Sudan to Kenya
 

Dear All, Is it safe to go through Sudan straight to Kenya at the moment? Is it also possible to get the visa at the border. Thanks for any help

Safety and Visas
 

Yes and No,

Yes it is Safe to travel thru Sudan if you keep to the main route, you have to get a Sudanese Visa in Cairo before you leave also get your Ethiopian Visa first before you get your Sudanese one, should be hassle free then. We will be leaving in 3 weeks on that route, enjoy your trip !

Paul

suggest you look at getting a 2 month visa for ethiopia whilst in cairo... i had some tech problems which held me up in sudan, also if you are in a 4wd and there are delays getting the vehicle back in wadi you could also burn some time.

basically - a one month ethiopia visa issued in cairo starts from date of issue.

it cannot be extended except in addis.

i arrived in addis the day after mine expired and it took 6 days to extend it. another biker had 2 days over and was fined 20 USD but got his passport back next day.

to be on the safe side - given you are a country ahead - get a longer visa than you think you will need.

alternatively, i think the sudan embassy couldn't care less about me having the ethiopia visa, and you can get the ethiopia visa overnight in khartoum (but note the location of the ethiopia embassy in khartoum changed about a year ago...) but maybe you don't want to stay in khartoum longer than neccessary...

sudan is safe as houses. you can walk the streets of khartoum at any hour of the day without any concerns.

kenya is fine but take care if in nairobi once the sun goes down. take a taxi rather than walk down empty unlit streets, etc etc.

Cheers for the heads up on that one .......... :thumbup1:

I think HD is asking about skipping Ethiopia - just Sudan to Kenya.

My guess; you'll have to pass roadblocks as you get down into southern Sudan, and they'll likely send your ass back if you don't have proper paperwork. For the most part, you can't get a visa to "wander" Sudan - you get a transit visa to cross Sudan (usually Egypt to Ethiopia - I'm not aware there's a route you can do to Kenya).

I was in Juba (South Sudan) and in Lokichokio (North Kenya) last week. The roads are fine, trucks are moving between those two communities.

Security enroute is kind of iffy - there are lots of former combatants who still have their weapons.

I don't think any kind of tourism in South Sudan is advisable past about December 1 2010 until we all see what the outcome of the South Sudan independence referendum (scheduled for early January 2011) is. It's a fair bet that things might get a bit excited in the time leading up to the referendum, and it's anyone's guess what will happen after the vote is counted.

Michael

Just to second Michael's comment, the situation in Sudan is heating up considerably, and I would advise against any non-essential travel between december and january. There's a lot at stake at the moment, scores of armed groups and armed combatants, and the North and South rhetoric around the referendum is becoming more and more belicose.

Cheers
Joova