CAR - South Sudan

[gvdaa]

I am thinking about driving from West-Africa to South Sudan, passing through the central African Republic. I read a recent report here from Transafrican, but do not manage to send him a message. Would like to know if I have to arrange a travelpermit for South Sudan beforehand, or if I can get it at the border.

Thanks

[Squire]

You may wish to check the post below for additional information, I guess you would be entering from somewhere else, not necessarily recommended though. Juba is your best bet, a lot is happening, never seen a place grow this fast!

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...th-sudan-58396

[trans-african]

gvdaa,
I don't know why you cannot send me a PM, but in any case I am away travelling and do not get much of a chance to log onto the internet. Currently touring Africa in my MAN camper, returning north ready for the Sahara later this year.

As for your enquiry, I would advise against it. I did it, and would not do so again - it just doesn't seem to be worth the hassle and risk, in CAR at least. I did not arrange a travel permit for S.Sudan in advance - being somewhat naive I did not attribute much significance to it and figured that I could sort it out at the border. As I was travelling at the time I made the decision to cross from West to East Africa via CAR, it would have been very hard for me to arrange anything in advance. At the border I was permitted entry (had a normal Sudan visa issued in Chad, as I did initially plan to go North to Khartoum for a detour via Ethiopia). From what I gathered at the border, my arrival was rather unusual and nobody wanted to see my turn around and backtrack through CAR, with the tales of my experiences there!

I would think hard before deciding to go across CAR to S.Sudan. Also, if you were to pull off this route, consider your vehicle well. 4x4 is essential. Now, as South Sudan is an independent nation I would look into their regulations a bit more and obtaining permission beforehand is probably necessary (probably was then too...)

[Squire]

South Sudan is indeed an independent country now, Federal with 10 States. There are control between States and additional checkpoints here and there, some giving hairy moments. Traveling in large convoy only will deter possible (likeky) carjacking or borrowing, let's say. There's some instability still, I mean serious instability, and lots of drunk armed people on the road, most of the times in uniforms. Most NGOs and UN have strict movement restrictions. Leaving your vehicle and its content in the country would be a great donation to the country, they need a lot of support indeed. One other thing also, no picture. I suggest to go through Uganda and then Juba. From there many are traveling by road, easier to organize or join a convoy. Ride safely.

[gvdaa]

Thanks. One more question for trans-african: was it easy to get visa for Sudan in Khartoum, because I prefer to go directly from Chad into (north) Sudan. I heard about some Germans that managed to do that last year, but do not know whre they got visa for Sudan.

[trans-african]

Yeah, I heard some Germans did that route last year too, I also heard about some Swiss doing it not that long ago, but I cannot remember the details now. The visa was simple enough to get if you have a week of free time and patience. I considered the route into N.Sudan from Abeche direct, but figuted CAR-S.Sudan would be more interesting, and I could detour northwards if I still wanted to.

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Trans-African

[gvdaa]

Thanks. So at the Sudanese embassy in Chad they said it was no problem to drive from Abeche into Darfur?