UK to Amsterdam, Around Mediterranean.

[crazyausi]

Hi Folks,

Four of us (2M, 2F) riding two-up, both BMW F650's, are planning to ride around the coast of the Mediterranean end of July. Looking for advice on ferry crossings between Turkey and Egypt (the necessity of a Carnet for Egypt?) and between Egypt and Tunisia. We're looking at heading across to Amsterdam, down through France and into Spain before doubling back over to head east.
Any other advice would be v. appreciated.
Thanks in advance to your response.
B. regards.

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'So much to see....'

[mmaarten]

Hi,

"(the necessity of a Carnet for Egypt?) "

Yes, unfortunatly, for Egypt you need a carnet, and it's one of the more expensive country's.
It's a shame becourse for the rest of your journey you don't need it.

Enjoy it.

Maarten

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- www.maartensworld.tmfweb.nl -

[crazyausi]

Thanks Maarten,

Is getting into Egypt without a Carnet impossible? (I guess it's not, just expensive!) ... how would you (or anyone) recommend seeing Egypt if we can't use our bikes ?? Is there an option for storage in either Cyprus or Turkey? - Then just backpack Egypt and return to get our bikes??

Cheers,
Crazyausi

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'So much to see....'

[A.B.]

I would say pay for the carnet; you will have a much better experience in Egypt if you had the freedom of movement on your own bikes. Besides, as tourists, transportation wouldn’t be that cheap for you anyway. You will almost certainly be overcharged in taxis and otherwise. FYI, 1 liter of 90-octane gas is 20 cents.

Also a lot of the cool places are not easily reachable by conventional transportation methods. The Oasis comes to mind, as well as some of the hidden jewels in Sinai.

Give me call when you reach Cairo .

Later.

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A.B.
www.ShortWheelbase.com

[Susan Johnson]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2"> Looking for advice on ferry crossings between Turkey and Egypt (the necessity of a Carnet for Egypt?) and between Egypt and Tunisia. </font>

Not heard of ferries between Turkey and Egypt, though you can come into Egypt by ferry from Jordan into Nuweiba in the Sinai. So you could do road from Turkey through Syria and Jordan, then ferry into Egypt.

As for ferries between Egypt and Tunisia, there aren't any. You will have to go through Libya, unless you want to ferry back to Europe! But Libya is a very interesting country, and much more open to tourists recently. See our page on our travels through Libya in the opposite direction in 1997.
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/johnson/Libya.shtml

Hope this helps.

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Susan Johnson

"It matters not what goal you seek
Its secret here reposes:
You've got to dig from week to week
To get Results or Roses."
Edgar Guest

'One world, two wheels'
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

[crazyausi]

Thanks for the info Susan. Appreciated.

Just on the note regarding Libya - Has anyone travelled from East to West along the coast recently? (just trying to get a 'feel' in regards to the current political climate!)

Any tips when camping in such areas? Or are hostels/hotels better value? (especially safety)

Cheers,
crazyausi ....


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'So much to see....'