Port Sudan - Khartoum Road

[will.i.am88]

Hi everyone,

I am in the middle of organising a trip for the start of next year. Am looking to ship my 4x4 to Port Sudan (Due to Ebola/ISIS). We will fly into Khartoum and then somehow get to Port Sudan. I am assuming the road is traveled regularly by local traffic and so it will be easy to get up there in order to meet the car on arrival. The other option is flying straight into Port Sudan, this seems to me like it is missing some of the adventure though. Does anyone have any current information for any of this?

Thanks, Will.

[schenkel]

Hi Will,
There are very few international airlines that fly direct to Port Sudan from outside Sudan...and it all depends on where you are flying from.
There are two roads to Port Sudan from Khartoum: the Old and long one that goes east through Al qadarif and the new shorter one that goes North through Atbara. Both are very regularly used roads that lead to the main sea port of Sudan (Port Sudan). You can also fly from Khartoum to Port Sudan.
I'm in and out of Sudan frequently, if you need help or detailed info on anything please feel free to ask.

[andrasz]

The main road via Atbara has very heavy traffic, it is two lane and full of huge trucks, a very unpleasant and rather dangerous drive. On the other hand, taking domestic flights in Sudan is pretty much Russian roulette with one of the highest accdent rates in the world... Your pick.

[schenkel]

Originally Posted by andrasz

The main road via Atbara has very heavy traffic, it is two lane and full of huge trucks, a very unpleasant and rather dangerous drive. On the other hand, taking domestic flights in Sudan is pretty much Russian roulette with one of the highest accdent rates in the world... Your pick.

Couldn't agree more.
Trucks over 90 feet long are normal in Sudan. Drivers are reckless. Overtaking is like taking a gamble whether they will make the overtake or collide head-on. Road surfaces are in bad condition.

Now I wouldn't fly with domestic airlines in Sudan because they use very old and unreliable Russian jets that could fall out of the skies just like that and they crash all the times. Even the newer (but still old by EU terms) jets you can't trust them due to bad or total lack of service. At least if you drive and see a crash coming your way you are in control and maybe could do something about it.

But people are very helpful, generous and courteous, specially to foreigners.
It seems discouraging but, ....all the above shouldn't put you off from doing what you want to do.
This is Africa...things are bad here. Be careful and you will definitely have a good time.

[achim-in-jordan]

Hi Will,

There don't seem to be any international flights to Port Sudan at the moment. In the past, at least Egypt Air did. Check their webpage and the ones of Air Arabia and FlyDubai - those would be my best bets.

I would agree with the unreliability and risk involved in domestic Sudanese airlines.

So a bus might be the best option. There are abundant connections - and I would speculate that all of them take the "normal" heavy traffic, truck infested Atbara road.

But then again: When picking up the car in Port Sudan, you could still take the nicer "old" road via Kassala from there, whether you continue to Khartoum or directly into Ethiopia does not really matter in this case. If passing through Khartoum, the Atbara road might still be worthwhile if you want to visit the Meroe pyramids.

Best of luck for getting the car into Sudan at Port Sudan!
Greetings,
Achim

[schenkel]

Hi Will,
The more detail you put here, the more detailed info you will get.
Where are you shipping from and how?
Where is your exit point in Sudan?
Are you planning on visiting Khartoum?
Have you got a carnet for your vehicle?

Custom clearing of a shipment is much much harder than just rolling a vehicle off a ferry from Jeddah, so can you enter Sudan that way?!

[schenkel]

Sudan airways fly to Cairo from Port Sudan.
Safety....OK
Reliability....

www.alrakoba.net/news-action-show-id-166337.htm

[andrasz]

Before we get carried away, air safety is a relative thing. Even with the abysmal record of Sudanese airlines, taking a domestic flight is still probably safer than taking a public bus on that road. The only difference is that air crashes make it into the international press, bus crashes don't...

[schenkel]

Just want to help in every possible way and give all info available....then one must make their own choices.
Air safety???? well no one could have predicted what's happened to Malaysian airlines (two crashes within three months! one in Europe!!).
Road safety???? considering the fact that the road we are talking about is just two lanes next to each other but going opposite directions at high speeds.....well that's a very good safety record if we can have a western standard on such road!.
You don't need to kiss your a**e goodbye before hitting such roads, because thousands of people travel on them on a daily basis, and they make it safely.

[will.i.am88]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your quick replies. I was thinking of bus or hitch hiking from Khartoum, or there is a flight to Port Sudan through the Gulf area. Bus is looking more likely to me now. Does anyone know how long it takes, even if roughly? I am assuming a day or two.

In reply to your questions,
1. Shipping from Southampton (probably), as I will be working at sea up until a few days before we leave so I can always get someone to drive down to Southampton when I am not in the country so we don't have to wait for the container for 3 weeks.
2. Planned exit point was Metema, this is just a rough plan though. I haven't looked into the different border crossing points yet.
3. We might have to go in order to extend the Ethiopian visa. The other guy coming with is dealing with visas at present so am not sure which order we will be getting them and therefore if we will have to go to Khartoum in order to extend the Ethiopian one.
4. Carnet is in progress in so far that i still need to print the form and sign it. This is also the reason for not shipping to Egypt

I have found and am talking to a shipping agent in Port Sudan who says they can deal with all of the formalities as well as give us the introduction letters required for the visa. I believe the container is going to Jeddah and then being loaded onto a feeder container ship for the short crossing over the red sea. So we could fly to Jeddah to unload the car and then ro-ro it to Sudan. Do you know how reliable the ferry is? are the customs formalities in Saudi that much easier than Sudan? although writing that I am thinking that yes they could well be a lot easier.

[schenkel]

Bus from Khartoum (al Mina al bari station) to Port Sudan takes 10-12 hrs approx.

You can Exit Sudan at Gallabat-Metema border crossing. It is better to stick to this crossing for safety, also there are no other official crossings equipped to deal with paperwork. So if you are visiting Khartoum coming from Port Sudan, then take Atbara road to Khartoum. From Khartoum head to Al Qadarif and then Gallabat. If not visiting Khartoum from Port Sudan, then head straight down to Al Qadarif then Gallabat.
Just bear in mind that foreigners might need to register with the police (ask at point of entry for details.)

The ferry between Jeddah and Port Sudan is frequent and reliable. There are a lot of vehicles with Saudi, Emirates, Qatar, Oman number plates in Khartoum.

It is better to ferry the vehicle from Jeddah if you can (I don't know about shipping to Saudi from UK), You just have to sort out things in Jeddah first (through agents), then get on the ferry and once in Port Sudan, pay some fees and go through customs, its quicker that way rather than shipping direct to Port Sudan and going through all stages from opening the container to getting behind the wheel, which (can be) stressful or very time consuming.

[achim-in-jordan]

I do not believe that shipping the car to Saudi is an option! First, because there is hardly any chance to get an ordinary tourist visa. Second, because even if you would get a transit visa (which is unlikely if you fly in and ferry out - nobody at the Saudi embassy will understand that behaviour), you have only 72 hours, which most probably is not enough to do the bureaucracy! There are two ferry lines on the route from Jeddah to Suakin in Sudan, so the ferry is the easiest of all this.

So shipping to Port Sudan is probably easier - though only very few people have shipped their vehicles OUT of Sudan and I don't know of any who shipped it in. Yes, the agent in Port Sudan will tell you this, but they usually deal with the import of cars, not with tourist cars in transit. Like in most African countries, this might prove to be a tedious endeavour ...

Just to underline what Schenkel said on another issue: The Gallabat - Metema border crossing is the only one permitted for foreigners!

At the time we entered Sudan (end of 2012), we were told in Khartoum that no further registration with the police was needed. Has this changed? Any recent experiences anyone?

Greetings,
Achim

[schenkel]

Originally Posted by achim-in-jordan

I do not believe that shipping the car to Saudi is an option! First, because there is hardly any chance to get an ordinary tourist visa. Second, because even if you would get a transit visa (which is unlikely if you fly in and ferry out - nobody at the Saudi embassy will understand that behaviour), you have only 72 hours, which most probably is not enough to do the bureaucracy! There are two ferry lines on the route from Jeddah to Suakin in Sudan, so the ferry is the easiest of all this.

So shipping to Port Sudan is probably easier - though only very few people have shipped their vehicles OUT of Sudan and I don't know of any who shipped it in. Yes, the agent in Port Sudan will tell you this, but they usually deal with the import of cars, not with tourist cars in transit. Like in most African countries, this might prove to be a tedious endeavour ...

Just to underline what Schenkel said on another issue: The Gallabat - Metema border crossing is the only one permitted for foreigners!

At the time we entered Sudan (end of 2012), we were told in Khartoum that no further registration with the police was needed. Has this changed? Any recent experiences anyone?

Greetings,
Achim

1- Where did I mention that: The Gallabat - Metema border crossing is the only one permitted for foreigners!??????:confused1::confused1:

It can be very risky to try crossing near Eritrean border or further down and south of Dinder National park!

2- In Sudan foreigners are required to register with the police within one week, so a foreigner must make sure they register with police before heading to the border for exit....so If not visiting Khartoum remember to register with police at point of entry then head straight down to Al Qadarif then Gallabat or you may be asked to go back to a major city for registration with police

[achim-in-jordan]

Hi Schenkel,

This is getting tricky now

Indeed, you only posted that

there are no other official crossings equipped to deal with paperwork

And yes, the Ethiopian embassy in Ireland, for instance, states that the border crossing at Humera is also officially open. But then, Humera is very close to Eritrea and - your quote -

It can be very risky to try crossing near Eritrean border

But true, you did not state that Metema is the only one open for foreigners ...

We did indeed register with the police when entering in Wadi Halfa. But even though I stayed a full week in Khartoum, there was - contrary to many reports - no necessity to register in Khartoum as well.

Greetings,
Achim

[will.i.am88]

All of your info is very useful. At the moment I cannot get a second passport from the office in London so can't apply for any visas as I need mine to work as I work at sea. I have another appointment in a week so will find out then if we will be going to Sudan or Kenya. would be a massive shame to miss Sudan and Ethiopia, especially as we are missing the rest at the top too. Lets hope I can sort it all out.