Thanks for the tip Omar.

We're currently in a bind. We need to get to Israel. We are currently in Kenya. If we can't cross Sinai then we will have to store our bikes and fly. Problem is that people don't recommend storing motorcycles in Egypt or Sudan. Ethiopia we can only store for a couple of months before they impound. So we might have to fly from Kenya if we can't cross Sinai. Additionally if we get to Egypt and can't cross Sinai I'm not sure that we will have enough money to ship from there.

Basically we need to know now already whether we'd be able to get from Egypt to Israel or take a big risk.

Hi Daan & Lotte,

What did you end up doing?

Maybe you can give us information on the boat you intended to take from Jordan to Sudan? We need to travel from north africa to Israel / Jordan and it seems like Sinai might be a problem. We are looking into the option of getting a boat from Port Sudan to Aqaba. (We're on motorcycles).

Any new info on crossing Sinai or other ideas about getting between north africa and Israel?

already there is a couple in Cairo with (land rover ) if they can mange to get permits with help from ministry of tourism then we all know the way to get over it ,will keep you updated if i have any news
cheers

We got our Saudi visa in Khartoum, crossed from port sudan to Jeddah, and drove to Jordan in 2 days. Should be possible.

Ahmed Hamdy tunnel and road to Sharm El-Sheik
 

Hello!
The Ahmed Hamdy tunnel and the road towards Sharm El-Sheik is closed right now for tourists and have been closed for 5 days. Hopefully this might change but no one seems to know. The military decides and it can change from one day to another.

That is what I know right now.

Cheers!
from Caroline, stuck in Egypt

Stuck in Egypt
 

Hello!
I am the one stuck in Cairo right now together with my husband and another traveler, Nic, from South Africa. There is no ferry from Hurghada to Sharm El-Sheik. We are waiting to see if the ministry of tourism can help us to get through to Sharm and further on to Nuweiba. Right now we can only wait and hope.

Motorbikes are not allowed on the Sinai but we heard of people who put a couple of motorbikes in the back of a bucky (not 4x4) and drove through the Sinai with the car. Might work, might not.

We will keep you updated and hope for the best!

Caroline

Hope the tourism board come to the party. They haven't replied to my email but it's election time. I'm keen to hear the result of your attempts, Cwuebben. Do you maintain a facebook page or something?

It seems it's also possible to ship from Alex to Ashdod. I got a quote of 250 Euros per bike. Obviously not including all the port fees (export at smarina dot com).

The Saudi option is interesting. Would my wife be able to ride there? I hear women's rights are quite restricted there.

Hi Jmi,

We're only in Nairobi. Busy trying to make a call between storing the bikes in Kenya or continuing north. We'll only be trying to get from Sudan / Egypt to Israel in about a month and halfs time.

We're considering shipping from Alex to Israel. Some digging has found some options. That being said we're still trying to see whether we'd be able to cross Sinai. Hopefully things will improve over the next month!

I crossed the Sinai a few days ago, from Suez down to Sharm and then up to Taba in my Alfa (it's a small RWD so it got through) but I heard about disassembling front drive to 4x4s to make them 2x4. Then rebuilding the front drive in Israel. But that might be a rumour. Might be worth checking out if you get stuck.

I would look for a boat from Port Sudan to Aqaba and skip Egypt, wasn't very nice.

Sinai with a 4x4 Suez to Sharm El-Sheik, we managed it!
 

So, we managed to get to Sharm El-Sheik! There might be other travelers who are wondering how we managed to drive through the Sinai with a 4x4. It was only thanks to General Ahmed Hamdy at the Ministry of tourism, Cairo, and thanks to Omar Mansour (who started this thread), active here on the HUBB. Omar contacted me and told me to pay a visit to general Hamdy and also called in advance to let him know.
My husband Hendrik and I visited general Hamdy’s office first thing on a Sunday morning. He was very kind and listened to our problem (we entered Egypt without knowing of the strict travel ban for 4x4:s on the Sinai. Problem: how to travel further by land?). We gave him copies of our passports, copy of the entry stamp to Egypt, travel plan through the Sinai, copy of driver’s license and a copy of the original car registration. On Wednesday afternoon we got a call from the general’s assistant who told us to come in first thing on Thursday morning. We did and at 4.30 in the afternoon we had the permit for Sinai!

OBS! It was possible for us to get a permit but it might not be possible for others. If you enter Egypt you cannot expect to use this method to get out. It is an emergency and it worked for us. We were 2 cars that applied for a permit and only we got one on that Thursday. If you enter Egypt from Sudan you need to bare in mind that you might have to ship the car on a RoRo because there are many restrictions about shipping cars in containers.

If you do end up in an emergency situation and you do not know how to exit Egypt, here is where you need to go (no phone calls, no e-mails, only personal visits.

General Ahmed Hamdy
Ministry of Tourism
Misr Travel Tower (entry on the right, 4th floor)
Abasseya Square
Abasseya, Cairo

Things change all the time in Egypt but when we visited Military intelligence they told us that the ban of 4x4:s on the Sinai will not change in the next 6 months-1 year. This can also change but that is what they told us.

I will happily answer questions but now I’m going to enjoy a few days of beach holiday with my husband. After 2 stressful weeks in Cairo we both need that… Cheers!
Caroline

I can Unfortunately only tell you what I heard. The travel ban is also for motorbikes. We heard of people who rented a 2x2 buck, put the motorbikes in the back and drove through the Sinai. Otherwise I think Omar Mansour crossed the Sinai with a motorbike recently.

Thanks for the update. Very useful!

I'm glad that you got through! All the best!

Hi all. We've spent the past 2 days with the Egyptian Tourism Authority (Ministry of Tourism) and now also the Ministry of Defence as per Cwuebben post. It seems that if you have a 4x4 this should work for you. We've heard stories of several groups getting the permit and the Egyptian Tourism Authority seem to have set up a process.

However they will not issue a permit for motorcycles. This is a problem for us now as we are a little stuck. We'll have to try and find money to ship which may not be easy :(

Good luck to other travellers!

Having failed to get the permit we tried to put the bikes in a van and drive through the tunnel. We were turned away at the suez tunnel. The cars drive through big x-ray machines so you won't be able to sneak through. In my opinion if you don't have the permit you wont get through.

We tried to convince them that the letter from the Ministry of tourism was the required permit. This caused a bit of confusion but in the end they insisted on the permit from the ministry of defence. It seems that the ministry of defence will only issue a permit for a 4x4 and not a bike. A bit rediculous as bikes in a van is not any more of a security risk than a 4x4.