Libyan Visas
 

Can anyone RECOMMEND an agency for getting an invitation to Libya?

We've been trying to contact Jamal at Arkno but without success. Alawy seems a possibility, but are we better to go to one of the guys in London?

We've seen the price comparison on the Sahara Overland website - we're also interested in reliability/efficiency.

At the end of the day its a hassle, as there is no UK based company offering this service for independant travellers.

I would use Saro in Germany (it helps if you speak German or know someone that does). Alternatively the Lonely Planet list Arkno and others you might try.


Failing that I have a company (Bowline Expeditions Ltd) that I run a few expeditions through a year. We specialise in North African travel. If you want me to organise guides and visas for a Libyan trip I will do so for a fee. Contact me offline.

Best of Luck its worth the effort!

Hi Michael
you can also try Libyen Tours:
info@Libyen-Tours.de
www.libyen-tours.de
or
Ludger Trier, Germany, he speaks english
Trier@Libyen-Tours.de

Ursula

if your interested in my experiences in getting a visa you may like to look at my web site www.gonewandering.co.uk

We got Ludger Trier to arrange for our visa and much to our surprise found out that he used Arkno to do the job! Normally Trier works with Sari but apparently they have temporarily been closed. The same actually happened to Arkno a little while ago. This is all according to Jamal of Arkno Tours.

I met Jamal of Arkno yesterday here in Tripoli. He is a very nice and reliable person, much more so than Ludger Trier. In our experience Trier prefers not to speak English.

Arkno is so far proving very helpful in making all the necessary arrangements. If there's things he can't do, it's usually because of restrictions by the Tourism Board.

I will report on the possibility of driving on/off-road when I've had the opportunity to do so. At least according to Jamal, it should not be a problem to enter Jebel Acacus using our own wheels.

rgds,
Camiel

This bit added after returning from my trip: while Jamal is indeed a nice guy he proved to be UNreliable. While we paid for a guide for 13 days, we only got one for three days. No money was ever paid back to us. Better be careful in dealing with Jamal therefore.

[This message has been edited by camiel (edited 21 November 2004).]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

Camiel, I've been trying to contact Jamal, but he hasn't replied to two emails and his fax number (which I got from Arkno's website) doesn't seem to be working. If you see him again, could you ask him to email me at mjgzt@aol.com so that I can get his correct details. Thanks.

Michael,

I haven't got Jamal's details handy but the best way to contact him is on his mobile number. Check out www.arkno.com for full details.

If I see him I will remind him.

ta,
Camiel

Chek first if the company you choice is a registered one. The laws, always the same, seems have been enforced , the letter of invitation must be delivered to Libyan Consulates only by registered local T.O.

Budrinna

Hello Budrina,
>Chek first if the company you choice is a registered one.

How do I identify such companies, does a list, registry or something like that exist?

btw, what's your background, you seem to be quite well informed about Libyan tourism?

Best regards, yves

How do I identify such companies...?

Simply asking them the registration no. (Chamber of Trade or/and Ministry of Tourism.

btw, what's your background, ...?

Former owner of a touristic services co, now
consultant and legal advisor .

Best regards

Budrinna

I have tried contacting several of the recommended agents regarding a letter of invitation. I am getting little response and suspect it is because there are only two of us and a letter of invitation seems to need a group of four or more.

Is anyone else trying or soon going to try for a Libyan visa letter of invitation? Would you like to join us in order to form a group of 4+. I have read we would not need to arrive/travel together as a result. We hope to travel Nov/Dec 04.

Thanks for your response.

Ian,

We also have had difficulty in getting replies, but we hope that we may now be getting somewhere.

We plan to use Jamal at Arkno, because his is the name that seems to come up time and time again. We emailed several times but got little response, except to say send passport details,etc which we did. So, I telephoned him (mobile 00 218 91 214 0262). He speaks excellent English and told me that since we would not be travelling until towards the end of December, it was a bit early to be applying for visas. I left it that we would contact him again mid November (but I'm planning to phone him in the next couple of days). He thought he would then be able to get the authorisation within a matter of days, so that we could get our visas at the end of this month.

Having said all this, my understanding is the same as yours, i.e. that applications should be made in groups of more than two, although they don't have to travel together. If you were to contact Jamal, presumably he could deal with you at the same time as us - we are happy that he should now get on and obtain our authorisations.

What do you think?

Michael

Thanks Michael,

I would be delighted to call Jamal and suggest he processes us as a single group for the invitation. This could be the step which unblocks the process for us. Thanks for your offer of help.

It may help me if I have a few more details about your group and intinerary to see how closely we match. You may like to email me offline. Who knows there might be an opportunity to share a guide.

Look forward to hearing from you. Ian

[
The letter of invitation reports all the data about the group (cars & pax) and must be shown on fotocopies all along the trip.
This cannot be changed, or if this occurs must be declared , takes a lot of time and not convenient.

Budrinna

Ian,

Yes, I'll email you details. What is your email address? Mine is mjgzt@aol.com. Or, you could give me a ring on 01749 676362 - evenings are best.

Michael