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Turkey to Egypt ferry problems... What are alternatives?
Hey guys...
We are now stuck in Iskenderun, waiting for the boat to Egypt... We were here ready to board the Saturday ferry, but it never came. It is now Monday, and people from the Ramon agency say that boat is still in Egypt stuck in bloody customs... Who knows how much time it will take till it comes here... 150 trucks and hundreds of people (including Syrian refugees) wait for it... I just hope it will eventually come... So whoever is planning to do the trip either way these days, should count at least on a longer wait... I just hope it will eventually come, and ship us to the other side... If not, what are the alternatives? Is there any? We are a couple on a motorbike, travelling south to Africa. Any other ferry boats from Turkey - or maybe Cyprus? What about going overland through Syria? Iraq - Jordan? Anybody travelled to Iraq overland, recently? Cheers! |
I am sure a few days' wait at Iskenderun is better than the alternatives like Syria. The last bike came through there in Feb. Not much chance now.
The northern Kurdish part of Iraq from Turkey is no problem (even Top Gear went there), but that only leads to Iran. Non-Kurdish Iraq to the south is another country and for your own safety they won't let you in there - yet. I've lost track, but I think there was a ferry Turkey-Cyrpus-Israel for Sinai? Ch |
Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you will come right soon as regards the Iskenderun ferry.
If the ferry turns out to be a non-starter then you could try contacting Grimaldi Freighters. Their Med route goes via Gemlik and docks in Alex but I'm not sure they will let you load/offload a vehicle at either. Still a bike might be different to a car - so perhaps worth the question. You can definitely get to Israel that way but then of course you have the stamps which may cause you a problem for Sudan. Carlo Di Falco GRIMALDI LINES FREIGHTER TRAVEL13, Via M. Campodisola - 80133 Napoli Tel. +39 081 496524 (direct), +39 3452503740 (mobile) Fax +39 081 496551 e-mail: difalco.carlo@grimaldi.napoli.it http://www.grimaldi-freightercruises.com Otherwise there was a post here not too long ago about (not from) a polish guy who had managed to get a car from Greece I think to Egypt. I'll see if I can find it. Finally failing all else you will probably be able to put the bikes in a container to Alex or Port Said and fly - maybe make enquiries at Iskenderun. |
Which company is that?
Will you be able to exit the port and enter again? Message private,I will search urgently for you..Talking against one is prohibited here... After that,I will give you some local numbers to call discluding the problem one as none of them says that they have problems.. Currently there are 2 lines from Turkey to Egypt and 1 to Israel..Nomore lines to anywhere else in East meditarrenean from Turkey and North Cyprus... İskenderun-Damietta İskenderun-Haifa/Israel (just started) Mersin-Port Sait. All are roro carrying trucks and all king of vehicles.. Since beginning of July-2012 until today both lines are used by almost 10 friends and I am in touch with all of them..None of them have met any problems..I guess this problem is just started as it seems the ship is stuck in Egypt. Best wishes mehmet zeki avar www.facebook.com/mehmet.avar.12 |
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.. |
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"Our service is operating at the moment, hopefully there will be no negative effect. However, please contact us one week prior to your departure and will make your reservation." Sisa Shipping aslihan.ozsen@sisashipping.com Gsm +90 544 765 73 06 | Tel +90 216 338 27 28 | Fax +90 216 338 26 58 Address: Degirmen Sok. No:18 Kat:18 Nida Kule Is Merkezi Kozyatagi - Kadikoy / Istanbul |
we also had a delay one month ago with that ferry, because the ^%$@$@-Egyptians closed the harbour. From the beach we could see 4 ferries waiting at anchor.
TAKE EXTRA FOOD/SNACKS WITH YOU ON THE BOAT, as you may get stuck on it for a few days. Egypt is simply a horrible country to get in/out of, and these delays of a few days happen all the time. In the end, bribes are paid and business continues... |
Hi davor,
got that info from Swiss couple stuck in the port (not in the hotel!) in Damietta. Fortunately, they have a roof-tent, nice atmosphere squeezed between the Turkish trucks ... Greetings Achim |
Aparently the boat has taken off from Egypt and is approaching Turkey...
Hopefully we'll boarding it tomorrow or Saturday. If everything's true and boat keeps on running normaly, that will be a week's delay. Great rite of passage for the entrance to Africa. Cleansening by waiting... More than obvious sign to leave the European time concept behind. :) Thanx guys for your information and suggestions! |
A big selam to Africa from us.
(never to bloody Egyptian customs) Wish you all the best.. Güle Güle. mehmet. |
We are in Alexandria right now ( 2 bikes ) and thinking of moving to Port Said after tomorrow. Is it nessecary to go to Port Said or can we directly go to Damietta to get all the customs stuff done ?
Can one estimate how many days the process will take and has anything changed in the last month with fixers /agents and their prices or general ticket prices ?? We expect to pay less than 500 dollars to get to Turkey per person + bike, is that realistic ?? greetings from Alexandria, Chris |
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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
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 :thumbup1: 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 |
Turkey to Egypt
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! |
Hi Atlas and Achin,
Hope you're well. Did either of you pursue this issue any further? I'm trying to work out whether it's feasible at all to take a RHD vehicle from Ashdod, Israel to Sudan avoiding Egypt. Would it be possible to travel through Jordan-KSA-Jeddah-Suakin? As far as I have seen the issue will be: - RHD car - Land border Jordan-KSA and convincing of no prior Israel travel - KSA visa What would I need to do to avoid these problems, if at all possible? Any advice would be very much appreciated - thanks! |
Hi drive10kmiles,
Unfortunately, this is, IMHO, not an option for at least two-and-a-half of the three reasons you mentioned, the first being the most important: Saudi Arabia does, most definitely, not allow the transit of RHD cars. The only option here would be to transport the car, apparently for a lot of money, by truck from the Jordanian border to Jeddah port. Since you can only get your KSA transit visa either at home or in Amman, the second and third points also come into play: They might well ask how you possibly reached Jordan (since I cannot be sure of them actually asking, that was the "half reason" above). My own experience in late 2012 was that they told me at the Saudi consulate in Amman they would give me a transit visa for every destination (including Yemen!), but not for Sudan! I later obtained a Saudi transit visa for the way back to Jordan in Khartoum without anybody being able to explain to me why I would get it there but not in Amman. So, to cut a long story short, you should never say never in the Middle East, but my guess would be that this is a rather unlikely option. Greetings, Achim |
Hi Achim,
Thanks so much for your quick response - much appreciated. I'm hugely disappointed by this, but I've decided to give up on trying to go through the Middle East at present. I'm going to do West Africa instead. But thanks again for your help! Phil |
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Please keep us posted on any new developments regards the West coast route. It does seem as if this is the best option at the moment albeit that there are some concerns regards Nigeria and Mauritania that we are picking up in the local media. Thx Cheers bier Reg |
Turkey to Africa
I did Athens to Haifa with Salamis.Then through Jordan to Aqaba and ferry to Nuweiba in Egypt.Loved it and no hassles.Cannot see why it is not possible now.Egypt was much more volatile in July last year when the riots were still on in Cairo.
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Hi Atlas,
Have you travelled with your car on this ferry? Is it a "normal" ferry (ie with rather comfortable and clean cabins)? I have the same plan for returning from Egypt in 2015. You said "no hassles" ; even at Egyptian border posts for you and especially for your car.. Thanks in advance for your reply. RR. |
Ferry Athens to Haifa
Hi, They can only give you a cabin an hour or so before they depart.They evidently give truck drivers preference.We decided not to spend the 4 days at sea and rather flew to Tel Aviv and spent a few days there and then went to Haifa.Good experience.The airport is about an hour by bus from the port.
We had no hassles with passports etc .Israel don't stamp your passport( stamp a loose paper) and Jordan asked us what we wanted.I think the scare about Sudan is overdone as no one in Sudan even looked through our passports. We used a fixer who we found at the harbour in Nuweiba and I would not like to do it without one.We also used fixer in Aswan,name Kamal, and in Wadi Halfa used Mazar. Both good guys. |
Hi Atlas,
From your postings it is not clear whether you travelled with a bike, a "normal" car or a 4WD. The problem in Nuweiba - at least in recent months - used to be that 4WD were not allowed to enter from either Nuweiba or Taba onto the Sinai peninsula. It would be interesting to know more details of your experience. Thanks and safe travels, Achim |
I travelled in July 2013 in a 4 motion VW T 5. I don't think there were rules about 4x4 s then and I doubt they knew our vehicle was 4x4. We arrived the day they cleared Cairo and got caught up in it all with closed roads and curfews, 600 odd killed the day we arrived and bit stressful but hey welcome to Africa !
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I was referring to the ferry from Aqaba to Nuweiba not the Athens to Haifa one
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Thanks, Atlas! The date of your travel explains it all: The first to report on the blockade for 4WD were wheelwishers in September 2013, some weeks after you had still managed the crossing.
So unfortunately, your positive experience does not help for now because we need an update on whether the restrictions have been lifted again in the meantime. It seems, though, that nobody tried this with a 4WD recently. There might be an easing of the situation since travel warnings for Sharm el Sheikh have also been lifted recently by Western governments. Greetings, Achim |
I think the lifting of the SSH travel warnings are more related to the lobbying of European tour operators in the busy summer months rather than any change on the ground.
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