The cost of Libya/Algeria for a biker!
 

Entering Libya March probably and would like to do a fortnight tour towards egypt. Thought about trying to get a transit visa before i leave and sticking to the ten days (And try jump off the road a lil bit, possibly get an extension in Tripoli.

I must visit Tobruk to pay homage to a family member.

Just wondering what the cost is going to become with a guide seeing as he will have to have his own vehicle.

Similarly...Algeria (although i may just avoid algeria and take the ferry to Tunis)...the same situation exists and i would like to ride some of the documented routes in the Sahara overlan (Chris Scott) Book. I am wondernig how much of a restriction the guide is and his cost including vehicle at current. A basic outline can be found in 'Sahara Overland' but has anyone got a clear and definitive cost.

My budget for my tour doesn't stretch much above 50 euros per day for the works and i can see guides and second 4x4's becoming VERY expensife. Especially if i spend a couple of weeks in Algeria and a couple in Libya.

Is there a transit visa i can use in Algeria Guide Free?
How quickly can i peg it across the top of Algeria on sealed roads?

I hear that some [non-German] nationals may be able to transit north Libya highway guide-free. Not sure if they give you 2 weeks though.

Is there a transit visa i can use in Algeria Guide Free?
No

How quickly can i peg it across the top of Algeria on sealed roads?

From where - Maroc? That border with Alg has been closed for years so the only way in from the north is via Tunisia (or of course Algiers and other ports). But at both places they expect you to have a guide.

I am wondernig how much of a restriction the guide is and his cost including vehicle at current.
Sad fact is that these days (non-organised tour) biking around Alg and Lib deserts requires large amounts or a few of you to share the costs.

Ch

I was quoted £90 per day for a guide in Libya. That covered his time and his vehicle. There would be additional costs of his accomodation, food and fuel that you would need to add on top (if you are camping then he would have his own camping gear so you could eliminate hotel costs). I'm sure this figure could be haggled down a bit, but I didn't want the hassle of guide so just changed my route to avoid Libya altogether.

Joe:

Libya is not a particularly expensive country to visit. I was there for a week (last week) and stayed at the second best hotel in Tripoli (an international business hotel) for about €40 a night. Food is not expensive, and gasoline (petrol) is ridiculously cheap - about €1 for TWENTY liters, in other words, about .05 Euro per liter. Bottled water is far more expensive than gasoline.

By way of comparison, Libya is generally less expensive overall than Kenya, for equivalent food and shelter.

The economy is rather informal (although remarkably well developed) - if you discuss matters with the guide you initially make contact with, he or she can likely pass you off onto a 'junior' guide who will ride with you in your vehicle for much less money that the full price of a highly experienced guide who will supply their own vehicle.

PanEuropean,

When discussing the "cost of Libya" on this forum we're not relating to the price of food and petrol there which is quite known to us. We're talking about the "price of visa". Which includes all the necessary costs for getting one (entry taxes/procedures for you and your vehicle(s), guide and escort vehicle costs). And I bet there are not many people on the forum that wouldn't find (just for example) the above quoted 90 GBP "existence permit" per day an expensive affair.