Tripoli Travel Forum

My wife and I will be in Tripoli for one day only from a cruise ship. my question is: will we be allowed to roam Tripoli on our own without an official guide. We did work in Tripoli 1968-70 and so have memories of how it was. Most tourists will go on organised trips to Leptis or Sabratha(well worth it) but we have our memories and photos from the past.
Can anyone advise on the best things to do for a few hours.

Hi All,

I'll be spending the next 3 years in Tripoli ans i would like to know how much a nice car such an Audi A3 or a VW Golf with full options would cost in Libya.

Also, if anyone has an idea about some places to rent and how much it might also cost on a monthly basis, please keep me posted.

Thx for all ur help

Hi There,

I think the city has changed dramatically since the 70s.... not cure if it's to the better!! You will have a chance to judge yourself when you visit. You won’t need a guide for such few hours... Nice places to explore is the Old Town and Tripoli downtown (First of September st., Almqarif st., and Algeria square,... All are in the city center and close to each other and can be checked in few hours. There is some nice traditional restaurants in the old town you may want to try one of them, they are made to tourists...

Have a nice trip

Hello there, thanks for the reply. We have no doubt that there have been great changes since we were last there. One thing that we have realised since we were last in Tripoli is that many of the street and place names have changed and we have not been able to find a street map.
We worked at Gargaresh Hospital and lived at Km 7, just beyond Gargaresh village which may be a large shopping centre now. When we lived there, there were very few houses around us.
We would welcome any more detailed information that you could send us.

Kind regards

I was in Tripoli and often spend my leisure time (I had a guide for the other places) walking through Tripolis, the old medina, and the modern city on my
own. I was never hassled, people are very kind, the big number of police may
be a bit intimidating, but I think that would be the case in any country.
On the other hand, the city is very safe from all other African cities I have seen. And also quiet, a city with not many people (considering Egypt where all
cities are bustling with people).
Good luck! What kind of cruise are you doing? I am surprised that they stop
in Liba!

Travelthrough ! you surprise me . Libyan coast is the longest among the other Afican mediterranean countries. It's about 1200 miles.

this is true. but usually most cruises stop in Tunis or in Alexandria, as far as I know...

and Benghazi and Tripoli . Big travel agencies arrange such trips . I'm familiar with seeing them at Benghazi seaport.

I am coming in February 2007 to Tripoli with cruiseship MSC Opera, coming from Alexandria and going to Italy. So I am in the same situation of staying only 1 day there.

My situation is the same; one day only to visit, that is, if the cruise company doesn't cancel the stop entirely due to visa problems. If taking an organized tour with the cruise company & it's organizers, is there still a visa problem or do they arrange for everyone on the tour to use a group visa? Any information would be much appreciated.

Hi, ALL cruise ship companies offer you guided excursions on a very high price. You can avoid all this as follows: Just tell the pursers (reception) the day before that you will go on your own. You pay (to the pursers) 15 Euros and thats it. As the harbour is out of walking distance the cruise companies provide free shuttle service to the "Green Palce". Have a look on my recent Tripoli page for more info. If you find its helpful dont forget to rate it.