Thanks
 

Thanks Guys (ish !)

So that will be £13,500 x 8 = £108,000 of which I get most back, or £10,800 of which I get £5,400 back.

Nice..... I take it the Egyptians don't like tourists !

Sorry for the thread hijack. Hopefully I will bump into Paul G at Ripley.

Regards Ray

Egyptians love tourists, but not ones that drive there in thier own cars! they like them flown in, relieved of cash, then flown back out again skint and loaded down with rugs, shesha pipes and cuddly camels : ) Overlanders cause the local authorities a bit of a problem as they then have to provide round the clock protection for us when we land in thier patch - I was chased out of Dhakla a few days ago as the head cop didn't want the burden.

I imagine the main reason for high import guarantee costs is there will be a few people in control of the flow of new cars into the country and they don't want others interfering in thier business and bringing in motors from europe.

In Egypt at the mo and spoke with a guy who was the first to use the new Venice-Alex ferry - all went well with no problems. Takes four days, stops at Syria, no hassles other than the usual Egyptian entry process, which to be fair no one I've spoken with so far has really had that much of an issue with.

Fixer in Alexandria
 

For those using the shiny new ferry...hes a name that might help

All customs and vehicle registration and number plating take place in the port at alexandria....for the egyptians its quite efficient

If you need help coming north or going south contact

Walid Hanafy......who is the agent for the Visemar line in Egypt

The office is a few blocks back for the sea front and quite central

Inchcape Shipping services
20 el Pharaana St
Al Azarita
Alexandria

203 484 3565
203 485 7610

Mob 20 10 010 0645

Hi TNT,

Did you get cleared from the port on the same day that the ferry arrived, plates, insurance etc etc.

I will certainly keep that number of the fixer,

Any approximate idea on costs relating to clearing the port??


I have previously had terrible experiences at Alex with car in container & am planning on using the ferry soon.

Ta
Andy

Alexandria to Venice ferry
 

The ferry was great, but the experience leaving customs in Alexandria was BS. You can find the story here ..... Egypt at Flibber T Gibbet

Sawyer,

Great story! Now imagine going through all this, only in the space of not one but four days, and not in one port but two ports in Alex. I and Trumpton could tell you better stories that could make your blood boil!

One day at the port - it's great progress! The Egyptain bureaucracy is now running like a well oiled machine!

Oh I know it can always be worse, that's what I always say. I said to one of the guys, who was really tight on money, 'Just pay them and leave, it will cost more to stay'. The thing I would really hate, is having an accident. Imagine all the people you would pay, while still in jail, even the guy sleeping next to you.

To Touring Ted,

Sorry unable to PM for I have only 2 posts, more time riding than commenting. Anyway, I went from Alexandria to Venice, which will be a different kettle of worms; get a fixer, agree on a price, $25US, and be patient and keep smiling, don't let them get you down. After that, ride away knowing all is done, but go slowly. And if you're going through Ethiopia, take it easy there, the kids will chase the animals onto the road to start a negotiation process if you hit one. Just smile and wave.

Hallo Sawyer,

we want to take the ferry end of oktober.
I read your story and have some question.
Where did you get your tickte at the port?
Where exactly we have to go (do you have GPS Coordinates)?

Many thanks from Germany

Dirk

Hi, I have used the ferry recently and am in Egypt now. I would reccomend anyone to use an assistant on the Egypt end, it took me 3 days(!!!!) In total to deal with all of the paperwork needed. The actually ferry etc was simple and straighforward. A pleasant enough passage, despite being a little boring.

I shall be crossing into Libya next week, for 3 weeks then into Libya/Tunisia. After that Algeria down to Niger (assuming all is well, otherwise a long detour via spain, morocco, mauri and mali), Lake Chad route, Cameroon, CAR, Sudan or, if that fails, Cameroon, Congo, DR Congo, then onwards to Mozambique!
Travelling with my MAN camper...

Happy travels...
Trans African

3 days ???? wtf ??

Took us 4 hours which I thought was crazy !!

Extort in Egypt and onward travel plans
 

It took 3 days to deal with all of our paperwork, the customs there initially rejected out carnet, causing a lot af hassel, it was eventually accepted though. We have crossed into Egypt 6 times before and before now, the longest it took was about 6 hours. We completely lost track of the payments we made, but all in all I think it was about 1000 Egyptian Pounds (c. GBP £110). Before now, we had never paid that much.

We crossed into Libya a few days later and were escorted across the coastal route to Tunisia, with a detour down to Ghat. We spend 2 weeks in Libya. We spent a matter of days in Tunisia and then crossed into Algeria (with a guide ofc). We transited to Niger (no problems) in a week. Following that, we crossed into Chad via the Lake Chad route and then to Cameroon. We are now in Doula (where we have friends). It has been a really fast trip so far, from no on we shall be going at a far slower pace. Next week we shall make our way back to N'Djamena and then head to Southern Chad, cross into CAR and hopefully transit to Sudan and Uganda.

News!
 

"Next week we shall make our way back to N'Djamena and then head to Southern Chad, cross into CAR and hopefully transit to Sudan and Uganda. http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...tons/quote.gif"
What a big trip! Let's know some details,please.
RR

Sorry I hadn't checked in until now, November 11th. I am sure you have already found your way around, and I'm sorry I never noted the GPS coordinates of the 'traffic police release paper' as I was in a panic and had to get there within 15 minutes so I hired a car and a fast driver.

Hi Roro, We went at a slightly faster than planned pace in the end and have already arrived in Nairobi for some minor repairs, where it is easier to get done than in Uganda. We were quite rapid in our transit of Chad for security reasons, and we were also fairly quick through CAR (it took us 20 days in total) to get from Bangui to the Sudan border, and then it was a fairly quick journey down to Uganda. We will head back to Uganda tomorrow and spend Christmas at the shore of Lake Victoria, for some peace hopefully. If you want to know anything more about our trip, just ask, I will be happy to answer any questions about it. After the new year, we'll take a slow pace down the east coast to Cape Town.

Thanks Trans-African.
And what about crossing these borders? Formalities?
Racket or some others hassle?
Are you alone (no guide) to cross Tchad?
Have a nice trip!

RR