The ferry is stuck in Damietta because of a conflict between the ferry agency and the handling agent in Egypt which claims unpaid bills.

I have also heard of at least one other company running to Port Said. Please do some search on the HUBB.

The only feasible alternative (apart from the Grimaldi Freighter, which does not take passengers to Alexandria!, or the Israel option which is difficult for Sudan) is to go from Turkey to Iran and then further on to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi.

From Saudi, there are three options: You can go to Jordan, spend some time there and continue to Nuweiba on the Sinai (on the Sinai, the direct crossing is done in convoys right now, while the road to Sharm el Sheikh and from there to Suez is still free). Option number two is to continue with the Dubba to Safaga ferries (make sure that your Saudi transit visa which you can easily obtain in Abu Dhabi mentions Egypt as next destination!). Option number three is to cross Saudi and head straight to Sudan with either Baaboud or a second ferry agency operating the route from Jeddah to Suakin on alternate days. For any of the three options you need the onward visa for the next destination country.

I would strongly advise against the Iraq option (not to talk about Syria)!! Travelling through the non-kurdish part of Iraq is still suicidal. Busses between Iraq and Syria / Jordan have frequently been attacked. Al Qaeda is regrouping in Iraq and will be more than happy to get hold of such an easily identifiable target! It is difficult to circumvent Baghdad on any route, with Baghdad being a city with hundreds of checkpoints and walls. If you don't know your way exactly, you easily end up at the "wrong" checkpoint and are arrested. During one of my last visits in Baghdad in May 2012, I felt rather safe - only to be told at a security briefing the next morning that there had been 47 incidents like road side bombs in the city during that "safe" day. So please: Just forget about crossing Iraq for the time being!!

Greetings
Achim

Looks like you aren't on your own. Have you met up with these guys?

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...529#post401801

Thank you all for answers...

So Syria and Iraq are unfortunately still out of question.
Iran to Saudi Arabia sounds very tempting, but i guess that's too big loop around, and i think Iranian visa is not so fast to get...

What about Israel.. I know its forbiden to enter Sudan with Israel stamp, but has anybody managed some trick to enter Sudan - stamp on a piece of paper, changing passports in Egypt, etc... ?

Still hope the boat will sort out... Where do you get that info Achim? How can i follow what's really going on? People in agency just repeat the same story every day: "Problems... boat in egypt... come tomorrow"

Mehmet Zeki Avar - i contacted you on email and FB - but no reply yet... I'm looking forward to your answer and hope you have some good info about some boat alternatives...

I read here on the forum that ferry from Mersin doesn't run anymore. That's why we came to Iskenderun... But you mentioned there are (stil?) two options? So what about Mersin?

Best!

Davor

@itchy feet... No we haven't met them... It seems they are stuck on the Egyptian side and that they are in a much worse situation than us. We can at least wait in the hotel. I'm sorry for them, and hope the things will get solved soon...

But now another question comes up my mind... Even if two agencies manage to solve problems, will the boat continue running, or maybe they'll stop the service?
Well we can only speculate that, which makes not much sense,
but if somebody knows why Mersin-Said boat stopped running (if it has) maybe that has the same pattern...

Hope not!

private message is just sent as made several telephone calls here.

CURRENT AND FIRST HAND information for everyone...:

Egypt government is protesting the new line from İskenderun to Haifa which started 2 days ago so all roro ships are waiting in Egypt to get port services..
New ship ARIADNE is faster and more comfortable.

Meeting between 2 ministries are continuing..Passengers at Turkish side are in hotels, and under government controls,being visited by company authorities..
It is expected that the schedule will be normal within 2-3 days.

Seems just a bad luck,being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
So hope all will be regular very soon and wish you all the best...

mehmet zeki avar


Note..There is no possibility to reach Africa from Turkey besides these options..

Hello Achim,

Thanks for the info.

We are planning to make an overland trip from the Netherlands to South Africa. We intend to leave around September. The route we had in mind is via Iran - Oman -KSA - Jordan.

In the information we have about Saudi Arabia we read that

• - KSA currently does not issue tourist visa
• - Transit visa are valid for 72 hours only
• - No overland entry or departure is possible for most nationalities (we are Dutch citizens)

Do you feel that the options you describe in your post still are valid?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Margriet Klees and Jan van Bekkum

Hi Margriet and Jan,

KSA does indeed not issue tourist visa, except if you have an invitation from somebody working and / or living in Saudi Arabia.

All you can get is a three day transit visa (72 hours is not quite correct because it is counted in calendar days only). From the UAE - from Oman the border to Saudi is not open for private cars yet, they are still building the road and the border post between the two countries - the three days are a little tough riding if you want to see at least a little bit. In addition, the port procedures and boarding in Jeddah can take basically the whole third day. On the other hand, I have heard from travellers numerous times that there was no problem when leaving the country on the fourth day.

I do not know of any nationalities - except Israelis or Iranians, I would imagine - for whom getting a transit visa could be a problem (I do know, though, that getting a Saudi visa is much more difficult for fellow Arabs as they would be suspected of looking for work in Saudi). The two big questions are generally whether your vehicle is LHD (a must!) and whether the two of you are married (a must!). Bring your marriage certificate with you.

Greetings,
Achim

Hi Ahmed,

Thanks for your quick response. Our car is a 4WD LHD and we are married, so the basic conditions are met.

We were planning to leave the country overland to Jordan, rather than boarding in Jeddah, so we hope that is possible as well.

We guess that we need to be a little bit closer to the intended time of departure; regulations are changing so quickly.

Regards,

Margriet en Jan

Hi Margriet and Jan,

It seems that you have submerged in the Middle East already - "Hi Ahmed" was really a nice one

There shouldn't be a problem to exit KSA to Jordan. You just have to be careful while applying that you make clear to them that you do not intend to head home via Israel but rather want to continue via Egypt and further South. Any visa you might already have at that time (i.e. Sudan and Ethiopia) will certainly help to convince consular officers ...

For the time being, the routing KSA - Jordan - Egypt - Sudan and on seems doable. But with the new emergency law in Suez and the ongoing demonstrations, the situation might change for the worse in the coming months. So it is good to make more concrete plans at a later stage.

Greetings,
Achim

Hi Achim,

Thanks for your quick response!

Regards,

Margriet and Jan

Hi Achim,
I intend trying the ferry in August/September.What is the latest news ?
I would love to do the option Magriet and Jan are doing but drive a right hand drive vehicle!