Libya / Egypt border, careful now!

[ourwildjourney]

Hi guys,

we are planning another Transafrica trip, not by bike though, but 4 wheels. 4 years ago, under the Gaddafi regime, we had needed a guide but now I have also heard from people getting their visa at the border? Is it still compulsory to have a guide? Plan to go in March/April.

Cheers

[Petrus]

I agree with Sirakors experiences.

We came trough Libya last week and had an amazing time!
Border crossing into Libya was easy and fast:
We paid 40 Ld for insurance and 100 for licence plates (which we got back when leaving the country). We where supposed to get a Libyan carnet, but the office was closed so we went on without one. (never causing any problems).
In Libya we have spent little money because people invited us for sleeping, bought us fuel, gave us food etc. There is so much hospitality it is hearth warming!

Border crossing into Egypt took us 8 hours....
But besides the long waiting we had a very positive experience:
We got help from policemen, one took us around from office to office while another one guarded our bikes .
Everyone was very friendly and we where never asked for "gifts" and had never the idea that bribing would speed up the procedure.
We got food and drinks from the police while waiting.

At the Egyptian border we paid:
225 for the Visa
90 for processing fee/ rubbings chassis number (no receipt)
502 for processing/stamping the carnet
140 for licence plates and license
60 for insurance

All in Egyptian pound.

I may have mixed up some of the amounts, but in the end we paid a total of 1015 pound p.p. to cross the border (about 105 euro).

Originally Posted by ourwildjourney

Hi guys,

we are planning another Transafrica trip, not by bike though, but 4 wheels. 4 years ago, under the Gaddafi regime, we had needed a guide but now I have also heard from people getting their visa at the border? Is it still compulsory to have a guide? Plan to go in March/April.

Cheers

For Libya you need a business visa which allows you to travel without a guide.
The visa will cost you about 250 euros.
For obtaining the visa I strongly recommend Tidwa travels (Masoud), he will help you with everything (just email him with your questions).

Cheers,

Peter

[ourwildjourney]

Thanks for the answer! On our first trip, we also noticed how friendly those guys are! And for us personally, Sudan was even more open and friendly than we would have expected!

The procedures in Egypt always reminded me of the one Asterix movie, where Asterix had to get a paper in a Roman government building full of civil servants and got sent around.

Well, that´s quite expensive for a business visa, but thanks for the hint with this tour agency, I will write them a mail. When we crossed Libya from border to border we paid 500 EUR for a guide for 4 days! So we hoped to save a little on that one. Will see...

Happy travels!

[zedsdead]

It's good to hear these positive reports. I am in the process of trying to get a visa at the moment. The aim is to cross from Tunisia to Egypt as part of a trip through Africa.

I hope to be in Libya for early May. Just me and my motorcycle.

[Sirakor]

Originally Posted by roro

Thanks a lot Sirakor for your infos!
And what about your visas?
RR.

Tunisia: no visa, entry stamps etc at the border, took about 30min incl perwork to import the bike

Libya: business visa from the embassy in Berlin, after getting the invitation/approval code through Tidwa Tours. Approval number took 3 days, the visa 2 days, and the application has to be made in person at the embassy

Egypt: visa at the border for USD 15, plus the aforementioned dance to get the bike in

Sudan: visa from the embassy in Berlin, required all sorts of documents (passport copies, vehicle doc copies, Carnet copies, hotel booking, detailed itinery, cover letter), but after that it was easy. 3 day express by mail as advertised didnt work, they only started processing it after I showed up there in person (was in Berlin anyways for the Libyan visa). Supposedly the consulate in Aswan is also an easy place to get this visa

Ethiopia: visa from the consulate in Frankfurt, 20 EUR for 3 months multiple entry, 3 days by mail

Kenya: embassy in Addis, 3 days. Only necessary if you go the Turkana route, otherwise its available at the Moyale border

All others: at the border enroute

Bear in mind that this could change depending on your nationality, I have two German passports

[Sirakor]

Originally Posted by lAbArYnth

Great source of information on Egypt crossing Sirakor.
I just have one question
Did you enter Egypt with a carnet de passage?

Yes. Out of all countries in the world Egypt is definitely not the one to show up without a Carnet.

Some people claim to manage without, but it will be the biggest headache you can imagine, and it will cost you so dearly that having a Carnet is the cheaper, faster and easier way.

Libya on the other hand, does not require a Carnet (anymore)

[Thimba]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated!

Cheers,

Gee