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-   -   Camping in Egypt and Sudan (https://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hubb/north-africa/camping-in-egypt-and-sudan-67184)

@TukTukTravels 7 Nov 2012 11:48

Camping in Egypt and Sudan
 
Hi all, we are just waiting for our vehicle to arrive in Egypt having shipped it from Greece.

We are wondering whether anyone has been through Egypt and Sudan in the last month or two, camping as they go?

We drive a tuk tuk rather than a 4x4 so are a bit more limited in how 'off-road' we can go to get a safe campsite.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

@TukTukTravels 7 Nov 2012 11:59

Sorry just to highlight that where possible we would be looking to free camp.

Thanks

dstehouwer 7 Nov 2012 14:39

was there last month with a motorbike.
Sudan is super nice and safe, you can bushcamp there easily and people will help you if needed. Some nights, soldiers popped up and camped close to us; to guard us. Don't worry, they are nice and won't even accept a tip or something.

Egypt: we didn't go through the Black and White desert so I don't know how it is there. I wouldn't bushcamp on the other routes, because I didn't like the people at all and had the feeling you cannot trust them anyhow.

@TukTukTravels 7 Nov 2012 14:56

Thanks, that's very helpful.

Wheelie 7 Nov 2012 16:07

By tuk-tuk, how fantastic. Wouldn't be too worried about getting robbed on one of those. Doesn't exactly flash wealth. It ain't exactly a capable or descreet getaway vehicle either.

mark manley 7 Nov 2012 18:04

It was a while ago, 2007, but I camped in the desert in Egypt as well as Sudan and they were both fine, as has been said the Sudanese could not be nicer and with a little discretion camping in Egypt was not a problem.

omar mansour 7 Nov 2012 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by @TukTukTravels (Post 399436)
Hi all, we are just waiting for our vehicle to arrive in Egypt having shipped it from Greece.

We are wondering whether anyone has been through Egypt and Sudan in the last month or two, camping as they go?

We drive a tuk tuk rather than a 4x4 so are a bit more limited in how 'off-road' we can go to get a safe campsite.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Nick

good luck for your trip
which route you will take in Egypt ?
if you will take the Oases one just escape 150 km from Cairo and then you can camp any where im sure you can find bit of hard patches of sand that you can go off road and camp ,
the white desert you can go there with tuk tuk ,as its not that hard and its close to the main road and you wont miss it
all the way to Luxor you can camp but close to Luxor say 100 km from it you may camp next to check points ,
if you will pass by Alexandria drop me a line to meet up
im starting my trip on motorbike to follow the Nile end of the month ,yes in 22 day cant wait at all hahahah
planning to take the ferry on first Monday of December
made booking through Mr Kamal in Aswan ,he is cool man
please if you need any help that i can do while you are in Egypt ,contact me
travel safe

palace15 8 Nov 2012 15:57

First of all :welcome:

Do you use one of the old traditional 3 wheel TukTuks or one of the newer 4 wheel ones? it would be nice to see a few pictures!

mark manley 8 Nov 2012 17:53

You will probably meet a few fellow tuk-tukers in Sudan but they won't be going quite as far as you are.

http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/O...IMG_0857-M.jpg

Richard-NL 8 Nov 2012 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by omar mansour (Post 399518)
good luck for your trip
which route you will take in Egypt ?
if you will take the Oases one just escape 150 km from Cairo and then you can camp any where im sure you can find bit of hard patches of sand that you can go off road and camp ,
the white desert you can go there with tuk tuk ,as its not that hard and its close to the main road and you wont miss it
all the way to Luxor you can camp but close to Luxor say 100 km from it you may camp next to check points ,
if you will pass by Alexandria drop me a line to meet up
im starting my trip on motorbike to follow the Nile end of the month ,yes in 22 day cant wait at all hahahah
planning to take the ferry on first Monday of December
made booking through Mr Kamal in Aswan ,he is cool man
please if you need any help that i can do while you are in Egypt ,contact me
travel safe

Hey Omar, for how many bikes did your made a reservation bier

omar mansour 9 Nov 2012 10:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard-NL (Post 399595)
Hey Omar, for how many bikes did your made a reservation bier

only me as im riding by my self
:scooter:

roamingyak 9 Nov 2012 17:12

Sudan you can camp anywhere very safely, people will always come and offer you food and tea - it is 100% free and they will be offended if you offer to pay for it. Super friendly and lovely people.

I never bothered driving off the road very far in Sudan. Just avoid any military type areas - and be careful taking pictures of the nile and bridges and so forth.

chris.perjalanan 10 Nov 2012 09:42

Crossed Sudan from Ethiopia the last weeks and as everybody already said here, don´t worry about any security issues ! We camped some nights in the desert, one night behind the petrol station in Karima ( after my visa was expired some days and we didn´t wanna register at the secret police in order to be able to stay in the hotel ) and never had any issues with people or police. Got invited all the way, going so far that the manager of a high price lodge near meroe pyramides gave us delicious dinner for free behind the lodge, that other tourists paid 30 dollars for. What a fantastic country and people, quite hot though !!!

You will be fine with a tuktuk, myself i am travelling around Africa on a 1975 vespa and all the routes to Khartoum and onwards to Ethiopia are perfectly paved right now.

We ( me and my travelmate on a BMW GS100 ) will also go through the Western Desert in Egypt, maybe we´ll meet up on the way who knows ...

greetings from Aswan,

Chris

@TukTukTravels 10 Nov 2012 10:04

Dear all,

Thanks for all those replies. Very reassuring about Sudan and we are looking forward to it. Sounds like as long as we stick to the normal camping rules that we should be ok.

Our tuk tuk is the 3 wheeled variety and we are picking it up from Alexandria today which is when the fun should start. (Take Me Home - fo those that are interested)

We have also shipped our vehicle from Athens to Egypt which is different from most routes that are suggested on the Hubb so I will post all the details of contacts and who we used on a new thread once we have picked it up and know that it is possible.

Again many thanks for all your help- we will keep it updated with anything we find out.

Thanks

Nick

omar mansour 10 Nov 2012 10:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris.perjalanan (Post 399779)
Crossed Sudan from Ethiopia the last weeks and as everybody already said here, don´t worry about any security issues ! We camped some nights in the desert, one night behind the petrol station in Karima ( after my visa was expired some days and we didn´t wanna register at the secret police in order to be able to stay in the hotel ) and never had any issues with people or police. Got invited all the way, going so far that the manager of a high price lodge near meroe pyramides gave us delicious dinner for free behind the lodge, that other tourists paid 30 dollars for. What a fantastic country and people, quite hot though !!!

You will be fine with a tuktuk, myself i am travelling around Africa on a 1975 vespa and all the routes to Khartoum and onwards to Ethiopia are perfectly paved right now.

We ( me and my travelmate on a BMW GS100 ) will also go through the Western Desert in Egypt, maybe we´ll meet up on the way who knows ...

greetings from Aswan,

Chris

good luck and perhaps we meet on the way as i will be riding south ,starting from Alexandria ,Egypt , in 20 days from now,
and yes i never met such so so nice kind people like in Sudan ,
and never felt safe like there ,true kind people

@TukTukTravels 10 Nov 2012 10:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by omar mansour (Post 399518)
good luck for your trip
which route you will take in Egypt ?
if you will take the Oases one just escape 150 km from Cairo and then you can camp any where im sure you can find bit of hard patches of sand that you can go off road and camp ,
the white desert you can go there with tuk tuk ,as its not that hard and its close to the main road and you wont miss it
all the way to Luxor you can camp but close to Luxor say 100 km from it you may camp next to check points ,
if you will pass by Alexandria drop me a line to meet up
im starting my trip on motorbike to follow the Nile end of the month ,yes in 22 day cant wait at all hahahah
planning to take the ferry on first Monday of December
made booking through Mr Kamal in Aswan ,he is cool man
please if you need any help that i can do while you are in Egypt ,contact me
travel safe



Hey Omar,

Do you have any details for Mr Kamal in Aswam?


Thanks

Nick

omar mansour 10 Nov 2012 10:25

hi Nick
his cell phone is
(+2) 0100 532 2669
his english is so limited,try to tell hem the date you want to book and try to be in Aswan on fridays so you have enough time to sort every thing
also last time i spoke to hem he told me its better to apply for Sudan visa in Cairo not in Aswan as nowadays it take longer than it should ,perhaps a week
thats what he said
cheers

@TukTukTravels 10 Nov 2012 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by omar mansour (Post 399790)
hi Nick
his cell phone is
(+2) 0100 532 2669
his english is so limited,try to tell hem the date you want to book and try to be in Aswan on fridays so you have enough time to sort every thing
also last time i spoke to hem he told me its better to apply for Sudan visa in Cairo not in Aswan as nowadays it take longer than it should ,perhaps a week
thats what he said
cheers

Omar,

Thanks,

We have our visas for Sudan sorted already so should not be a problem for us- we will give him a ring and try and time our journey to get there on a Firday.

Thanks for the number

nick

@TukTukTravels 10 Nov 2012 14:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by @TukTukTravels (Post 399796)
Omar,

Thanks,

We have our visas for Sudan sorted already so should not be a problem for us- we will give him a ring and try and time our journey to get there on a Firday.

Thanks for the number

nick

Sorry to ask another question (and a stupid one at that). There is only one boat per week- on a Monday??

Our visa starts on the 20th of Nov.

Which means our boat on the 19th might not get us there in time if there are any delays...!

Richard-NL 10 Nov 2012 16:15

Hey Nick look forward to catch up bier with real tuktuk riders somewhere along the way south!!!!!

ramblurr 11 Nov 2012 09:08

Nick or Omar,

Could you please comment on the Sudan visa? How long does it last and where did you get it?

@TukTukTravels 11 Nov 2012 11:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramblurr (Post 399921)
Nick or Omar,

Could you please comment on the Sudan visa? How long does it last and where did you get it?

Hi there,

We picked ours up from London. The visa itself normally lasts for 2 months. You have 2 months from the issue of the visa to enter the country and use the visa.

If you are in Egypt then the best place to sort it out is Cairo- this is something we are going to have to do this week as we need to extend the time when we can use it from. I will let you know how we get on and how easy it is.

Nick

Endurorally 21 Nov 2012 15:23

Sudan visa is a 24 hour wait in Cairo - apply in the morning, get your passport back the following day - you need to take with you some paper and pens, but there is a stationers shop in the street nearby where you can do the photocopies required, get early to beat the queue. All straight forward tho. Easier just to go to an agency like Travcour in London and get someone else to sort the hassle before departure!

achim-in-jordan 24 Nov 2012 20:44

fellow travellers applied for the Sudanese visa in Aswan on Sunday morning and got it the same day at noon (others without vehicles also got it the same day).

So it does not take a week! Don't know about extensions, though! There was a delay during the Eid holidays in late december: The consul was absent for two weeks!

Greetings from Khartoum
Achim

Richard-NL 25 Nov 2012 08:27

That's good news man, so we can ignore the big apple of Egypt :clap:, it's a nice place but after Istanbul and Tehran I'm done with those huge cities.

:nono:


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