East Coast of Africa Have Carnet But Are Attaining Visas Prior Really Necessary
 

I have my Carnet worked out to travel from Egypt to South Africa via the East Coast, and today I visited the Egyptian, Sudanese, and Ugandan Embassies in London. Not only were the Ugandans extremely helpful, but they informed me that I could procure the visa at the border for $50 US Dollars. The other two though were pretty brutal and am wondering if it is worth the hassle to get the visas in advance or is anyone aware if I can just grab them at the borders (especially Sudan)? I'm assuming the countries south of Uganda will follow suit of allowing me to purchase them at the border. Thanks in advance for your guidance. Cheers.

Nope!! You'll need to get your Sudanese visa at the embassy in Cairo and it can take anything from a day to 2 weeks, although that's a very worst case scenario. We got our egyptian visas in advance as well, as this was pretty straightforward in London.

good luck!

Interesting, the Sudanese Embassy here told me it would take 2-2.5 months to recieve the visa which is what started this whole inquiry. I figured they were just being dismissive since the embassy was so full and chaotic. Below Uganda though, do I need to worry about any of those visas prior?

That's why most people choose to get their Sudan visa in Cairo, as the embassy in London is notorious for taking forever..... :smartass:

It's worth it though, the Sudan was fantastic and I only wish we'd taken more time pootling down the road along the Nile.

I didn't have any probs further South, but didn't go to Uganda or Ruanda so not sure about those

Get the Sudan visa in Cairo. Get a taxi to the British embassy, get a letter of recommendation (well actually a letter saying they don't issue letters,) and go to the Sudan embassy 100 metres down the road.

Wait in line for hours, give them 100$, the letter, your passport, and two photocopies of all of the above - then come back the next day and pick it up. Easy.

Sudan is awesome, nicest people in the world. So so generous and friendly.

As for visas going south, not too much to worry about, get them at the borders.

Egypt I would also recommend at the border - chek my recent posts for a step by step guide to Egypt entry and exit, and Sudan entry and exit, if you want more info.

Birdy

Birdy, you must have got lucky! After handing over all our paperwork at the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo we were told to come back in 4 days, and all of our begging & pleading came to nothing. However, we took advantage of the hiatus and went to Ras Mohammed NP on the Sinai peninsula and snorkelled for a few days. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Southern African Entry Requirements
 

Hullo,

I'm currently making my way from Cape Town to London - Eastern African route but I did some other countries earlier in the year. These are my 2009 experiences.

I am on a British passport and the vehicle (Land Rover) has a basic carnet and is on South African registration. 3rd Party Insurance is included for places before I had yellow card insurance - Tanzania was the first place I got to where this was available - It was around $150 for basically much of Southern and Eastern Africa.

South Africa - Visa on border free.

Namibia - Visa on border free - no car charges.

Zambia - Visa on border $50
3rd Party Insurance $25
CO2 Tax $15
Regional tax $5

Zimbabwe Visa on border $50
3rd Party Insurance $30
Temporary Import Permit (TIP) $20
At Victoria Falls we paid an additional $5 CO2 Tax but 4 months later at Mutare is wasn't asked for.

Botswana Visa on border approx $20?? Total car and 2 passengers approx $50 (sorry lost all memory of this one)

Lesotho - Visa on border free - Vehicle approx $1

Swaziland - Visa on border free - Vehicle approx $1

Mozambique - Visa on border - $25
Third Party Insurance - $15
TIP - $20

Malawi - Visa on border free
Vehicle free with carnet
Third Party insurance which included CO2 I think was $40

Tanzania - Visa on border $50
Insurance COMESA Yellow Card $150
This covers Angola, Botswana, Burundi, DRC, Djibuti, Eqypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, S.A., Somalia, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimababwe
for three months

Rwanda - Visa not required, car free.

This is as far as I've got.

Thanks Rhubarb, that really puts me at ease to have a reference. It seems like the journey will become easier and easier as I head South after Egypt and Sudan. Cheers.

One correction there.

Botswana VISA for UK passport is free at the border. We have been there about 15 times in the last 3 years.

I'm not so sure - have you ever driven in? I was expecting it to be free but either way total cost was around $40-50 to enter and as an SADC registered vehicle it wouldn't have been much. Another thing I remember is when we asked to pay in dollars they refused - Rand or Pula only - they have no interest in dollars. Obviously I've quoted in dollars 'cause it's easier but Namibia for example, as well as Botswana, has no interest in $.