Latest Info - April 2013
 

Wadi Halfa

The ferry & barge sailing days have changed just this week - the ferry now leaves Wadi Halfa every Tuesday. Not sure of the new barge day.

OK, this is the first time in nearly 4 years that we have engaged the services of a fixer. Although it hurt, it is necessary principally because you cannot load your own car on the barge, as it (generally) leaves the day after the passenger ferry.

We used Mazar, recommended by many and also by us. Business-like, efficient (apart from an inability to answer text messages), friendly & intelligent, he is everything you could ask for in a fixer. We certainly felt comfortable leaving him with our car. Tel: +249 122380740 EMail: mazarhalfa@gmail.com

Costs. Total SDG2094 ($360)
Car SDG 1478 ($255)
Ferry Tickets, 2nd class x 2 SDG 424 ($73)
Customs SDG 120 ($20)
Departure Tax SDG 42 ($7)
Ferry Reservation SDG 30 ($5)

Mazar’s fee. When we asked what his fee was he just said “pay me what you like” - always a potential problem. We paid him $30 & he was very happy. All I would say is, please don’t inflate it... people before paid $40.

On the ferry see the Captain, Mohammed (white turban, silver teeth!!!) & for a small tip (we paid SDG50) he will secure you a sleeping area near the helm.

Aswan

We used a fixer & regretted it - we don’t believe it’s necessary.

I won’t give you our fixer’s details, as we wouldn’t really recommend him. But he did do the job...eventually...with a lot of cajoling & prompting. He spoke very little English & didn’t want to communicate anything anyway.

HOWEVER, I will give you the details of a very helpful man who appears to be a senior port official. He clearly told us that fixers weren’t needed & gave us his contact details to give to other overlander: Idries Mahmoud Tel: 01006845201

Costs. Total E£ 800
Customs E£ 550
Insurance/number plates E£ 230
Port entry (baksheesh for police) E£ 10 p/person

As has been mentioned several times before, I would perfectly agree with Taniya on the issue of fixers in Aswan. Mahmoud Idriss is indeed a good and quite professional guy who does speak some English and is in fact the guy the other fixers have to deal with at some point. Especially coming from the South, I would definitely recommend him as well.

Greetings,
Achim

So please do post his details; also negative experiences should be shared to help others!

Wadi Haifa(Sudan)Aswan(Egypt) Fixers?
 

I would like to share my experience with those recent border crossing.
In december 2012 I came up from Sudan do Egypt without using fixers and with out CARNET! it is possible, if you have time and you have to be very PATIENT! and POLITE! it works like charm,soon or later some one will help you, WITH OUT asking you for money,I learn that traveling over 40countries most of them 3rd world countries.
I must admit it, help me a lot financially and emotionally,it worked from me!
I was riding US register bike with Polish passport.

Since we're all sharing ;-)...

I used almost every single person available in dealing with our Sudanese visas and the ferry from Aswan - Wadi Halfa. Some background on us... We were 5 Americans and 2 Brits in 3 vehicles (2 w/ US plates, 1 UK plates).

We were trying to get to Sudan and spent about 4 weeks in Aswan trying to get visas and then waiting for the ferry (it was Ramadan). We did make it to Sudan, just in time for the US Ambassador to Libya to be killed and for people to riot in Khartoum!

In Aswan, we used Timur to help us basically do everything. We were there for so long, he was our go-to guy. We didn't actually pay him anything, but used him to book some tours and other stuff where he made money. He was able to hook us up with a lot of the other people we worked with and overall I think he is a great guy and a fantastic ally to have in a city like Aswan.

Mazar helped us get our Sudanese visas and he is just an awesome awesome guy. We hung out with him for about a week and just had a blast. He works with Midhat (who is his brother) and Magdhi (who is his uncle). We ended up hanging out with Midhat in Khartoum, but not using him for any services.

Due to all of our roadblocks, we went several directions with the ferry. We had Kamal help us do all the paperwork and get on the boat. He is definitely a weird guy, but he was always where he said he woudl be when he said he's be there...no Egyptian time with this guy. He got everything done that he said he would and for only $15 per person. We also had extra problems with our carnet, since the folks at the Salloum border apparently stamped it incorrectly. Kamal helped us sort it out with multiple trips to the port. Sidenote : not a single port person, nor Kamal tried to get bribes or anything from us for this, which was a pleasant surprise.

There was an individual named Jamal who worked at or near the Sudanese consulate (we never were sure which it was) and he helped us with visa updates and hooked us up with a guy taht worked in some capacity (I think managing cargo shipments?) at the port, named Mahmoud. He was the one that got our cars access to the port so that they would be guaranteed a spot on the barge. The parking fee was 30LE per day per car.

Saleh, the ticket guy wouldn't sell us tickets until he knew that we had our cars on the barge, but the barge couldn't guarantee that they would get on until the day after the ferry left (start circular logic here)!! :D

Essentially, while all working for us, Kamal, Mahmoud, and Saleh were constantly trashing each other and anytime we would tell one of them than another said something, we got a retort of "who is he? some taxi driver?!" or "he is just some cargo loader, he knows nothing!" In the end, they all were right about 50% of the time and full of BS the other 50% of the time.

As a general rule, trust EVERYTHING that Magdhi and Mazar tell you. They never had us going on wild goose chases, were honest, and extremely helpful. They didn't BS and at every turn, they got results.

Funny side note...the daily joke was about how the consulate was always waiting for a fax from Khartoum allowing them to process our visas. The name of the guy who was supposedly receiving these faxes was "Mohammed Ramadan." We joked taht CLEARLY this is a fake name, as John Christmas would be the most western equivelant. Well, it turns out there really is a Mohammed Ramadan, and he does indeed receieve faxes (just not ours because the ministry of foreign affairs never sent it...until we got Mazar involved).

Lastly, there is a guy named Mohamed Abd Alim. He is the customs manager and was very helpful and friendly. He said that with the vehicles in the port, he needed to hold on the carnets. We reluctantly let him hold them, but there were no issues and he got them to us promptly when we returned a few days later to get the vehicles on the boat. Apparently he is manager of Mahmoud and somehow has Saleh reporting to him (although we are still unsure if Saleh works for the same company or a 3rd party). Mohamed Abd Alim is also the one who decides which barge is going to sail...there are a couple to choose from, one that can fit more cargo and one that fit vehicles, so getting in with him is helpful. His number is 122 640 6861. Lastly, he is the one that also sells the tickets for vehicles on the ferry (Saleh deals with tickets for people).

Sounds like from all the posts here there is a lot of great info for the future idiots that are planning to do this ;-) Good luck intrepid fools!

Spoiler Alert : (It's totally worth it - Sudan was fantastic!)

Update: May 2013