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Does anybody know if there will be a fee to use the road?
I would be surprised of the contrary... Cheers |
according to this swiss overlander truck tracking system the road is open or do I get it wrong?
SPOT Shared Page I try to ask them directly but did not get an answer yet. Well we will find out mid octobre. GL everyone. |
I will be there in a few days an will update here.
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Im in Khartoumb and headed North in a few days (on motorbike)... Guess Ill see if I can take the road and will add info here when I know something concrete.
cheers Grant |
Hello
I have arrived in Assuan yesterday. The road to Wadi Halfa is open but only for locals (Egyptian, Sudanese) as a tourist you will still have to take the ferry. I will load my bike on the barge tomorrow morning and my self on the Ferry on Sunday. So I'm waisting 4 days now here in Assuan. Moreover I'm in the dirtiest Hotel I have ever been (New Abu Simbel Hotel). But it has a Garden in which the Bike is securely stored until tomorrow and then I will change the Hotel. I have read about others who had to wait here for 3 weeks. So not so bad after all. From my reading the ferry is an adventure in it's self. So I don't mind so much having to take it. The annoying thing is only the wait here. There is not so much you can do and the people on the road are really a pain in the ..... Egyptian people can be so nice but when they get too close to tourists they get awful. I also don't mind having to pay the tourist premium but when they try to charge a factor 100 above the local price this get's a bit to much. By the way: Adams Home is apparently closed. David |
Why not allow everyone on the road including foreigners and tourists!!!??....typical African mindset.
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Where did you get the information that the road is only open for locals? Maybe this has something to do with the fact that the opening of the road takes away the main income of the ferryman? So i am wandering if this is really true...
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Kamal, the Local border fixer told me this. He helps me to do all my paperwork. Kamal has a very good reputation and he would still make his share even if I took the road. I believe I can trust him.
David |
Why am I not surprised...
Welcome to Egypt! |
But what about that overland tourist truck mentioned by Ruulio? The SPOT map has moved on now but that took the road and the short ferry from Abu Simbel.
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Overlander Truck made it as first tourists
According to this blog (in German) they where the first tourist to cross over the new road.
The article says there has been an open ceremony and many tv stations were reporting. they had to give interviews to sudanes tv and made photos with officials. the blog does not say what they paid. the story says the just drived to abu simbel and gave it a try, the customs have been made in a newly opened custum building on the other side of the nile. i try to contact the company that organized this overland trip. As I know their customers all paid USD 30'000 for a 100 day trip so they might have used some of that money for "bakshis". Here is the blog in german: 20 Minuten - Der Tag der Entscheidung - Reisen Ill keep you updated if there are any news |
I just met a Russian couple with a car. They are about to take the road in the next few days. As long as you have a local person with you it seems to be possible. But is is not going to be any quicker. They are waiting here for days just like me to get the permit to travel. It will just be more comfortable than the ferry.
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We've got an answer from a local fixer in Aswan. For two bikes and two persons we'll have to pay USD$500 including the customs etc. And for the fixer USD $150.
Although it is a lot of money (it's gonna cost us USD $270 more then the ferry) If we take the road we can go whenever we want to. Taking the ferry, and the barge, can leave us longer in Aswan and Wadi Halfa and will cost us also some money. I think the difference will be about USD $150. Now we have to decide if paying USD $150 is worth it to avoid the hassle with the somewhat unreliable ferry and barge.... |
so far nothing solid about the road crossing
i heard some Sudanese cars like 3 had problems to cross and they had to go by ferry ?? didnt know why !!!! im trying to sort my time and other things to go and give it a try to use the road and then will make full report with all info needed , in my opinion the ferry wont be a bad way to go between the 2 countries if you have no problem with time also the advantage of the opening road that i think the ferry wont be that crowded and you may try to have your motorbike in the ferry itself instate of the sh--- barge cheers |
HI
I will be going on the road tomorrow morning. I'm with my motorbike here. The Bike was shipped on the barge a few days ago. then I met a russian couple who are here by car and have arranged to take the road. I'll drive with them now. As a tourist you need to have a local guide with you. you are not allowed to go alone. Due to this there is currently no way for cyclists. With a car you can hire a guide to join you. Regards, David |
OK, I just came from Wadi Halfa up to Aswan (bike yet to make the same voyage on the slower barge). The new road is still basically only available to locals but Kamal is able to assemble groups of overlanders in Aswan and then get permission to drive down the road instead of taking the ferry as long as Kamal goes along for the ride... As I understand it, this is only an option for motos if there is more than one (ie three cars and one moto is NOT acceptable!, but one car and two motos is acceptable)... Its still not cheap but that's whats happening at the moment. There is no option to drive the road from the South to the North that I am aware of at present.
Oh, and the ferry was certainly uncomfortable but hardly a "living hell"... Its a rough 24hours but manageable :) cheers Grant |
Great to have all these updates. So it seems after all that, for the moment at least for overlanders nothing has really changed cost wise, time wise or hassle wise. Though I suppose there at least is an alternative to the old ferry/barge system.
Ch |
My bike arrived on the barge today in Aswan so hopefully Im outa here tomorrow... But an update on the new road stuff before I go.
1) Kamal informs me that he is the only fixer who is allowed to run these groups along the road at present. 2) He also says he can run groups in both directions (people heading North need to contact Mazar in Sudan to arrange this. 3) He says using the road is about half the price of using the barge... Car by barge costs about 3000Epounds but car by road costs about 1700Epounds... Likewise bike by barge costs about 800Epound but by road is about 500Epound (Note you would need to add ferry ticket costs as well of about 400Epound per person) 4) He says he can do road runs 2-3 times a week no problem... arrive Aswan one day, do paperwork next day, drive road from 3am next day. That's all I got... It feels a bit like this post is "advertising" but its got new info in it so Im posting anyway. good luck to everyone. cheers Grant |
That is good news.
Does anyone have the contact details of Kamal? Maybe an e-mail adress? |
The info is already in other locations but Ill repost it here too:
Fixer for Aswan side is Kamal : kamalaswanegy@yahoo.com ph 002 (0) 1005322669 Fixer for Wadi Halfa side is Mazar : mazarhalfa@gmail.com ph 00249 (0) 12238740 Fixer in Khartoum is Midhat: midhat@tour-sudan.com ph 00249 (0) 912253484 ...midhat is really usefull for example for getting a carne in Sudan that is valid for Egypt... its way cheaper there than anywhere else! All these guys are great... reliable, reasonably priced, good communicators, very friendly and extremely well-connected. cheers Grant |
Just to confirm what Gaby said, we're with Kamal now, did paper work this mornin and leaving Thursday at 3am, for E£1800 in total. Will let you know how it all goes, but looking forward to reaching wadi halfa in a day! Inshallah!
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More detail on the road:
The actual ROAD to Wadi Halfa is still not for public use, there was a long line of trucks waiting at the turn off when we went past. Kamal says they got an authorisation from Cairo to use the roa, which he says is possible but doesn't know how. The ferry from Aswan is now totally avoidable/not in use. Instead you leave Aswan at 3am with Kamal and take the new road to Abu Simbel and hope the police don't ask to escort you as this can make you run late. You sadly don't follow the road sign to wadi halfa but go on to Abu Simbel where you take the ferry with your vehicle for an hour and a half. You now get dropped off around 40km from the new land port, where you'll spend most of the day with Kamal teaching Egyptian customs officers how to fill in the forms (suprise E£80 fee for photocopies). You then get waved through to no man'a land where you hope Mazar will make them open the gate into the Sudanese half of the port. Here more checks and stamps an if you're lucky enough to get your police check done right there and then, youre good to go! |
An article about the crossing in local Sudanese papers (right click and select translate to English)
http://www.alrakoba.net/news-action-show-id-164458.htm |
Hi all,
This couple from the UK travelled the road just a couple of days ago: LindiKhaya - Africa | "Take care of your home" – Our drive down Africa Cheers from Jungle Junction, Nairobi, Gee |
I see that a VW 4x4 on record-breaking run from North Cape to Cape Town used the 'ferry free' west side road last week.
Map | Touareg Cape-to-cape (They crashed out in Tanzania on the weekend) All a good precedent for that becoming the normal way one day in the future. Ch |
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RR. |
Euhhh... they wrote on their blog : "We left Egypt in the night via an unofficial military checkpoint on a road, which was only opened for us.":(
RR. |
They most likely mean the checkpoint where the Abu simbel road veers off. There's no barrier as such. The Egyptians just moved the barrels off the road when we crossed through to Sudan that way last year.
The first photo of that blog post is most definitely the Arkine border post. (Actually on second thoughts I don't remember the tower! The Arkine post has a similar rounded glazed area) |
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But like I say, the more it gets done the less unusual it becomes. |
yesssssssssssss the road is open between Egypt and Sudan
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Yes it is true now you can travel by road and you can make it in the same day between the 2 countries
I managed to travel to Sudan and back to Egypt using the new road qostol – Eshkit ,or you can call it Aswan –Wadi Halfa ,or Abu simble ,Wadi Halfa Things went smooth and easy The route start from Aswan you head toward the famous temple of Abu Simble , you must be there at 8 am so better to go a day before and rest in one of the few hotels there By 7 :30 try to find the ferry You won’t miss it it is just in the center of the very small town behind the bank Ask any one will point it I believe there is like 3 ferry boat daily One of it run by the Egyptian military but the best one is the first one at 8 : 30 start to sail from the west bank to the west bank of the Nile and it cross it in 90 minutes I didn’t pay as I was invited by the manager of the boat but I think it will not be more than 30 Egyptian pound for a motorbike and for a car I don’t know but I think it will be around 300 to 500 LE depend on how big is your car ( 1 USD = 7,10 Egyptian pound ) When you reach the east bank of the Nile you have to drive for 30 km ,it is only one way ,you will be at the gate of the border I paid 90 Egyptian pound to cross the gate ( on the way back I paid 100 ) When you cross the gate you will go to the left side you will be between 2 buildings,your fist office is the last one on the right hand side , you go there to scan and check your luggage ,it is painful as I had to move all my luggage to the x ray machine and then have to load it back to my bike Just cross that scan room there is a small booth you have to go there and pay 60 LE for checking and security thing I don’t know what was it although I got receipt After that just 2 rooms next to the xray room the immigration room you stamp your passport After that 2 room next to the immigration there is the customs room where you will stamp your carnet I had Egyptian carnet so I paid something around 50 Egyptian pound I don’t know if you have foreign carnet I think you pay something like 550 LE Any way you must take a receipt for each money you pay ,if you have any problems or any one ask you for money without receipts ask for the manager of the port ( his office is the first one in that building that all your work will be with it and explain to hem politely that why you have to pay money without receipts or if you can’t reach hem try to speak with any officer ( officer you will see stars or eagles on his shoulders ) After you sort and stamp your carnet you must get your bike and go around the building to the traffic room There they will take your chassis number and you have to pay something like 30 Egyptian pound You may here pay little bakshish something like 10 Egyptian pound to the guy who will bring a pencil and a small paper to get your chassis number , but still you don’t have to pay them ,it is just to make things faster Make sure that you copy all your documents at least 4 copies and to get an empty paper file they will take your copies and the papers they will make and keep it there I had to photos copy 2 papers and to buy that sh—t empty file for 80 Egyptian pound ,( the price in any town like Aswan won’t be maximum 3 Egyptian pound )so buy it from before to save money The reason for that very high price it is rental office and they pay huge amount of money for the rent !!!!!! After that you are ready to leave The Sudan side by Sudanese laws you must have a fixer to sort your papers, I spoke to the manager of the port and I knew that from hem You will find many fixers there you pay 100 to 200 Sudanese pounds maximum for his service and it is after you are ready to leave the port and all sorted don’t let the fixer pay any money, tell hem I will pay it myself and make sure you get a receipt too 1USD = around 8 Sudanese pounds I spent 4 hours to finish the Sudan side had to pay around 155 insurance, and 20 to make photo copies and other things so I paid around 320 Sudanese pounds . Still pricey but it is way way cheaper and easier than the ferry between Aswan and Halfa if you are morethan 3 travelers and you will share the cost of a fixer , so you relax and he will do every thing for you i only trust kamal from Aswan in the Egyptian side , and Mazar from Halfa in Sudan side Good luck and travel sage always :D:scooter: |
Hi Omar,
Thanks for that very useful info! It still sounds very Egyptian but at least they seem to have sorted out how they want to handle it from now. With the Turkey-Egypt ferry apparently running, the way on the Eastern route seems to be managable again. :D Unfortunately, the new three month state of emergency on the Northern Sinai and the limited possibilities to travel in the Western desert are on the downside of recent events. Thanks for the pictures as well! Have there been any other travellers with you in either direction or was it only local traffic? Greetings, Achim |
Hi all,
Thanks Omar! I crossed the border a couple of days ago, south to north. Will also post a breakdown of the process and costs later, with pictures. Cheers from Alexandria, Gee |
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I'm planning to come back from Djibouti spring 2015... RR |
Sudan => Egypt border crossing
Hi all,
I crossed the border from Wadi Halfa to Aswan on 28th October. I was with Mazar all the way (he had to pick up a driver in Aswan) so did not make use of Kamal. It seems that you can do it alone: the road is open. But it would take even longer and probably cost a lot more. 1. Get your visa in Halfa: it's easy, costs 25 usd, and you can pick up your passport the next day. If you give the lady a big smile, even the same day. They sent my visa to the border. 2. There's a new road to the border, takes just half an hour. 3. The border is completely new and promises an improvement in efficiency. Alas! 4. I didn't follow Mazar around all the time. He was on a seemingly endless run from one desk to another. The Sudanese side took 2 hours to complete. Costs on the Sudanese side: - to exit the country with my car: 251 - to exit myself: 51 - customs: 153 - traffic police: 120 Total costs Sudanese side: approx. 75 euro 5. I was only allowed to enter the gate of the Egyptian side after paying 150 LE! 6. The security measures are visible everywhere: lots of heavily armed military, police and people in civil clothes wearing side arms. 7. I had to unpack everything from the car and take it to a scanner. After that the car was searched top to bottom, door panels, spare gyres, etc. 8. Traffic police is the last stop after the paperwork: fit number plates, have the chassis and engine number checked. 9. See to it that your carnet is stamped twice: once on the left hand top, and once on the right hand middle! The Egyptian side took 4 hours, and cost: - to enter the gate (!?): 150 LE - customs: 522 - traffic police: 100 - a man who checks the chassis and engine numbers: 100 - insurance: 160 Total costs Egyptian side: approx. 125 euro So crossing the border was 200 euro. All these payments were made by Mazar, and without receipts. And to people who were just doing their jobs (as Mazar put it: "Customs takes 522"). You then drive to Abu Simbel, which is just 30 km. The ferry is 22 euro, and takes just 90 minutes. Since it was too late to reach Aswan by daylight, we stayed at a beautiful house of friends of Mazar's, and left very early the next day. It seems that they still want you to take a convoy to Aswan, but we didn't, and at the friendly checkpoints no questions were asked. Get your certificate of fines in Aswan! You'll need it when exiting the country, and it is only available in Aswan! Ask Kamal.Mazar forgot about mine, and I had to DHL it to Alexandria. Despite the hassle and the bribes it is an easy crossing compared to the ferry (although I wouldn't have mind the experience if I had been traveling without a dog). It's also the longest (6 hours) and by far the most expensive one after 30 countries in Africa. Cheers from Alexandria, Gee http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0180.JPG Sudanese side http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0182.JPG Gate to Egyptian side http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0184.JPG Egyptian side http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0186.JPG Ferry Abu Simbel http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0190.JPG Ferry Abu Simbel http://www.geehurkmans.com/blogs/IMG_0242.JPG Thimba enjoying the early morning drive through the desert from Abu Simbel to Aswan |
Thanks all for recent reports. Now we have an idea of the run in both directions.
Ch |
Thanks a lot a lot a lot, Thimba.:scooter::D:thumbup1:
RR. |
And I also travel with my dog (SANGA) in my Land Rover across Sahara and other countries, so your experience is very useful for us!
RR. |
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That's what we're here for, on the HUBB! Travel safe, and have fun with the dog, Gee |
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Hi Thimba,
And just for those who travel around Sahara with their dog a picture of Sanga (Tim Merzouga;OCT. 2012). RR. |
Thank you for uodate...
Hey thimba
Thank you so much for that update... and the beautiful pics that are included. Now have a better understanding of what to expect when we leave South Africa at the end of the year to trek up North. Just one or two question regards Carnet de passage and visa... do you have a carnet that you acquired somewhere in Africa or did you get it at the border? :oops2: BTW: does one really need a carnet for most of Africa when leaving from the South? Also same applies to visa for Sudan and Egypt.... some info on where you acquired those would be very useful. Thanking you Safe travels......with you canine friend. :thumbup1: Reg |
Hi Reg,
Thanks. I got the Carnet from the ADAC in Germany, costs 200 euro and a refundable deposit of 5.000 euro. If you search the forum, you will find several discussions about the need for a Carnet. I got the Sudan visa in Nairobi, easy. See: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...t-border-78332 Heading north, get your Egyptian visa in Wadi Halfa, 25 use, pick-up next day. Enjoy the preps! Cheers, Gee |
Sudan-Egypt land border crossing
Hey there,
I also crossed the border about one month ago. I had about the same experience like Thimba, although the prices on the egyptian side differ. Please note, we crossed the border with one car and two people. We also used Mazar and Kamal, so we had to pay both. The final price therefore includes the sudanes and the egyptian border, Mazar and Kamal! So here are the latest news about the “newly” opened road and land border crossing from Wadi Halfa, Sudan, to Aswan, Egypt! We are in Aswan now and therefor managed to cross the borders successfully (2 people and 1 Land Rover) on Wednesday the 8th of October 2014! We had Mazar (Mazar Mahir. +249 12 238 0740. mazarhalfa@gmail.com. His home is even in Tracks4Africa! Under ‘Mazar BMW’) in Halfa as a Fixer. He went with us to the Sudanese border, about 35km north of Wadi Halfa. On the Egyptian side, Kamal was already waiting for us (see text below). Sudanese side: Needed Time: It took 2h for Mazar to finish all the paper work. It is NOT just about get the Carnet and the passport stamped. He organized much more papers, like a “pamphlet” , which “allows” us to leave Sudan. Our job: Sit in the shade and wait. Costs: We paid 450 SGP (53USD with receipts ) for Customs etc. Mazar paid everything and we gave him back the money in USD. We gave Mazar 47 USD for his services (about 30USD for his services and 17 USD for staying with him in Halfa) Total costs of 100 USD on the Sudanese side Fazit: It MIGHT be possible (in the future) to cross the border without Mazar, but since the border just opened 1 month ago, it is not like any other border yet. One needs lots of papers, and there is no routine at all. Even for Mazar it took 2 hours to get all the papers. Change some EGP (egyptian pound) already in Halfa (maybe 100 USD), Mazar will help you. Its good to have some EGP, although Kamal takes USD later. Exchange rate: 1USD=7.15 EGP. ----------------------------------------- Finally, we drove the 200m to the Egyptian border control. Kamal (+20 100 532 26 69, kamalaswanegy@yahoo.com), who works together with Mazar on the Egyptian side, was already waiting and waiving for us behind the fence. Needed time: 4h Our job: Take everything out of the car and after wait in the shade. Customs and security check: The officials are very nervous. Our car was carefully searched . We (they) had to take out everything, some of the boxes got screened, others just emptied and searched. They kept my ax (it was classified as a weapon) and I had a long discussion about my pocket knife and the cooking gas bottle. Costs: Kamal paid everything in advance and I gave him the money back later in USD. No receipts were issued. I try to lists the approx. costs as far as I know: Customs: 800 EGP (instead of 650 EGP at the harbor) Third party insurance: 400EGP (instead of 160 EGP at the harbor) Border entry costs: 50 EGP pp and 30 EGP for the car – 130 EGP License and number plates: about 70 EGP Later, after the border, a ferry ( 30km north of the border) from opposite Abu Simbel to Abu Simbel: 200 EGP . There is also a cheaper ferry (only 70 EGP), but since the ferries are just going about every 1.5h, we didn’t wait for the cheaper one. Kamals service: 500 EGP (instead of 40USD at the harbor) Kamal requested 2500 EGP (350USD) in total. If the above list is right (all prices according Kamal), we paid about 400 EGP baksheesh. Visa: NO VISAS ARE ISSUED AT THIS BORDER! But, if Kamal knows it in advance, he gets a visa sticker from the airport in Aswan and brings it to the border. It is absolutely essential to check this with Kamal BEFOR you leave Sudan. Kamal needs to have the sticker and has to be at the border waiting for you!!!!!!! (25 USD pp) Final Costs for 2 people + 1 car: 100 USD for Sudan, 350 USD for Egypt and 50 USD for Visa 500 USD to cross the border Final comment: So far, in my opinion, it is not possible to cross this border without a fixer, especially not the Egyptian side. Maybe in the future, but not now. The costs are about the same (OK, slightly cheaper) like with the ferry, but since the border is open every day one is much more flexible. And ones don’t need a hotel room in Aswan while waiting for the barge. The Egyptians check the car very carefully, so be prepared and bring patience and water (and hide your ax!). But they check the car really carefully (each box, under the car, under the mattress, under the seat etc.) According to Kamal, a bike is slightly cheaper, something around 1500 EGP he said. Apparently, the ferry from Halfa to Aswan is ONLY a passenger ferry now. NO BARGE is operating anymore! There are also busses running now from Halfa to Aswan. Ask Mazar for more information. Cheers from Port Said |
Thanks again for this new detailed report.
Is a map available for this area, with the new road? RR. |
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I've included it in my (beta) site about overlanding so have a look : Overlanding: Routes :welcome: |
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The road is also on OSM as far as I can make out... boarder crossing point a little north of 21.9998802 31.1536377 If that is 'true' then you can have a Garmin routeable map for it. Or an OSM paper map for it too .. both 'free' - you pay for your internet etc. |
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Thanks a lot for this map. RR. |
Recent Egypt-Sudan Border Experiences?
We have only heard a few accounts of people crossing the recently opened land border from Egypt-Sudan. Has anyone passed through in the last few months?
Thanks! |
Have a look here
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...sudan-63126-17 |
Has anyone else crossed this border recently?
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Passed through about a month ago with a motorbike headed north - 2hrs on Sudan Side, 4 hours on Egyptian side, fake Carnet about $150 in fees and baksheesh.... pretty much totally sucks.
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fake carnet?
You should consider yourself very fortunate to not be rotting in an Egyptian prison. Charlie |
definitely! all sorts of stuff to feel lucky for on this trip :thumbup1:
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I've been told this is a truck route, was it busy? Boring hard top all the way?
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yep - perfect tarmac north of khartoum hardly any traffic at all though. border had some trucks but not very busy. most everyone just gets a two week transit visa, so not too much time to muck around in the desert
the fixer Mazar Mahir is a great dude on the Wadi Halfa side who will put u up at his house and serve u breakfast. He even found me a half used frot tire which I was in desperate need of! |
Thanks Gary, enjoy your website.
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road egypt to Sudan and the other questions
Hello everyone,
we are also planning our trip to Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia but we have some doubts The visa Assouan, how long does it take? one day, two day, 3 ... The ferry departs on Sunday or Monday? The new road that says that is open in this thread, is open every day? They can cross the border for her foreign? any special permission is needed (do not carry car or motorbike) Once in Wadi Halfa. There are local transport to Karima ?, how long it takes? roads are good? or you can rent any car to take you? Finally, conoceis someone in Wadi Halfa trusted to stay overnight, or rent a car If anyone knows any answer please answer us on this thread, thank you very much JA |
Hi JA,
You will find most answers to your questions in this thread :smartass: Happy travels, Gee |
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More info on Sudan here: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...s/africa/sudan |
Is the Aswan-Wadi Halfa ferry running for motobikes? It's the way I'd choose to cross the border...not because of speed, but for the experience!
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crossing from Sudan into Egypt (landborder)
We crossed this border just a week ago with two motorbikes.
The Sudanese side war pretty difficult, but we managed to do it in four hours without using a 'fixer'. But we did meet Mazar nonetheless, as he is referred to as 'clearer' at the border and you need a 'clearer' for some steps along the process. I worked with another 'clearer' first as only the clearer has and can fill in one of the forms you need and eventually Mazar was involved as well (he is basically the only one who speaks decent English). But I did not pay him (and he did not ask for it) because I acted as if he was just another official who was there in his official function as 'clearance officer'. Nobody asked for a bribe, but at several stages, fees were asked from us (traffic police: 140,- Sudanese Pounds per motorbike and a departure fee to get your passport stamped). We could talk ourselves out of most of them and ended up paying 108,- Sudanese Pounds per motorcycle for customs (which was reduced from 158,- after some protest from my side*, but after that they would not budge). That was all. So if you don't mind spending quite a while at the border or - as I do - even find a certain pleasure in dealing with 'such stuff', it is definitely doable without using a 'fixer' - and you can save quite a bit of money. * just as an explanation: I did not want to pay all these fees for exiting Sudan, as we had entered Sudan coming from Ethiopia without paying anything, there wasn't even a 'traffic police' and the process was smooth and easy: immigration, get passport stamped, customs, get carnets stamped and we were good to go. At the Egyptian side everything was extremely smooth, well-organized and professional. It was expensive, though (but we knew that before - and there was no talking ourselves out of any of the fees). But we got (and needed) receipts for everything we paid and nobody asked for 'bakshish'. We did not need a 'fixer' and I don't see why you would work with one if you have your paperwork in order (which we had). Here is what we paid (prices given are per person and/or motorbike in LE, Egyptian Pounds): 100,- to enter the border (30 pp, 50 for the bike, 5 per hour - and they just assumed it would take us 4 hours, which was not that far from the truth) 60,- to get our bags and boxes searched (x-rayed), we had to present the receipt upon leaving the border post 0,- to get our passports stamped (but we already had a visa) 522,- customs fee (it's good for a stay up to 3 months and we were told it's the same for every vehicle, so it does not make a difference if you're on a motorbike, in a car or a truck) 60,- for the third-party insurance (no idea if they'd accept an international insurance should you happen to have one) 55,- for the license plates and the Egyptian registration ... the whole process was clearly structured, everybody knew exactly what to do and where to send us next (most of the time to the office next door). It took some time and cost a lot of money, but all in all it was one of the more pleasant border crossings, because there are no people accosting you, hassling you, wanting to 'help' you or change money for you (there's a bank at the border post where you can do that, no ATM, though). The ferry to Abu Simbel we were on took approx 40min and cost us 50,- in total for the two of us and our two motorbikes. And we even got tea! :-) It seems there are different ferries with different prices, though. We had already gotten our visas in Khartoum because we had heard that you can't get them at the landborder. I think it's a good idea to do that anyway, because it cost us only 160 Sudanese Pounds (approx $16) as opposed to $25 upon arrival (if you take the ferry from Wadi Halfa to Assuan or fly in) and you can extend it easily in Aswan, Luxor, Cairo, Alexandria and on the Sinai for only 11.45 LE ($1.60) for another 3 months. (We only got a month in Khartoum, starting from the date of entry into Egypt.) Only problem: our vehicle registration expires on April 1st (we entered on March 8th) and we only found out about that later (the registration is in Arabic). We hadn't asked about it at the border, because the customs was for three months and we'd assumed that so would be our registration. It's not. So you might want to check if they can issue an extended registration already at the border (if you wish to spend more time in the country). Because from what we've heard so far, you can only get an extension in Cairo, at the airport (at 'car customs') - which we will now have to do. We were told in Luxor, though, that you could also do it in Aswan, because that's the region that's given on your new Egyptian license plate. |
@Phil53: it's a very good, thus boring road all the way from Khartoum to Aswan.
It might be a truck route, but when we were there (some two weeks ago), it wasn't very busy and absolutely no problem. |
@fm4fan You did much better at that border than we did a couple months ago - well done!
It may depend on the day you arrive, but for me it was hands-down the most time-consuming, costly, and complex border that I encountered in all of Africa, just due to the motorbike stuff. BTW - they did accept our COMESA yellow card insurance. We had the same problem as fm4fan with the reg only good for 1 month and we didn't know it, since the visa was for 3 months. The first few police that saw it just let us go, then one in Dahab would not let it slide. He wanted 500 LE to write up a 'replacement' registration in exchange for our expired one, but I didn't want to give up a piece of paper that took 4 hours to get at the Sudan-Egypt border. I wouldn't give it up if you are asked - leaving Egypt they seemed to really need that document. When exiting Egypt, they just get you to pay the extra registration fee for the days you've exceeded your registration anyway - no big deal. |
fee per day for exceeding your registration
@ganaro ... maybe they are finally getting the hang of it? ;-)
Thanks a lot for the info on overstaying your registration. We'd probably exceed ours for more than two months so that might not be an option, although we might not be using the bikes much after we get to Sharm. Anyways, I'd really be interested how much the fee (fine) for exceeding is per day? Can you help? |
I had to deal many times with the "'car customs'" at airport - in the days when I lived in Egypt 'till 2012, and it's painful. However, it's worth loosing a few hours there to spare the few hours on the way back IMO. Worth having a look at all the fancy cars parked there, all seized for some reasons related to unpaid taxes, and outdated registration. I must have kept the GPS coordinate somewhere if interested, but get help as you go there, and take a cab to avoid carrying your gear during these long hours to multiple counters, in the heat. Good idea to bring water, and patience also.
My experience of the country is everything is very much arbitrary when it comes to charging admin fees, one place or the other, it's just a bit less stressful doing it when you're mentally ready for it, and not on the day you're trying to exit. And then troubles are usually not over, when I shipped my Defender out, they managed to put the wrong vehicle in the container... fun fun fun at destination! Ride safe out there, this is by no means an easy country to ride a bike as you already found out I'm sure. |
Hi fm4fan,
Great info! I would be interested in the costs you encountered when leaving Egypt. Please update when you know. Did you have to pay money to drive the new road? Your costs seem a lot cheaper than expected. Great! |
car customs in Cairo
I will definitely post an update about leaving Egypt. Most probably we’ll use the Taba border to Israel. A friend of ours just used this border crossing two weeks ago, and it was very okay. He just had to pay something like 60,- LE (approx. $8-9) in departure fees. I don’t remember the exact price he mentioned but it seemed very reasonable (given what we’ve all heard about Egypt and their fees). But I’ll let you all know once we’ve done it - will be a while, though.
No, we did not have to pay any road tolls so far in Egypt - I was told that motorcycles are exempt. I can provide some info on extending our motorcycle licenses at ‘car customs’ at Cairo airport – which we had to do as we wanted to stay in Egypt for a while! So, here goes: it is a pain in the *** but absolutely doable and you definitely don’t need a ‘fixer’ or ‘helper’. As we had entered Egypt via the land border close to Abu Simbel, we had Aswan licence plates. Which means that we had to get new – temporary – licenses (because Cairo cannot ‘extend’ Aswan license plates – don’t ask why and don’t get me started). So here’s a good piece of advice if you are in a similar situation: make sure you get your ‘clearance’ for your current license before you head out to the airport. Otherwise, they’ll make you go back to the center of Cairo and get it at the ‘traffic police headquarters’. And Cairo traffic is not as bad as they say but bad enough … It’s not hard to find: opposite El Shorta Mosque at N 30.053007 / E 31.274729 (30°03'10.8"N 31°16'29.0"E), second floor. The ‘clearance’ costs you 5,- LE per license plate – but they’ll also make you pay any fine that you might have incurred while in the country. And please note, that you don’t have to be stopped by a policeman to be fined – they just put it into the system with their mobile phones if they watch you do something you shouldn’t do. How I know? Because my boyfriends’ license plate actually showed a fine of a whopping 500,- LE for using the phone while driving – needless to say that we’re not in the habit of using the phone while riding the bikes … very long story – we finally got rid of it, but it was another huge pain … whatever ;-) So, you better get that out of the way right away. Car customs at the airport is easy to find, just ride long the main ‘highway’ into the airport, past a check-point and then there are two or three turn-offs but wait till you see one that says ‘car customs’ (in English and Arabic). If you end up at the bus terminal, you’ve gone too far. It’s right after the petrol station: there’s a car parking lot and a road (with a ‘no enter’ sign but who bothers). You enter the building at the first gate, are probably subject to a security check and then head up the stairs. The first window with people waiting is yours. (And it’s far less hectic and chaotic than we were led to believe, but make sure you’re there sometime between 9.30 and 1.30 – that’s when they’re open). We found a nice guy who spoke a little bit of English (and actually worked there in an official function) and knew exactly what to do. He got the paperwork ready for us. All he needed was our passports and the carnets. We found out later that your carnet will always be made out for the same date your own visa is made out (so be sure to extend your own visa – if necessary – beforehand) – the downside: you can’t tell them to do it for any other date. At least that’s what we were told repeatedly, though you might be able to talk ‘carnet guy’ into doing that – at a later stage it’s definitely not possible. With that we had to show our bikes to a guy at a second gate who had to ‘rub off’ our VIN numbers from the bikes. Standard procedure, we were told (they’d done that at the border as well and they’d do it again at a later stage). After that it took ‘carnet guy’ some more time to complete our paperwork and we had to pay 24,- LE per bike for the extension of the carnet (which was written on the back of the Egyptian carnet page). We had just gotten our carnets extended till July 7th (which gives us all in all 4 months in Egypt). No other costs (or ‘fixers’) involved. So far – very smooth sailing. After that it got a bit more complicated as we had to go to the other side of the building to get our new license plates and licenses. We got some papers at a price of 15,- LE, though, which we needed once more for a guy in the parking lot to ‘inspect’ our bikes and rub off the VIN numbers. He completes this form for you, so you don’t need anybody to help you even though the form is completely in Arabic. He does this every day so he knows what to do – you don’t need a translator! But there they told us about the ‘clearance’ by the traffic police which meant, we couldn’t do anything but go back to city center – oh yes, and we could already buy insurance: They’ll make you buy insurance for the time your bike is allowed to stay in the country. This hurts a bit, as in Egypt, you buy monthly insurance, which means that it doesn’t matter if you need a few days or a whole month, it’s the same price. With 52,- LE per month and bike it’s still not that bad. After we returned (the next day), there was still lots of paperwork left to be completed but the supervisor who has to sign off on the paperwork of ‘parking lot VIN number guy’ speaks decent English and will make sure you know what to do next. If in doubt – go back to him. He was veeeery helpful! When buying insurance you might find you’ve got yourself a new friend. Just insist on holding on to your papers yourself and from time to time tell him you don’t actually need a new friend. At some point he might get the message … They make you buy some more forms with stamps on it (and we even got some spare stamps, because we still have them and nobody seemed to need them), but all in all the new license plates and the license cost us 123,- LE (for two bikes) – which was approx. what we had paid at the border. In the end, you’ll get fancy new ‘temporary’ license plates with astoundingly small numbers (we got 6 and 7) and creditcard-like licenses. Very fancy. http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...5/DSC04782.jpg The process took – in our case – 4 days, but I’m pretty sure, you can do it in one day, two days max due to their closing time at 1.30. We made the mistake to go to the airport without our bikes (dreading Cairo traffic and being led to believe you don’t actually need the bikes). That cost one day because we could only finish the carnet-part on the second day. On day 2 we were told about the ‘clearance’ by traffic police. So we had to come back on day 3 after getting this clearance from ‘traffic police headquarters’ in the city center. And on day 3 there was not only still a lot of paperwork left but they also had a power outage. Well, yes, that happens – so we were first told to wait and then (at 1.30) to be back the next day. The next day, there was still a power outage because it had something to do with the building. But ‘our’ very nice supervisor made a heroic decision: we would complete the paperwork here and then – I kid you not – take the desktop computer (they actually took the whole thing!!!) to a different place in order to print our licenses. Because – fun fact – the whole process is strictly manual paperwork – but the fancy credit-card-like licenses have to be printed and your data put into ‘the system’. http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...5/DSC04776.jpg So this is why in our case it took 4 days … but I’m sure you can do it in less time. We were pretty happy with what we had to pay, though. Let’s see what happens when we want to leave the country ;-) |
I just returned from the Cairo to Cape Town Route, and without any doubt, the worse part of the trip was the Egyptian customs. It took us one week to take the car out of Alexandria port and 5 hours to leave the Egyptian border at Aswan.
They checked all our lugagge by X ray, then open all the bags, boxes, fridge... The stuff there were not used to see overlanders crossing (we crossed it at october) and complain about the plates that did it wrong at Alexandria.... Never asked money of bribes, but we got stuck there for hours with the papers... There were not fixers at the customs, but luckily a sudanes man helped us with the paper work. At Sudan side is everything much more easy. Mazar just charge 10€ and they are priceless and in about 1 hour or so we were done. Just the insurance paper work takes time because they write letter by letter our names from an arab keyboard. I want to make a full review of the crossing, but I need time to re adapt my self to the "western style of life".. Is being harder that I thought..... Greetings |
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Did you ever get around to writing your experiences up? Thanks! |
Sudan/Egypt border May 2015
Hello,
Just crossed the border yesterday 28 May 2015. Two people, one motorcycle. We arrived 1030 and were free by 1630, could have been faster if we didn't make a fuss of things. Black market rate USD to SDG 1:9.5 No fixer used*, with patience (and cold water at hand) it is okay without one. Someone will come to you and give you forms to fill out and then send you in a general direction to customs etc. Sudan fees: (Sudanese pounds) 50 per person - departure fee 70 per person - departure fee (Khartoum government fee) the nice man helping me at this moment did not want to me to pay it, and was annoyed at officials as it is basically a stupid fee for the government - everyone was paying this. 108 - bike customs 100 - traffic police (maybe you could get away without paying this one?) 100 - Mazar (reluctantly paid this for his private 'service' of a clearance stamp that the government does not give, took 10 minutes. It is frustrating that we are pushed to Mazar's services and are 'not allowed' do it independently, seemingly because the officials are loyal to Mazar). TOTAL = 550 SDP/61 USD (two people, one bike) *I know many swear by Mazar but for those that travel on a very tight budget, it's annoying that his popularity has caused his 10 minutes of service a requirement. The Sudanese are amazingly helpful and finding someone to translate is not a problem. Long story short you can do it all yourself except one stamp and form that he'll charge you $10 dollars for. Maybe you'll get lucky and he wont be around and they'll process you like a normal person. Egypt fees: (Egyptian pounds) 50 per person - gate entrance (ugh!) 50 - motorcycle gate entrance 50 - gate leaving fee ?? (which we couldn't get out of) 522 - bike customs 30 - photocopies (even if you have photocopies, they copy a lot and it doesn't really translate that you have them) 50 - license (small piece of paper) + number plates (two small motorcycle ones) TOTAL = 802 LE/ USD 105 (two people, one bike) USD166 all up. The 1 hour ferry to Abu Simbel cost us 5LE (USD 0.70cents) each - we possibly got this cheap/normal price because we had befriended English speaking locals and were therefore able to find out the real price. Also note, the customs registration is valid for one month (though you don't know this because it's all in Arabic), when the guy was filling this form out with the carnet we asked if we could have two months, and they simply said yes with no extra cost. We got our visas in Khartoum N 15" 36.247' E032"31.404' costing SDG 160 (USD17) though it is only valid for one month from the day we got it. Visa was issued same day, we will look at extending it here in Egypt. And there's bank to exchange USD for Egyptian pounds inside gate. Free camping spot in Abu Simbel N 22" 20.568' E 031" 36.931' at a café/garden area by the bridge in town, good shower too. We just ate and drank there, although the guy possibly increased the prices just a tad. Hope this update helps. :) |
Great.. This is just what I was looking for :D
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I am just planning my trip to Egypt where I will ship my car back to Europe.
So fixer is not obligatory to get in to Egypt from Sudan? Greetings from Nairobi, waiting passport to arrive with Ethiopian visa :thumbup1: /jasmin |
No, a fixer is not obligatory ... he might be helpful if something's wrong with your paperwork but if your paperwork is in order, you really don't need a fixer (on neither side).
When our friends arrived at the border with their car a few weeks back, Mazar was nowhere to be found (for whatever reason) and they managed just fine without being even bothered (after the officials had established that Mazar was MIA ;-)). All the best with your Ethiopian visa - we were in the same situation a few months back and all went well. Enjoy Ethiopia - we really loved it (divine coffee and food!) but had way too little time to really explore it! If you can - take your time! How do you plan on shipping your car from Egypt to Europe? All the best, safe and fun travels! Enjoy! |
Recent report from Steffen W
In Aswan I have to track down ‘Kamal’. Kamal also has contact with Mazar on the Sudanese side [contact details in this thread somewhere].
There are two convoys a day to Abu Simbel: one at 4am near the Nubian Museum (for tourist day trips and to catch the first ferry), the second I think at 11am in front of the obelisk. My pre-dawn convoy was formed by many tourists minibuses doing Abu Simbel, with some police cars front and back. Only foreigners need to do the convoy; on the road I saw local cars unescorted. The speed is high so it takes about three hours to Abu Simbel - average speed about 110-120km/h. Not ideal in the dark on an Egyptian road through the desert on a back-heavy 1200GS with the headlight beam illuminating the stars. The new road is in a very good condition by Egyptian standards, but give it a few years. When the sun rises about 5:30 you see the fantastic desert landscape light up but you have to ride on. At Abu Simbel you go straight to the harbour. On the other side you have to drive about 60km to Wadi Halfa, but at the beginning of Abu Simbel there is a fuel-station on the left. We reach Abu Simbel at about 7. Kamal waits there and you need to hurry as the ferry should leave at 7 too. It takes about one hour to cross the lake to Quastal which is just a ramp in the dust. After that, there's a new road for nearly 30km to the border. To leave Egypt it takes more time then entering, I don't know why. Kamal does it all and I just wait with all the others. It takes more than six hours to enter Sudan but that was not normal, they had a network problem that day. There was no bike-check, nothing. After the border (forget the name, in the middle of nowhere) you ride 30km on a new road to Wadi Halfa. Mazar is a really nice guy: friendly, fair (from what I could see), you can make jokes with him. He gave me some interesting tips about must-sees and an invitation to his brother’s house in Khartoum. He did the ‘Long Way Down’ crew and owns a BMW found in the desert back in the 90’s near a dead German traveller. Kamal is just a fixer. A little bit grumpy but does his job. You don't really know exactly what you’re paying for and why in three currencies: this in Euro, that in Dollar, this in EGP. I’m sure I’m paying too, much like all others, but what can you do if you can’t read the documents? With anyone else it would be the same. From Wadi Halfa to Khartoum all sealed, easy riding, if you don't mind 40°C). Recent report from Steffen W |
Thx Chris - great description.
I heard a dirty rumour over the weekend that the road was now closed as per a few days ago!!! argh! I find it hard to believe, but goepolitics are strange these days, so wondering if anyone has any current information. My quick google didn't come up with anything, but perhaps I'm missing something? Please let me know. Thanks |
Not heard anything but I'm sure we will soon if its happened.
(fyi report by Steffan W, not me) |
I don't have any personal experience right now since we just made it to Europe. Via sinai and israel. But my friends in egypt told sinai is now closed from 4x4 bit driving else where is ok.
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Hello!
I'm right now in Egypt and plan to go to the Sinai to take the ferry to Israel. We have a Land Rover defender, an obvious 4x4. Is it forbidden to cross into the Sinai from west Suez (Ahmed Hamri tunnel)? Late August it was possible but I am scared something changed... |
Hi Cwuebben!
We did the Sinai in September, was fine. No problem at all. I have heard now from other travellers that is is closed. They are shipping from Alexandria their car. But I read news that it have been closed since August, and yet we did it. I believe if they have closed it, you would not be able to get too far, police will let tell you go back. The Suez canal was not too expensive, was it less than 1 euro.. If you do not find more info, maybe just try. |
Thank you jasminannika! I think we will just try it, if it works it works.
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Sinai open again for 4x4 since yesterday
Hi everyone, I have just had first hand news that the Suez canal tunnel is open again since yesterday. Good news! Travel via the coastal road to Sharm el Sheikh then North to Dahab / Nuweiba / Taba is possible again. Tunnel is 2 EGP (as always), which is 25 euro cents. Travel to st Catherines is possible from the Sharm side. Border crossings at Nuweiba and Taba are possible.
The white desert has also reopened again according to Peter Wirth of the Baharya hot springs hotel, but only for day trips. Contact him for more information. I don't know if it is possible or advisable to travel to the oases further away (Farafra, Dakhla, Kharga). Bear in mind that police and army are everywhere and are very "jumpy" in Egypt as they have been the target of many attacks (hundreds of them have died), so have your paperwork in order, stay calm and you will be fine. |
No 4x4 on the Sinai
The Ahmed hamdy tunnel is closed to 4x4. Other cars are allowed. We were at the tunnel 2 days ago and were denied entry. We tried to get a permit from military intelligence in Cairo but were denied. We tried with a towing truck... But were denied today. Right now there is no way to enter the Sinai with a 4x4.
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please email me omarmansourr@hotmail.com |
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Maa Salama Bas |
Border Egypt / Sudan (new road) Fixers and Costs
Hi All,
currently, we are in Cairo, but will go down to Sudan soon. Today, I have contacted a Fixer in Aswan who wants the following sums for his work: * clearance for the car/road use: 1640 EL (i.e. 193€) * US$50 for Sudan visa per person (i.e. US$200) * US$50 per person for his services (i.e. US$200) ... Does anybody have any experiences? ... Do we really need a fixer for exiting Egypt and getting the Sudanese visa (we do have an invitation letter from the University of Khartoum)?? ... It would be great to get your suggestions and ideas. All the best from Cairo, Juliane, Mischa, Anouk and Sóley ... does anybody have the contact details of a fixer called Mazar? |
Braam
I will also be leaving Egypt to Sudan soon bought a car in egypt and need to take it to Sudan.....any Advice?
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Hi Mike!
I hope my answer is not too late. You can do it without fixer, I have heard people doing it. I did this the other way around few months ago with 4x4, from Sudan to Egypt. We had a fixer called Kamal, funny sense of humor but he did everything very well. He took only 50 dollars fee for himself, totally we paid 320 dollars. His e-mail is kamalaswanegy at yahoo dot com |
Border Procedures Egypt - Sudan (Aswan, Abu Simbel, Wadi Halfa)
There are two possible ways to cross the border between Egypt and Sudan: one is the long ferry that still runs between Aswan and Wadi Halfa, the other is the "newly opened" road to Sudan which includes a short ferry. We took the road and short ferry! We decided to take a fixer for the border procedure although it is also possible to do that on your own (here are detailed descriptions on how to do that: by "Abseitsreisen" (Grenze Sudan / Ägypten | abseitsreisen in German) and Omar Mansour on the HUBB (http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...index-63126-16 English)). Our fixer for the Egyptian side, Kamal Muawad, has a very good reputation with overlanders. This are his contact details: phone: 0100 5322669 and 01221393492 mail: kamalaswanegy@yahoo.com Another fixer we met at the "Eskaleh Nubian Ecolodge" (see below) and who was recommended to us by other travelers was Mohamed Abouda (phone: 012/25111968 and 097/2301698 and 097/2306568). He seemed to be very professional and helped us with travel tips and contact persons. In Aswan, it is important to go to the traffic court (together with the fixer) where it is checked whether there are any traffic tickets which still have to be paid for. If you don't have their stamp in your passport and you try to go through the border, you will be sent back to Aswan at the Egyptian border checkpoint. The visa for Sudan are easy to get in Aswan at the Sudanese consulate general Consulate General of the Republic of Sudan El Sadat Rd. - El Khazzah Rd. (close to the Al Rudwan Mosque) Aswan phone: 0972307231 GPS coordinates N 24.055176, E 32.883164 You don't need a fixer here, but he can speed up the process and maybe help extending the visa validity (costs US$50 for a family). For the visa application process you will need: - two passport photos - a photocopy of your passport - your passport - the filled in visa application form (you will get it at the consulate); in the form they ask for other valid visa you have, so I figured out that it might help to have the visa for Ethiopia before applying for the Sudan visa (they are easy to get in Cairo at the Ethiopian Embassy, Consular Section, 21 Sheikh Mohamed El Ghazali Street, Dokki; takes one working day; US$60 for one month/single entry and US$70 for three months/double entry). We also had an invitation letter to Sudan, which is not mandatory, but also may help speeding up the process. Usually the Sudanese visa take about three working days (in our case it was just two), for Americans they can take up to two weeks as the details have to be sent to Khartoum and processed there. The price for the Sudan visa in Aswan is US$50 each (instead of about US$110 in Cairo). Usually, you get one month, our visa are valid for two months (due to what we do not know). If you need a "taxi" in Aswan, call Mohammed Sayed (tel.: 0122 4421767 and 0114 2748889), he will not be more expensive than a taxi, but more reliable, speaks good English and is well informed about what overlanders might need. FOTO ADAM HOME A good place to stay for overlanders is the Nubian house "Adam Home Overland Camp", where you can camp for around 70EL (abour 8€) for a car and two adults Adam Home Overland Camp tel.: 0122 442 1767, mail: adamhome.camp@facebook.com, GPS coordinates: N 24°10.135' E032°51.971' Adam Home it is a great place at the west bank of the Nile (a bit run down at the moment, though, due to health issues of the owner and the impact of less tourism). They can also organise dinners at private Nubian homes and sailing and motor boat tours on the Nile. From Aswan to Abu Simbel there is a police-convoy going daily at 4 and 11 o'clock in the morning which starts at the obelisk in Aswan (if you want to use the convoy, be there one hour in advance) and will speed through the desert at roundabout 130km/h (from what we have heard) - accidents have occured. We did not want to use this convoy and simply went to the police/military checkpoint at 10:30 in the morning. Nobody spoke English, they checked the car registration and driver's ID and off we went all alone through the desert. It is a 290km drive and there are petrol stations on the way. I would fuel up in Aswan still, as not all petrol stations have electricity and fuel all the time! We went to Abu Simbel one day in advance as we wanted to visit the temples and you cannot go to the Abu Simbel temples and cross the border on the same day as the border is only open between 9 o'clock and 2 o'clock in the afternoon. In Abu Simbel, you can camp near the temples on the main car park near the Tourist Police building or ask at one of the hotels. We took a room at "Eskaleh Nubian Ecolodge"(Eskaleh Nubian Ecolodge), a Nubian style ecohotel with extremely helpful people, a wonderful atmosphere, great food, beer and wine. "Eskaleh" is locally owned and very professionally run, the rooms are very clean and the complete house is beautifully decorated. Some of their food is based on homegrown products from their own farm. "Eskaleh Nubian Ecolodge" phone: 0122 3680521 and 097 3401 288, mail: info@eskaleh.net; GPS coordinates: N 22° 20'47'', E 031°37'7''; rooms 70€ - 80€ incl. breakfast (children under 6 are free of charge), they also do lunch and dinner. For overlanders who would like to sleep in their cars, it is also possible here (at what rate we do not know, but this rate will surely not be over the top!). The car ferry leaves directly from Abu Simbel (the meeting point usually is at the Bank Cairo) and it takes about 1 hour. From the port on the other side of Lake Nasser to the border post between Egypt and Sudan it is a drive of about 35km. The Egyptian fixer will go with you on the ferry, to the border and will do all the bureaucratic processes together with you on the Egyptian side. The border opens at 9:00 o'clock in the morning and they open and close the gate for each car separately. After entering, we had to drive to the customs, who wanted to scan every bag (!) and also check the car. At borders, we always try to take control of the procedures instead of letting others search our Land Rover. The kids stay inside the car and are allowed to watch a video on the i-Pad and Juliane brings the bags to the scanner while I show the officials every box and locker ("Do you want to see this?" ... "May I show you that?"). During the process, we are always friendly, but also very slow because generally, there is only one scanner and there are other people waiting, too - sometimes the officials will give up and let us go. They also wanted to see the boxes on the roof rack, and as they are "heavy" (which they are not!), the officer had to come up with me while I showed him what was inside the boxes. Funnily, the other customs officers made fun of him shaking the car while he was on top. After that I insisted on being allowed to park the Land Rover in the shadow because of the kids. After customs, also the offices of the traffic police and the immigration had to be provided with bureaucratic work and finally, we were allowed to leave Egypt. Our "fixer", Kamal Muawad, did a good job and we could certainly recommend him. The only thing we had to do was a lot of waiting (we had some tea with truck drivers, lunch and several conversations with passers by while he did his job). For our first days in Sudan, Kamal also supported us with 2150 Sudanese Pounds, as there is no Bank in Wadi Halfa (the exchange rate was 9,18 to the € instead of the black-market-rate of 11,30 in Khartoum but certainly better than the official exchange rate). After you have passed the gate on the Egyptian side, the Sudanese gate is reached after about 100m. For the Sudanese side, you might need another fixer. We chose to take Magdi Boshara, contact details: Magdi Boshara phone: 0121730885 and 0122262060 mailNUBATIA51@YAHOO.COM, because he simply offered us a cheaper price of US$420 (instead of US$500 from Mazar Mahir, who also has a good reputation on the HUBB; contact details: Mazar Mahir, phone:, +249122380740 and +249911075226) mail: mazarhalfa@gmail.com). On the Sudanese side you go to the "arrivals hall" where you have to fill in three forms with your personal details (the entry card, the document for the "Alien Registration Department" (So, you are officially registered ALIENS now!) and one document for the security police). For the "Alien Registration Department", you need one passport photocopy and a passport photo. We were also centrally registered to Khartoum, so would not have to register somewhere else on our way through Sudan unless we would stay longer than one month. Cameras don't seem to have to be registered any more (do not take photos of checkpoints, all police and army buildings, post offices, bridges, powerlines et cetera!)! After endless three hours of waiting in the arrivals hall, the car was inspected (5 minutes, just looking into it, asking some questions whether we had beer) and we were free to leave. The complete procedure at the border took us 5 hours and 20 minutes (not including ferry and driving to the border post) and it was extremely friendly on both sides, but especially so on the Sudanese side. After leaving the Sudanese side of the border, we gave Magdi a lift to his home, where we would stay for one night with his family. We also went to Wadi Halfa with him to get Sudanese sim cards (Zain company, price: SDG25 for the sim card, SDG10 for phoning and SDG10 for one week of a data flat rate). At Magdi's house we had dinner together and breakfast the next morning as well. It was great to start our time in Sudan like that because it gave us the chance to ask many questions concerning our route, dos and no-dos at cetera. Also, it was simply nice to stay with a Sudanese family. Magdi is very warm and welcoming, really seems to like his job and wanted to make everything as easy and relaxed for us as possible. We would always highly recommend him! The big question on the net concerning this border seems to be "A fixer or no fixer!?". For us, having one was on the one hand very convenient - who knows how long it would have taken us without a fixer if with one it already took over 5 hours. On the other hand, we think that - especially in times of nearly no tourism and nearly no overlanders passing this border - paying for the services of a fixer also helps supporting families. Being a fixer is nothing smirky, negative or illegal, but it is a proper job people need a license for and are educated for by the customs. From what we heard from other overlanders, this border crossing seems to be the only one a fixer might be needed. Sudanese Visa costs remark visa costs US$50 each fixer US$50 paid for two adults and two kids, i.e.US$12,50 per person total costs US$250 / 220,00€ Border Egypt - Sudan costs remark total cost Egyptian side (incl. fixer) 1640EL (i.e. 192,13€) includes all costs and ferry total cost Sudanese side (incl. fixer) US$420 includes all costs (and in our case one night at Magdi's home, dinner and lunch and help with the sim cards) total costs US$640 / 557,00€ For more information see our blog 4-wheel-nomads | Overland Travel Blog (Facebook: 4-wheel-nomads). |
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Really great post, invaluable.
I don't understand why a ferry journey is required, Isn't there some other road on the East side of the Nile. I can see that the fastest road may be the tarmac road from Aswan to Abu Simbel on the West of the Nile, but is that the only one? Presumably the road building vehicles did not have to go across on a ferry? |
afaik there is no road or continuous track in Egypt on the east side of the Nile between Aswan and the Sudan border and there never was. The terrain is quite rocky but that never stopped them on the KKH.
But there was always a track and later a road down to Abu Simbel on the other side. And there is now a continuous sealed road south from Abu Simbel, over the border at Agreen and all the way to Dongola. People occasionally use this west side Argeen border (usually big groups or record chasers), but the Egyptian army charge very highly for the privilege. What you're actually paying for is unclear. I have heard that one day this may become the normal overland border crossing. It would seem a rather obvious solution, and all the roads are in place. But then why did they not just go straight to it instead of building up the crossing to Qustul opposite Abu and new road to the new border post directly east of Argeen on the other side of the lake? https://saharaoverland.files.wordpre...border-map.jpg |
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any fellow travellers crossing the border over the weekend from egypt to sudan will be traveling there over the weekend.
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We'll be doing this in mid-December.
Great post, thank you! |
Hi Braam,
How did you get on? Cheers, Sam (in Cairo) |
Detailed Border crossing procedures going from Sudan to Egypt,
Sudan Wadi Halfa, Egypt Abu Simbel, Qustul Border Crossing We also tried to gather all costs for going south. Hope this helps... |
We crossed three weeks ago, Egypt to Sudan.
Used Mazar and Kamal - great service, no problems. Safe travels, Sam. |
Would I be correct in thinking that the Aswan-Wadi Halfa ferry for South Bound overlanders no longer operates?
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I get a feeling it still does for those not in a hurry or big stuff on barges?
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we took it in mid December...
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