
4-it will take 24 hours between mersin and alexandria.

But pay attention pls...
make early reservations as soon as they start... demand may be more than the capasity and be strong to fight with egypt customs!!! Hope new system will be more easy there.
After landing better write all your experiences here which will be certainly very useful for the following travellers..

company details..:

they promised to send the ticket prices by Email...
will copy here as soon as I get the mail.

ship.com.headquarters.
MENA Lines
Email:
info@menalines.com
Telefon : (0212) 246 4560 pbx.
Faks.... : (0212) 248 2060

mersin agent
atako denizcilik

Telefon : (0324)2386830-PBX
Faks : (0324)2382318

Şehir : MERSİN

Web Page...:
http://www.atakol.com.tr
(unreached by me)

E-Mail :
marketing.mersin@atako.com.tr / mersin@atako.com.tr

Dialing systems for Turkish telephones...:
(Still we got mails and see that some mistakes have been made in dialing)
if you call from outside Turkey forget the zero at the beginning.
90-324-2386830
if you call from other Turkish cities
0324-2386830
if you call from mersin
2386830

continue keeping fingers crossed until it starts, who knows what will happen next day in the area.


Best wishes

Is there any reasonable expectation that the RoRo will indeed depart on 27 February? I have to decide tomorrow morning whether I will drive to Mersin or to another part of Turkey...

@anacondor
still very hard to reply that question...today evening called directly owner of the ship and company, even he is not sure what may happen tomorrow..
But he is very keen to start running between mersin and alexandria at once...So many trucks are waiting around mersin and sure he will earn good money.
You can also ask them or mersin agent personally.
Sincerely our prays with you and others who are stuck in Egypt..Wish we could do more for you..
Wish you all the best.

Thanks for your quick reply. Do you think it would make sense to drive to Mersin now; I mean, do you think that the chnnces to get our ticket (if there RoRo will depart) will be higher than when we try to arrange that from a distance?

By the way, I understood another RoRo will depart from Mersin to Alexandria on 12 March, but no passengers are allowed.

I now arrived in Mersin, hoping for some good news from someone here at the forum or at the harbour. Please keep us updated; should I get any news, I will share it asap.

Alexandria to Mersin
 

hello all... this is good news. We have been in Egypt several months having motorcycled from South Africa and en route to China. We visited Israel and Jordan as a side trip but did not proceed through Syria as we are a Chinese and a British and between us pissed off either a government artillery gunner or a terrorist/rebel.

We have a following of over a million in China and writing for several adventure/4x4 publications/ TV shows and so keen to get on.

We will ring booking office and enquire whether two bikes can get aboard.:scooter:

www.bigbiketrip.net

@rupertu.
03,28 am here and still awake .. waited for the result of official government meeting about this problem..east meditarrenean area is still not completely safe for passenger ships..problem between israel and iran continues and many warships in the area..(British,İran,Israel,Russian,USA,Italian,Fr ench and Turkish)

Thats why this line is hung up since beginning of december-2011 even all international agreements are signed..

Tomorrow before 5 pm.will call or visit the ship company main office again to learn the last situation for feb.27. first start.The company promised to call and send an Email when there is a development.

All contact numbers are already given.English speaking person available in agents also.
I will scan and write all here.

Fingers crossed for now.Good night all.

Hello to all who are desperately waiting for the ferry boat.

We know the name and the data of the ship, so its possible to track its position from a website. I have appended some links for you and I can't tell you how reliable the data are, but according to this MV Ruzgar is still parking near of Piraeus. There was no movement during the last days:

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions

AIS Tracker - AIS - iidesk

Shiptracking.eu - Real time ship traffic

RUZGAR - mmsi: 248858000

Ruzgar — 9HA2550 — position and weather

This is a very useful tool, thanks.... we cannot wait for this Ghost ship anymore and will have to pay full whack to get on a Grimandi RoRo in Alex tomorrow and get my bike to the KTM garage in Mersin. Takes 5 days. We'll fly to Adana or istanbul

Thanks,

We are now in Mersin, spending days and days at a very helpful shipping agency. Shipping a car like ours (too high for a container) seems to an extremely complex and time-consuming process... It looks like we could ship our car to either Alexandria/Port Said/Damietta in a container (open top or flat) in a few days (let's hope for the best). This would take 24 hours. We will fly to Egypt ourselves and hope it won't take too much trouble (and baksheesh) to get our car from the Egyptian harbour. The shipping costs, including all other fees, are considerable (about $1650/$2000). But we save the costs to cross Syria and save a lot of potentially dangerous hassle.

P.s. the first RoRo from Mersin to Alexandria will depart on 13 March (or at least is scheduled on this date); costs (excluding custom charges etc.) are about EUR 835,- for a car and 2 pax. Passengers are allowed on the vessel. This is not the RoRo which is mentioned above; that RoRo would start its services as from 27 February, but the relevant agency informed us that it is highly uncertain when the services will really start (maybe somewhere in March/April). It's very unfortunate that there are so little shipping options and that the few available are so expensive.

After so many telephone calls, just been able to talk to the ghost ship owner. Now they have another lie until 7.th of march.

So our personal idea according to experiences and critical situation in the area is still same as mentioned in previous mails.

Hope all becomes normal soon.

we will always be happy to be helpful to bikers in and around Turkey.

Wish you all the best,happy and safe travels.

Indeed, the 7th of March is definately a lie; Ankara is making difficulties and according to the agent, there is no RoRo of this company in such short term. So to all overlanders: don't place your bets on this RoRo at this moment, until there is more reliable information.

Are you sure you want to bring a car into Egypt... you will be fleeced and if paperwork isnt 100% up to scratch you car held hostage for a huge ransom by corrupt officials who told me all about there car auction scheme at a compound of impounded vehicles from Europe and South Africa. It is completely ridiculous here. Its like "Mars Attacks" with "welcome to Egypt" banded about before being royalty ripped off and eefed about. You'll be fleeced in Alexandria and then again in Aswan as you get ferry to Wadi Halfa.

The good news is the further south you go the better it becomes and the more interesting. Sudan is great and people are awesome.

Port Sudan must a favourite from Saudi.

anaconda@
If you meet anymore problems there, please meet Delta.They have office in Mersin Port also.They do the shipping of bikes and cars for sports federations and search rescue teams.They did several good jobs for our club before and personally in touch with the owner.

today talked to him and he asked dimensions and weight to see whether to send in a container or by roro.he will give you a price according to this information he needs.Head office in istanbul close to the club.

Give him a selam from us,he will remember the matter.
bulent@deltacargo.com

Hope problems end and you start your wonderful journey in Africa very soon.If there may be something we can do in İstanbul,please don't hesitate to inform us.

Best wishes

So what else can you do coming rom the North...
 

I am facing this hassle soon and with Syria out of the question the only other way to get into Egypt without shipping is to try to get Libya visa and pay for armed escort (from what I understand). I am struggling to get some official "quote/process" from shipping agent in Alexandria. It looks like the only way is to ship, rock up at the port and hope whoever you decide on to help in Egypt can get the job done within a reasonable budget (e.g. I have left £400 in the budget for this).

Honestly, you would think Egypt does not want tourists...

Sorry that is my rant for the day :thumbup1:

Hi Rupertu,

How it's possible to reach Port Sudan from Europe by ferry?
If not what is the best way to reach Port Sudan from Europe with my car (and return)?

RR.

We are now in Mersin... and unbelievably so are our KTMs which came over on the MV Grande Napoli

Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions

I am quite sure you can find an agent in Mersin to ship bikes to Port Sudan. Of course the best way is through Saudi, but that means riding through Iran which, although an awesome country, is a little brittle at the moment. Also women cant drive in saudi. :thumbup1:

There was talk that the road is going to open between Egypt and Sudan, thus avoiding the Aswan/Wadi Halfa ferry which makes no sense at all. The local fixers on either side will know the status quo and can be found elsewhere on the Hubb.

Now we are out of Egypt and have no intention of ever going back I can say the country is a complete mess. Insha 'Allah is no excuse for incompetence, lack of logic, lack of efficiency, brutal treatment of women, and a complete absence of common sense and decency. As with the aid workers who were detained recently the only language understood is money and these people were only released when the USA threatened to hold back 1 billion in aid to prop up their incompetence and extremism. The tragedy is that its a country blessed with oil and gas, unparalleled natural beauty and historical wonders, the Red Sea and a marine wonderland etc .. but its 5000 years of civilization in reverse gear. There are some lovely people but they are in the minority.

As a forensic accountant that has battled against fraud and corruption for decades I will never subject myself to being compromised again. Easy for me to say after I have spent 5 months there I know. If I could have navigated around it i would have. certainly if I was on my own i would have ridden through Syria and taken my chances.

To date ...Turkey, Jordan, Sudan, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa have stood out as superb countries... The rest... naturally beautiful and interesting as they are... royally effed up by their corrupt homo sapien inhabitants.

Now that's a rant....:taz:

I am in Sudan and asking everybody under the sun about this. From what I can gather, Sudan is fine with you crossing that border, though you need to get a permit to travel up there. But Egypt won't let you in. For reasons you have perhaps described.

A little history helps - that area of land is disputed between the two countries:
Hala'ib Triangle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Or did you mean the road inland new the ferry? I drove up the coastal highway last week quite a way, it is a nice road...

Container it to Port Sudan is all I know....anybody else? Googling in Arabic might help it anybody can do this?

Everything else creates problems.....

I'd like to go from Sudan straight to Europe....

Saudis will not let you in if you've been to Israel plus as far I know they will not grant a transit visa for travel to/from Jordan anyway because a number of people were murdered taking that route a few years ago.

Errr..... that is what I said ;-) But thanks for making it clearer!

Any furhter updates on this ghost ship?

Yes any updates?
And does anyone has experience with the strictnesss of the Sudaness border control regarding checking previous countries you passed through on your overland trip (carnet and passport)?
Because of the current unrest in Syria and cancellation of ferry`s to Egypt from Europe/Turkey, one possibility is to go with a ferry to Haifa (Israel). You can ask the Israeli border security to put stamps on a paper outside your passport. Then you travel to Jordan, but if you pass the border, Jordan will put in a stamp and therefore Sudan border security could trace you back to Israel... ?

Started getting mails again from bikers stuck in Egypt.
End of each month until September, there will be shippings to İstanbul by sea freight.
If there will be 4-5 bikes in Alexandria end of March,we will be able to transfer them to İstanbul Ambarlı port together with club bikes.
1-Crate must be done by yourself there.
2-All shipping expenses will be paid in İstanbul while we clear customs together here.You will share local expenses here as they will be inside a separate container.
(transfer from port to club garage,some paperworks until your bike stamped on your passport page)
3-You can use our club garage and tools for repairs/fixings free..Club çay free also.

So please make a group there,send me your names, number plates,weight and dimensions of your crate until 25.March for the list of loading. I will send you all separately by mails and write here:
1-Where in port there you will leave your bikes
2-how much you will pay here to sea freight company.
3-at the end, a thank you message to the club on HU.forum is certainly requested.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/istan...60?ref=tn_tnmn

Other chance is by air cargo from Amman/Jordan to İstanbul by Royal Jordanian Airlines.Already done by our club.

Hope brings a good solution..
Best Wishes

A Roro from Mersin to Alexandrie left the 14th of March. The next one will leave the 14th of april (source: Selin Braggiotti).

Has anyone considered/tried Jordan - Western Iraq - Turkey? Is that an option I wonder??

Not Iraq, from what I know only small parts of northern Iraq are 'safe'. From Jordan you would have to drive through a lot of Iraq to get to Turkey.

Bump - Syria work around?
 

Hi all,
We are currently in Jungle junction heading North on 3 bikes and closely watching these threads. Has anyone got through Syria/Libya/Egypt or Israel ferry at all.
Cheers Ben.

Israel/Italy ferry is an option traveling north. We traveled that way last November, friends did so a few weeks back.

Ferries
 

Sorry about the slow reply - Africa internet - do you have any details on the ferries that they took?
Cheers Ben.

Lybia transit visa are quite easy to get ATM in Cairo and country is relatively stable. If you need tunis visa you are in trouble though. Officially only in your home country - it seems they will get me 3 days transit here in Cairo but I've been fighting for almost a month...
Ferry from Tunis to Rome is cheap - as low as 100eur on some dates for 1 person and car...
Marty

Is this up and running?
 

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone has made the ferry from Turkey to Egypt successfully? Seems there is a lot of info out there about this service but I haven't come across anyone that has taken it successfully?

Me an my boyfriend are leaving to drive down the east coast of Africa from the UK in July an would love for this service to be a possibility. Any help would be great!

Thanks Guys!

Gemma

2doafrica 2doafica.com 2 do Africa

Have you found a contact for the Mersin ferryor ro ro
 

Hi Gemma
You are nearly ready to go. Have found a contact for the Mersin ferry yet or are you just going to risk it and find out when you are in Mersin? We will be following you later and hope to meet up. Please let us know any news.
Colin and Diana

Hi!

Thanks for the response, we have just sent you an e-mail and then stumbled across your message:clap: Still learning how to use this site.

We still haven't heard from anyone that has completed this service successfuly.
We have heard that the headoffice for the ferry service (called The Menalines) is in Istanbul. They have a website MENA Lines or you could have a look at Europe's most comprehensive ferry portal - Online booking / Price comparison: Home - www.ferrylines.com

Regards,
Bryn and Gemma

I'm interested too!
I've sent them an email without any reply until today....

RR.

Many thanks Gemma
 

We will follow your links and see how we get on. We will be following your progress in our Landy. Have a great trip. We will send you any information we find out.
Colin and Diana

I've been watching HU for a while waiting for a concrete answer to this. In the end my gf got an answer by ringing around:

"There are ferries from İskenderun to Port Said on wednesday,thursday,saturday and sunday every week. It departs at 12.00 and takes 18 hours. The price is one way 130 dollar + 10 dollar ( taxes) , return 280 dollar for seat. If we would like to have a bed the price is 275 dollar + 10 dollar per person in double cabin , 225 dollar + 10 dollar per person in quad cabin."

Iskenderun is further east than Mersin, not far from Hatay. Although this area is far from the recent Syrian shells that crossed the border into Turkey, it's worth noting that Syria still lays claim to this Turkish province.

Note that we'll be foot passengers so didn't ask about vehicles. The ferry is in place to route around the Syrian war, and Port Said is the Suez canal, so it's presumably mainly containers. This recent blog post [http://benandjenadventures.wordpress...-egypt-ferry/] details one family's experiences with an SUV.

Important info about Egypt - Turkey ferry
 

*also posted in the Sahara sub forum*

Hey Guys!

We're now sitting in Port Said waiting for the ferry that should take us to Iskenderum. Unfortunately, we've just received an email from Sisa shipping telling us that because of the unrest in Egypt, the Ferry will be redirected to Duba in Saudi Arabia. They may or may not come back to Port Said one last time to pick up already booked customers.

They did not give us any dates, but I'll update as soon as I know more.

Espen & Malin
www.unurban.no

Hi Espen & Malin,

It is difficult to imagine that Sisa is sending the ferry directly to Duba in Saudi Arabia: The transit of the Suez Canal would cost them a minimum of 50,000 USD in transit fees - one way!

In any case: If the ferry does not come back you might need to take the way around (not across!) the Sinai peninsula and either continue to Jordan and later to Israel or go to Israel directly via the Elat / Taba border and ship from there, either to Greece (Salamis) or to Italy (Grimaldi). Unfortunately, Jordan is suffering from a heatwave right now and summer is certainly not the best season to visit but it would still be a pity not to ...

Good luck with your further way!
Greetings,
Achim