Travel Answers

I am new Ethiopian here in Khartoum and wanna to meet friends and tourists?

Can anyone tell me the (exact) location of teh Main Souq and the Camel Market in Omdurman? Is the Camel Market every day, every friday or every month?

Hello, I'm looking for pictures of traditional instruments in the Sudanese region of Khartoum. Can you help me please redirect me to a website. thank you

Hi there, I'm planning to visit Khrtoum/Umm Durman next July, I have two questions for which I'll be grateful to get answers: 1. Is sailing in the Nile safe enough? Are there boat owners or clubs which are safer than others? I am no swimmer if you know what I'm thinking of. 2. What is the best place to find books of differnt sorts and at the cheapest possible price? Thanks in advance

Hi All some advise please...rumour has it that obtaining a Sudan visa at the Embassy in South Africa has a very low success rate and that it takes almost 2 weeks...also that one can fly to Nairboi and get a visa on the same day at the Sudan Embassy in Nairobi. Does anyone know if this will work or has heard of someone who has done this? Thanks.

Hello all, I'm planning to immigrate to Sudan within the next couple months inshaAllah and have some vital questions I hope you can assist with: 1. My fiancee (female) is Sudanese, I am not nor do I have any status whatsoever in Sudan - Is there a Marriage visa I will need to get in order to visit and get married in Khartoum? If so, how long does it allow me to visit for and will I have the ability to work? 2. Are there any other documents I will need in order to get married there? Licence? Proof of being Muslim? Birth Certificate etc? 3. Once married, does anyone know the procedure for getting the appropriate papers to then live in work in Sudan? 4. I've checked online and all the apartments advertised seem to be luxury apartments for over1500 USD per month. Where can I find an simple, ordinary, 1 bedroom apartment or studio? Is sharing a flat popular and available in Sudan? 5. What can I expect water and electricity bills to look like on a monthly basis? 6. Is it easy to get a work permit? Usually the employer has to satisfy immigration that they've tried to fill the post locally and regionally before going abroad. Looking forward to your responses and help! Cheers, Tuffa7

After spending a month in Darfur, I will be going to spend few days in Khartoum. Anybody could recommend me: 1. a good beauty salon in Khartoum (spa, manicure, pedicure ...) 2. a supermarket or shop which sells imported stuff and kind of thai/asian spices 3. a travel agent / tour operator which offers Khartoum city tour I would appreciate very much Thanks!!!

Our current best route from Kilimanjaro, Tanzania to Los Angeles has a stop in Khartoum. I've read that the current airport in Khartoum has a pretty poor safety record, in addition to the existing state department warnings about the Sudan. Anyone have any recent experience stopping over in Khartoum? We wouldn't actually disembark. Any insight into the safety level of the airport? There was mention of an updated airport opening in 2012, but I can't find any information on whether and when that is actually going to happen. Higher level, are we missing an option in terms of getting from Kilimanjaro back to Los Angeles? I've gone through the various flight searches, and it looks like for the dates we selected that is the only timeline that will work out.

Hi Guys, I am travelling to Khartoum for a short break between June 2nd and 5th. I plan on seeing the Pyramids of Meroe and doing a City tour of Khartoum. I cannot find anyone who wants to go so if anyone is free then drop me a line. I have booked the Acropole hotel to stay in (No 1 hotel on Trip Advisor). Cheers Justin

Hi, Was looking for some help in knowing whether the itinerary I put together for the northern part of Sudan is good. I will be with a private driver and want to make sure it is comprehensive. Any suggestions, revisions, omissions, deletions, add-ons..let me know. I welcome anything you have to suggest. Thanks. Day 1 - Khartoum Day 2 - Khartoum – Omdurman – Western Desert Morning visit the Archaeological Museum that contains two full temples rescued by UNESCO and moved from the Lake Nasser area, when it was flooded by the water. Then drive to Omdurman and visit the Khalifa’s House and the Mahdi’s Tomb. Afterwards drive north through the western desert before pitching camp. Overnight in camp. Day 3 – Old Dongola - Nubian villages Day 4 – Kerma - Tombos Visit the ‘Deffufa’. In Tombos, see the statue of the black Pharaoh Taharqa, left in the old quarries for 3000 years Days 5-6 - Sebu - Temple of Soleb – Isle of Sai - Abri In Sebu, see rock engravings on the mountain walls. From there reach the granite boulders of the Third Cataract. Then visit the temple of Soleb. Cross the river to reach the Isle of Sai, to see ruins of Egyptian temples and Turkish forts, and cross the Nile again by ferry to set up camp near the village of Abri. Days 7- 8 – Wadi Halfa – Lake Nasser - Station no.6 – Umm Nabari Gold mine Drive north to the border town of Wadi Halfa then visit Lake Nasser/Lake Nubia. Continuing on visit Station No. 6, and head to the Umm Nabari Gold Mine at the base of the Mountain Umm Nabari. Days 9-10 – El Kab village - Nubian Desert Drive across the desert to the village of El Kab. Visit the villages of the people located along the banks of the lake. Day 11 - Karima – El Kurru - Karima Go to Karima at the foot of Jebel Barkal. Visit El Kurru, and nearby petrified tree trunks. Days 12-13 – Nuri – Atrun Crater – Bayuda Desert - Meroe Visit the pyramids of Nuri before taking a cruise along the river. Cross the Nile and enter in the Bayuda Desert. Reach the Atrun Crater, then reach the town of Atbara, cross the Nile for the last time and head to the pyramids of Meroe. Day 14 - Musawwarat - Naqa Continuing on we reach Mussawarat El Sufra and explore there. Then head to the site of Naqa. Can we also work in to see the town of Shendi to visit the market????? Day 15 – Naqa – Khartoum Explore the temples of Naqa before returning to Khartoum. On the way stop in Omdurman to visit the souq.

Does anybody know the address of Sudan Embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia? I browsed several websites and they gave different information to another. I sent email to the embassy however it was undelivered. Anybody has experience to apply Sudanese visa, would you mind to share the information on documentation required and how long the process may take Many thanks!!!

Hellow Dears, I am going ot Sudan in Jan 2012. Which Types of Clothes is required for Day and Night. If any friend have some information about weather condition in Jan to Jun. Please post the answer. Thanks Toobi

Hellow Dears I am planing to visit Berber Town in Cement Factories Area. Can I get air conditioned bus from Khatoum to Atbar or Berber. Second thing about food prices (CocaCola/Bread etc) Waiting reply. Thanks

I am moving to Juba in January and I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good guidebook to South Sudan. Doing some research i could only find guidebook that were written before the indipendence, so now that North and South Sudan are two separate country I guess a lot of thing must have changed. Anyone? Thanks!

Dear Comrades, I shall be landing at Khartoum by end of Nov2011 and would love to explore the best possible place/s both in terms of cultural as well as to meet interesting people. Anyone would like to share their views: 1. How safe is the place, currently? 2. Any Veg food available? Regards Orion0808

Next year i shall be taking a journey from Cairo to Khartoum. I have been doing allot of research about Sudan and transportation, visas, permits etc. So i was wondering if anyone could help me answer a few questions. 1. Does anyone happen to know an online pdf file for a Sudan visa form to apply in Cairo. Thing is i prefer to have visa paperwork in my hand before visiting embassy or arriving in the 2nd country 2. How far ahead should i book the Ferry from Aswan to Wadi Halfa? This is a real crucial element of travel in my trip. I need to be on this ferry on a Certain Monday in July. If im not on it then my overland plans to sudan will be stuffed. Does anyone happen to have any emails or phone numbers i could call up someone and get my name on the booking list 3) I know i register in sudan when i first arrive but do i need some sort of permit to make the trip into Khartoum 4 Apart from the train that leaves weekly from Wadi Halfa is there any other public transport method to get to Khartoum from Wadi Halfa

I'm headed to an academic conference in Juba in mid-November 2011, via Entebbe by air. I'm an American. I need some up-to-date info. 1. Can you get a visa the airport? Guide books have not caught up to independence, and I can't find the info elsewhere, including South Sudan govt. sites. 2. Air Uganda flies this route, but a not-so-convenient schedule for me. I'll take it if that's the best option, but suggestions? 3. The conference is supposed to be at the South Sudan Hotel, for which I can find no reference/website/info whatsoever. Any help? Ideas for accommodation relatively close to it? Anything? Thanks.

Hi , I will be relocating to khartoum with a young child in the coming months and wanted to ask for any advice about life in khartoum. I have lived there previously in 2007. Thank you

Hi, does anyone know of a good furnished apartment I could rent in Khartoum for my first month of moving there? I am moving in Khartoum with my one year old. Thank you n.

what is the cost from port sudan to jeddah by ship. what is sudan currency

Hi, would anyone have an email contact or a phone number for Zana Hotel? I need an affordable place with working and reliable internet when I go to South sudan for the independence, and I heard this place has both good internet and is just a short walk away from Freedom Square. Raha allegedly has good internet as well, but I do not know whether the location is similarly convenient. Was at Hamza when I was last in Juba - a pleasant place, but internet broke down regularly. thanks!

WHAT ARE THE PRICES OF NICE APARTMENTS AND HOW FAR DOES THEU.S. DOLLAR GO?

In May I will be heading to the Red Sea Hills near Port Sudan to search for a species of swallow that may or may not be extinct. In 1984 an orthithologist found a dead swallow at Sanganeb lighthouse near Port Sudan which turned out to be a new species for science - the Red Sea Swallow. It had never been seen before and has never been seen since and nobody knows exactly where to look. One hypothesis is that it had migrated across the sea from Jaddah. The other main hypothesis is that it is found in the hills along the southern edge of the Red Sea in Sudan. This lack of information on where to look, plus the travel difficulties associated with expeditions to Sudan, may explain why it has not been properly looked for. It remains one of the great enigmas of ornithology. I will be heading there with my brother, who is visiting from the UK, to try and look for this bird. It is a species of cliff swallow, so will probably be associated with hills like its relatives. My aim is to scour as much of the area as possible looking for breeding birds. I know it will be horrible weather, but these birds are probably migratory and will not be around now. The only site I have at the moment is the area around Erkowit. I would also like to try some of the higher areas to the north-west, but I have no information at all about the area, whether there is access or whether there will be limitations on travel. On the map there is a road that circles up to the top of the highest peak, but experience tells me it will probably go up to a radar station guarded by lots of men with big guns that don't like foreigners with big cameras. Any advice or suggestions would be very welcome. Thanks Tom

Hi All I'm new to this forum, but I think I've found the right place to get some helpful information. I am relocating from Australia to Khartoum in the next couple of months. Planning on staying at least 12 months. I think it will be a culture shock. What do I need to travel there? Can you please tell me the positives and negatives of living in Khartoum as an expat, the do's and don't as a European female, and how safe it is now to live and work in and the safety projections for the future. We are planning on travelling the country while there, I believe that some travel is restricted, is this true? Are there any Aussies on this forum? I'd appreciate some honest answers. Thanks

Hi all, I am considering taking a job in Khartoum with an international organization and if that happens I will be moving with my dog, a Boston terrier (not tolerant to extreme heat). I have never lived in Africa, my only experience was a 2-week trip to Ghana and I thought that was allright. I have spoken with a couple of colleagues who have been to Khartoum and they have all discouraged me from taking the job because of their bad impressions of Khartoum. Can anyone give me some basic information as to what I should expect for me and the dog? I understand heat will be an issue for the Boston terrier, but will I be able for example to rent a modern apartment with air-condition? Do landlords accept pets in apartments? Is it safe for a single woman to walk her dog? Will I be able to find a vet easily? Sorry if my questions sound too simple and silly but as I said, I've never been there and have only heard brutally discouraging descriptions of the place. Any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance.

I will be moving to Khartoum around end April/May with my husband. We currently live in South Africa. Is there any advice you can give me regarding living in Khartoum, ie where to shop, meet people, things to do, what to bring with me. We have both travelled extensively so are sort of aware of what we are coming to but any advice will be very welcome! Thank you in advance for your replies (hopefully I will get some!)

I am moving to Khartoum for work shortly. Is it possible to buy dvd players there that will read all DVDs - that is from all regions and formats eg PAL etc

Are there any good places to stay in Wad Madani?

So I will be off to Sudan in a months time and am having a bit of trouble getting up to date info on places to stay. Anyone have any suggestions for cheap ($10 per night) places to stay in Dongola, Shendi and Karima aswell as Khartoum itself? Any info on transport and costs and good places to eat would be good too. Thanks in advance.

I will try to get a visa here in London before I leave but might have to get a transit visa in Addis if the embassy here is being dodgy. Just wondering if 15 days is enough time to get from the Ethiopian border to the ferry port in Wadi? Where is the easiest place to get a ferry ticket? What kind of government B.S. does one have to go through upon entering Sudan and what is the cost? Thank you all in advance.