Getting into Egypt over land/sea 2014

[TwoTwins2Capetown]

With the troubles going on in Libya and no ferries going to Egypt.... what choices are left???

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[mrbing]

someone has contacted this ??

Welcome to EGYPTAIR CARGO website

the price has to give a good scare

[TwoTwins2Capetown]

As far as i know this is the situation right now:

Libya.
Untill may 2014 you could obtain your visa through Tidwa tours in Libya. Taking the ferry to Tunis, drive to and through Libya to arrive in Egypt. However due to the current situation in Libya the borders are closed and it isn't safe to travel through Libya.
So that is a definite No go..

Turkey.
UNRORO had a ferry line from Iskenderun to Damietta. Most of the times you could only get your vehicle on board the ferry but you should take a flight to Cairo. At the end of may UNRORO announced on their website:
".....TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EGYPT-S.ARABIA-HAIFA-JORDAN LINE......."
So that rules out this option for now. UNRORO says you should get in contact with them later in the summer to check if the ferry sails again.
So not a definitive no go, but not a sure thing either.....

Italy.
With Grimaldi lines you can check in on their freight ship, your vehicle and yourself.
From Salerno in Italy it will take you 5 days on the mediterenean sea to get to Ashdod/israel.
The only gamebreaker if you travel this way, could be the sudanese who won't let you in to their country if they find out you travelled through Israel...

This is all i got (and know of) for now.


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[TwoTwins2Capetown]

Originally Posted by mrbing

someone has contacted this ??



Welcome to EGYPTAIR CARGO website



the price has to give a good scare

Have you got any idea what the prices are?


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[mrbing]

Hello

Sorry I dont have idea for this, which country?, total weight?? maximum dimensions of the box??

These are some of the questions that will make the cargo company, you need to contact any of them.

In 2011 I send one Bike (220 Kg), India to Thailand, I make a lightweight aluminum box, also remove some parts of the bike to reduce at maximum the external sizes, I remember all cost around 1.000 E.

Minimum weight and space = Minimum Price
Also, you need disconnect the battery and remove the fuel



I,m currently in tunisia , looking all the options to enter in Egypt :confused1: , when I have more information, I post here.

Regars

[achim-in-jordan]

It seems to me that the news on the UNRORO website poses more questions than it provides answers:

23.5.2014 TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF EGYPT - S.ARABIA – HAIFA - JORDAN LINE

Dear Customers,

Red Sea Ro-Ro operator and our partner, Salem Al Makrani Cargo Co. (SAMC) has declared on 23.05.2014 that they will not be able to operate the line due to operational problems at Port of Adabia.

Appeal has been made in order to operate the line from Port of Sukhna, 30 km south of Adabia, however Egyptian authorities declined this request. Therefore, we regret to inform you that we are unable to continue Iskenderun – Egypt – S.Arabia line until the problems have been resolved.

Starting from 24.05.2014 Saturday sailing and the ones afterwards, all reservations have been cancelled and only vehicles which are already in the port and all clear in terms of customs operations and payments will be loaded for Damietta.

All other requests for round trip tickets will be declined. One way ticket requests for Egypt, Israel, Jordan and S.Arabia will be accepted.

U.N. Ro-Ro and SAMC will continue to transfer the vehicles which are now in Egypt and S.Arabia and have return tickets. For this reason all vehicles in S.Arabia and Egypt should be directed to Duba and Damietta Ports.

We would also like to inform you that all necessary measures have been taken by us at Turkish and Egyptian authorities for the solution. If the problems are resolved, voyages will continue as usual. All developments will be shared with our customers.

Why are "one way ticket requests for Egypt, Israel, Jordan and S.Arabia [..]accepted?" It seems that the main problem lies on the Egypt - S.Arabia leg of this connecetion. Would be good to get more precise information here. And we have also seen the negotiations between the Turkish and Egyptian bureaucracies before ...

Greetings,
Achim

[TwoTwins2Capetown]

I'll send them an email about the one way tickets.

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[TwoTwins2Capetown]

This is the earlier email i got from UNRORO.

Hello Stephan,

Unfortunately we had to stop the Haifa-Damietta line for an unknown time period due to problems that our partner faces at the Port of Adabiya. Please read the circular here:*http://www.unroro.com.tr/EN/NEWS/def...page=1&fId=408

You may contact us later in the summer to get the latest updates or visit our web site.


*** Saygılarımla, Best Regards

**** R.Sinan Asil | Commercial Department


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[TwoTwins2Capetown]

I already got an answer from UNRORO:

Hello,

Actually that statement is for trucking companies ..We intend to stop the line for departures and collect the ones in Egypt back to Turkey. But since you are planning the trip in the autumn it is impossible to catch the ship to Damietta. But please keep in touch again later in the summer ..we may overcome the problem until then.



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[Ruulio]

Hey twotwins, i just found out that the Israel option should not be a gamebreaker as mentioned in your quote below. Swiss authorities give out second passports for such cases, so i travel with one passport till egypt and pick up my second passport in the embassady in Cairo or also possible in Jordan Amman. You may check this option with your passport issueing authorities.


From Salerno in Italy it will take you 5 days on the mediterenean sea to get to Ashdod/israel.
The only gamebreaker if you travel this way, could be the sudanese who won't let you in to their country if they find out you travelled through Israel...

[andrasz]

While a second passport COULD be a solution if the authorities are lenient, it will be of no use if they decide to play it strict. You will need to use the same passport to exit Egypt as the one you entered on, and the first thing the Sudanese will start looking for is the Egyptian exit stamp. If there is none, especially in a virgin passport, that will immediately raise suspicions.

[Ruulio]

well you defenitely have a point here. so I use my old one and rip one site off, I mean we have like 48 sites in a passport and i have only 15 left without stamps. I kinda wonder how they will find out in sudan that a page is missing?

[achim-in-jordan]

Hi Ruulio,

You have interesting ideas! Maybe you should try this before because it is not so easy to rip out a page without leaving a trace in the passport.

It is probably easier to go from Israel to Jordan first and then continue to Egypt by ferry. That will bring two stamps in between and the Jordanian entry stamp on the Northern border with Israel might not be as easily identifiable. The Jordanians are also more lenient to accept that you enter with one passport and leave the country with another.

Greetings,
Achim

[Surfy]

Originally Posted by andrasz

While a second passport COULD be a solution if the authorities are lenient, it will be of no use if they decide to play it strict. You will need to use the same passport to exit Egypt as the one you entered on, and the first thing the Sudanese will start looking for is the Egyptian exit stamp. If there is none, especially in a virgin passport, that will immediately raise suspicions.

You dont need a 2nd Passport for that. Isreal don`t stamp your passport on request, and attach a sidepaper (which they will stamp) which can be removed on exit.

Here is a collection of travellers who are recently on the east route, who will show you what options do you have, and how they did it in detail.



Article in English:
Howto reach or avoid egypt on your transafrica over the east

Article in German:
Anreise-Optionen für die Ostroute Afrikas

Unfortunately travelling through Libya don`t look like a real option currently.

These Informations about the Iskenderun, Haifa, Damietta ferry looks a bit misleading. The language barrier does not make it easier, although here now two people have already asked via email.

I suggests that one these who want to book soon, use a phone call (cheap with Skype to Phone) to get a clear answer, to verify that your call partner has sufficent english skills. It would be helpful to get an conclusively valid anwer there!

Most of us just want to cross from Iskenderun to Damietta with a single ticket. This should be still possible, when we read the news of the ferry website carefully... It looks too possible, when you use google translate on the turkish website..


Surfy

[andrasz]

Originally Posted by Surfy

Isreal don`t stamp your passport on request, and attach a sidepaper (which they will stamp) which can be removed on exit.

The problem is NOT the Israeli stamp. Sudan is one of the few places where if they find any evidence that you have been to Israel (eg. a pack of chewing gum with Hebrew inscription...) they may refuse you entry. An Egyptian entry stamp in Taba is a clear give-away, but also Nuweiba will raise suspicions because these days it is unlikely that anyone came through from EU via Syria or Iraq...

This being said, my understanding is that this is being more strictly looked at at Khartoum airport, Wadi Halfa is more relaxed...

As for removing a page from a passport, maybe not a good idea... The pages are numbered for a reason, and any missing will render the passport invalid. Mine is pretty heavily used, and a crack started developing along the hinge of the plastic photo and details page. Even though the page was still solidly attached I started having problems in places (though admittedly, not in Sudan, but in the fine land the name of which I dare not utter here for fear of not being allowed into Sudan the next time...).