Ferries
 

Does anyone have experience of the ferries from Aqaba or Jeddah to Port Sudan or have details of the ferry between Aqaba and Egypt. We are planning on driving our Landrover 101 from The UK to South Africa and are starting to get cold feet about Egypt after hearing about the charges the Egyptians make or is that more romour than fact?

In 2001 there were regular (twice a week) ferries between Jeddah and Port Sudan. Of course you need visas for both Saudi Arabia and Sudan, hard to get, but not impossible. And forget getting on board during the Hadjj. This way you avoid Egypt (but why? They may be crooks, but lots of fun!). There is a daily ferry between Aqaba and Egypt. No problem if you have an Egyptian visa. Getting vehicle into Egypt at Nuweiba may take a few hours and a few well-placed $$$, but you will get a nice yellow Egyptian temporary licence plate, and a handful of paper. This is adventure travel at its finest. Why avoid it? You'll have plenty of stories to tell us poor stay-at-homes.

Nelly?
I gather you're female. Forget about driving in Saudi Arabia. You better bring a male driver.