getting to egypt in a car...

[George Philipas]

I am planning to travel from Egypt down to Kenya Does anyone know if there are any car ferries to Alexandria from Europe or is the best way to get to Egypt via Tunisia and Libya (though I've got to say, paperwork for Libya does sound like a bit of a headache!)
George

[Runner]

Hiya
Egypt has to be the most obstructive Saharan country in bureaucratic terms. Its a nightmare - Libyan paperwork is easier than Egyptian.
Nonetheless its do-able, youll need to contact the Egyptian embassy for current details (prepare for a long phone call and being passed around offices). Youll need to bring the car in on temporary tourist plates and last time I heard the Carnet was 250% the worth of the vehicle.
There is no car ferry from Europe to Egypt. Danish Seaways used to do one but they stopped a while ago. You can freight cars in but customs is a nightmare. Possible access is from Israel or Jordan (via ferry - again, needs expensive deposit) or from Libya.

I wanted to bring my Defender in from the UK and was quoted over $30,000 at the cheapest! In the end I bought another Defender in Cairo for considerably less.

Good luck

[Chris Scott]

I just spoke to a mate back from Khartoum.

Saloum border he paid 270 euros with a carnet and not much hassle - maybe the Jordan side is worse...

He tells me from Khartoum down the Nile are interminable convoys for tourists (maybe this is well known but news to me).

Much quieter via the Oasis route.

At Wadi Halfa it took 3 days to organise and ferry.
He is sending on an address of a v. helpful Sudanese guy who can help with the paperwork there.

For Sudan he gives the usual thumbs up about the people: no hassle and muy sympatico. Sounds too good to be true.

He confirms there is categorically no shipping from Europe to Egypt since 97, apart from containers which sound like a recipe for aggro on a monumental scale.

Chris S

[3M]

For information about entering Egypt, I asked Tarek El Mahdy as he is based in Germany and each year drives to North Africa and here was his reply:

The question is how a European get a car to Egypt, can be answered in several ways.
First they have to have a carnet passage valid for Egypt (most expensive), most have a visa for Egypt for the time required. Needs an international driving license, the car have to be on the name of the person (owner), and the car will be stamped into the passport...
How to get it to Egypt: their are allot of different ways, every way has got its advantage and disadvantage
1- Driving from Tunisia through Libya to Egypt
2- Shipping it in a container to Alexandria
3- Some cargo boats have a few cabins on deck for passengers
4- Ferry from Greece to Israel, driving through Sinai (at the time being not recommended)
5- Driving through Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Nuweiba
6 - Arriving In Suez by Ferryboat coming from the South
7- Ferryboat from Wadi Halfa (takes some time)

The ferry boat from Aswan to Wadi Halfa leafs once a week, can be reserved one month in advance. The price depends allot on the size of the car, if some uses cabins or sleeps on deck. The return way is different, as many travelers had some problems, with the prices.


I hope you find this information useful.

[George Philipas]

Hi,
Thanks for all your suggestions and help. I've pretty much decided that the best way to do this will be thru' Tunisia, Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. Seeing as this is my first large independent trip in a vehicle thru' Africa, it seems like the easiest way to get down to east africa (if anyone though disagrees and has better suggestions then let me know!)...
I find it hard to believe that the 1 country I thought would be relatively easy to travel thru (Egypt) is increasingly appearing to be the most difficult! I spoke to Sue and Paul at the RAC about the Carnet and it seems that most countries in Africa only require 200% indemnity (including Kenya) apart from Egypt (& I believe Nigeria) which apparently requires a 500% indemnity!!?! Needless to say raising a 500% indemnity on a 7 year old defender is going to be a hassle!
If anyone can suggest a more hassle-free route to east africa for a relative beginner in expedition driving - I'm all ears...!
George

[ollieholden]

I'd go through Turkey/Syria/Jordan if it were me - a great trip in itself, fantastic people, amazing sites/sights, etc etc.

On the 500% indemnity, ask yourself how they check the amount it is worth (ie they might not check...so submit a v. low number...)

Good luck

Ollie

[roro]

New infos from french newspaper 'Le Monde"
There is a new ferry beetween Charm el Cheikh and Akaba on thursday and Sunday for 45 $ ............


"Navettes entre l'Egypte et la Jordanie :

Pour 45 dollars l'aller, il est possible de naviguer, les jeudis et dimanches, entre Charm el-Cheikh, la station balnéaire égyptienne, et Akaba, le port jordanien, sur la mer Rouge. Le ferry Princess, qui peut accueillir 700 passagers et 58 cars, assure ces trajets."

[freerockspirit]

I'm planning the same route as George and like him find it hard to believe Egypt turns out to be the stumbling block. The idea of Turkey, Syria, Jordan appeals but visas??? and then where? (in order to end up in kenya... Does anyone have any more detail of this route please? I know female visas are now (as of Feb 2002) impossible for Saudi, because i failed to get a work visa for a female colleague...

peter

[ollieholden]

Search the site - there's loads of info already posted on this.

You can get through Egypt, it's been done by lots of people, but the general opinion I've got from people is it's a lot of hassle.

One option is to container the car from Jordan into Mombasa - maybe cheaper than you think but cannot comment on port formalities at Mombasa - anyone else?

If you want the adventure maybe you could ship it somewhere else and drive the rest (eg Port Sudan, Djibouti or even Durban?)

I posted some notes on shipping from Aqaba with some tel nos somewhere on this site.

Good luck

Ollie

[Runner]

A friend of mine missed out Egypt completely and shipped his (UK plated) Landy from Aqaba to Dar Es Salaam (I think, from memory) and then carried on down East Africa as normal. He said that the cost of shipping was far less than the cost of duelling with Egyptians. Pity but there we are - the Egyptian economy's in a huge mess and they choose to make entry by overlanders (who can bring money in, potentially quite a bit!) as obstructive as possible.