Khartoum Travel Forum

Hi all!

I plan to make a 3-4 days stopover to Khartoum from Jeddah and need advice on the following:

1. Is the city safe for foreigners? Heard about the on-going civil war but do not know whether this is reflected in the day to day life in Khartoum? Anything to be careful about?

2. Hotel recommendations, preferably 3-5 stars hotels?

3. Getting around - do I hire a taxi/car for the day?

4. Any well-known industrial areas in Khartoum?

5. Visa - can a hotel arrange for a visa upo arrival or do I need a sponsor's letter?

Thanks a million for your help!

Go to maykal's homepage. There is all the information you'll need. I was in Khartoum last year and I can tell you that maykal tells you all you need to know.

I wish I could go there as well...

I can answer this:

1. It's safe

2. Don't know. I have my boyfriend there.

3. I think you can do that.

4. Don't know.

5. I think you can have a visa through a hotel. You need to have that from a sudanese embassy. In the embassy the may accept just to have information about the person/organization inviting you.

Hi Kaisa!

Thanks for the tip on Maykal. I went thru his travel pages and yes, there's tonnes of helpful info. Sudan seems to be an interesting place and I hope I can get all the visa formalities for Saudi, Yemen, and Sudan out of the way soon for me to embark on this special journey! BTW, how's Moscow? Russia is another must visit place!

Hi, hope this is of some help...

1) Khartoum and northern Sudan is perfectly safe, in fact it's one of the safest cities I've ever been to. The war is hundreds of miles away and there's not even many soldiers on the streets in Khartoum - if you didn't know the war was on there'd be no indication to tell you.

2) The Akropole Hotel in the city centre is my favourite, although there are also several 5 star international hotels near the Nile (The Hilton, Grand Holiday Villa etc) The latter is mainly used by Chinese. There's also the Meridien right in the centre of town.

3) Hiring a taxi will be easy, although the ones on the street aren't in the greatest condition. Top end hotels will be able to arrange a better car for you if you don't mind paying a bit extra.

4) Interesting question! Industrial areas are the ones most people usually want to avoid! Khartoum North (Bahri) - just over the river - has numerous industrial areas so might be worth a try - again, the hotel will be able to give you details.

5) Visas for Sudan usually have to be obtained prior to arrival from a Sudanese embassy abroad. Obviously the hassle that entails depends on your nationality and the country you're in. If it's Saudi then I wouldn't think it'd take too long. For example, I've heard the embassy in Cairo can process them in a day or two whereas in Europe it can take weeks.

Have a great trip, can't wait to hear about it!

Hi mafi moya!

Thanks for the tips. Just found out that Malaysians do not need visas to get to Sudan becos we are considered brotherly nation-so that's good news for me becos my passport is almost full with visas from various countries! I'm planning to visit Saudi, Yemen, and Sudan and now my final hurdle is to get a sponsor in Saudi so that I can get a visa. Yemen is no problem, I 'll just apply for a tourist visa. Met a Sudanese guy who happens to be an interpreter at the Yemeni Embassy in KL and he too share your enthusiasm for Sudan and says it is safe and vibrant in Khartoum now. Look forward very much to going to Sudan soon!

Hi mafi moya!

Now that my final hurdle of getting a sponsor letter in Saudi has been overcome, i can now plan for my trip t Sudan. One thing though, the airfare via Saudia for Saudi, Yemen and Sudan is very expensive and I haven't figured out an alternative yet!

Hi!

I' m in the final stages of making my maiden visit to Sudan. Does anyone know whether Sudan's weekend is similar to those in Saudi, where weekends is Thursday and Fridays and Saturdays and Sundays are working days? Thanks for your help!

Hi Peter,

Glad to hear everything's on track! For transport there's not really much choice - some people have managed to get on a ship from Saudi to Port Sudan in the northeast of the country but I don't know any details and I think it's a cargo ship rather than a passenger ferry. I would think the cheapest and easiest airline for those 3 countries would be Emirates - but you probably know as much as I do on that one.

As for the weekend it's similar to Saudi. It's mostly just a one day weekend (Friday) but some places also close Thursday afternoons. Saturday's a normal working day for nearly everybody, as is Sunday. On Fridays shops and things like that will be open (apart from at prayer times) but all government offices etc will be closed.

How soon until you go?