Sudan, Ethiopia

Hey, I'm probably going to Ethiopia next year, and was wondering what makes you want to go to Sudan as well?

I find it quite hard to assess the safety of going there - do you know anything?

Mostly because of the lack of major tourism I guess, so I hope to meet locals who are proud to show their culture and country to you; not only trying to rip you off. Read some pretty good travel stories about how friendly the people are. In addition I think it’s also still a bit of an adventure to go there; visiting places most people don’t go. Nubian pyramids should be interesting and maybe some diving in the red sea.
In regard to the safety issues, I checked the travel advice of the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs and the foreign travel advice of the UK. Nothing special so I guess it’s safe to visit, as long you behave normally. Only thing I’m not sure of is how the situation is this year with the drought.

Ethiopia should be pretty cool; impressive nature.

>>1251068
Thanks for the answer. It does seem intriguing and cheap as well. I want to add another African country besides Ethiopia, but I realized how (relatively) expensive it is travelling in many African countries. Sudan seems like a good option

With regards to safety, I was really just trying to understand whether it's a real traveller destination that doesn't actually hold much danger when you stay out of certain areas, or whether it's more of an extreme traveller destination like Pakistan or DRC

>>1251283
Oh and I forgot to ask - don't you need to rent drivers and cars to see many of the sights? Like the pyramids for example.

I'm just worried it might drive up the price

bump, although this destination might be a bit ambitious to ask about on /trv/

>>1251292
>Oh and I forgot to ask - don't you need to rent drivers and cars to see many of the sights?
It's less "drivers and cars" and a little bit more "some blokes with AKs and a pickup"

>>1251828
Are you sure, and what do you base that on?

I found some info about renting drivers in one of the National Parks, and saw prices quoted in thr range of $150-$250 a day, which is slightly cheaper than in other African countries, but not really

Aren't you thinking about the Danakil in Ethiopia?

>>1251036
Prepare to be robbed and/or kidnapped.

>>1252024
Even if they're thinking of Danakil, that's not accurate either - Danakil trips are pretty nice jeeps/4x4s. There are parts where you'll get escorted by the army with AKs, sure, but these are pretty brief periods.

OP, I'm sure it goes without saying but you'll be wanting to avoid border regions in southern Sudan/South Sudan at the moment with the situation there - I know Darfur was off limits as of a few weeks ago, for example. The rest of Sudan is generally okay - I met a few people when I was in Ethiopia last year who'd just come from Sudan/were going to Sudan, all of who were aiming for the northern parts: Khartoum, Port Sudan, Dongola, Karima, Kassala, and probably a few other places that I'm forgetting at the moment.

Keep in mind that to leave Khartoum as a foreigner you'll need a travel permit, and also that foreign cards generally aren't accepted, so you'll need to bring enough cash (preferably USD) to exchange for the duration of your stay in Sudan.

>>1252037
Sounds good, I wasn't really worried about the Danakil anyways.

Yeah, I'm planning on doing Egypt -> Sudan -> Ethiopia next year, early spring. Not OP, but the other guy who showed interest.

I'm more worried about getting the visa, but I heard it's easy as fuck in Aswan, Egypt. I really don't like the idea of having to bring all my money in cash, though. I mean I wouldn't want to not bring enough, but I also don't want to take out more than necessary.

>>1252035
What makes you say that? OP isn't talking about going to Darfur or South Sudan.

Also, OP if you're serious, I'd really love to hear from you if you end up doing it this year, as I'm going next year and would love some more info.

>>1251036
>>1252147


>travelling to an African nation currently embroiled in civil war

ok

>>1252162
But it's a big country. The conflicts are mostly geographically limited. Have you even looked at a map and considered where the Darfur regions are located? They are quite far away from all of the sights that people are seeing, and the capital is significantly more safe than other more visited African capital cities.

>>1252144
I can understand exactly where you're coming from with the cash, it's definitely a pain. When I've been to countries in the past with similar situations, I've figured out an average daily budget that I expect to spend, then bring an extra 25% on top of that for any extras or for unexpected expenses.

I suppose the good thing for you is that you're heading to Ethiopia next, where USD will also be accepted in a number of places, so any leftovers can be spent here.

In both Sudan and Ethiopia, make sure to exchange any currency back from the local one before leaving; they're local currencies, and can't be exchanged once you've left. I found this to be a particular pain in Ethiopia as nowhere had USD (or claimed not to) to sell back, and ended up trading with fellow travellers to get rid of my excess. Something to keep in mind, at least.

Oh, and both places have black markets for currency exchange where you'll get better rates. The one in Ethiopia is only slightly better (25 to 1 compared to 23 to 1, for example), but I understand the one in Sudan is a rate around three times higher than the official (18:1 instead of 6:1). I can't comment on how easy it is to find this in Sudan, but in Ethiopia everyone knows someone who can help you out with this.

>>1252179
Where would you store them? A money belt? I thought about getting one and then basically only removing it when showering. Is that paranoid? I'm not sure if I should risk leaving the money in a hotel room in that part of the room.

Thanks for the heads up about currencies. However, wouldn't it just be a good solution to just exchange a little bit at the time? Do you know how ubiquitous the opportunity to pay in USD is in Ethiopia and Sudan?

>>1252183
Not all in one place. A money belt would be fine (as long as it's one of those hidden ones), if not perhaps a little over the top, but make sure that's not your only source of money; if for any reason you lose access to that, you want to have money elsewhere you can fall back on. I usually stash mine inside my pack in various places (rolled inside clean socks, inside an old chapstick tube, and so on), then leave the pack locked when I'm not around anyway. I only carry on me what I need for the day, maybe two days.

Yeah, that's the ideal solution, and that was my goal in Ethiopia too. It turned out that my last few days all came in under budget from what I'd been spending in the previous couple of weeks though, and I'd exchanged based on what I thought I needed and ended up with leftovers. Not impossible to deal with, but just a bit more time consuming.

I've got no first hand experience with Sudan, though one person I met did comment on being able to pay for hotels in USD. In Ethiopia, it's fairly common - my tour into Danakil was paid for in USD, most of my hotels/hostels/guesthouses, and a couple of admission fees (Lalibela, for one) could be paid in dollars too. Food, drink, and transport were generally birr only, no dollars accepted.

>>1252218
Hmm, I think I'll be getting a money belt, I don't want to worry about my pockets all the time. But I'll definitely spread my valuables out.

This aspect of losing money or my phone is actually what I worry about the most, not language barrier, terrorism/kidnapping or anything. I know Sudan is not particularly high risk, it's just something I generally worry about when travelling.

As for the money exchangers on the black market, doesn't it feel a bit sketchy or unsafe going to some random market and exchanging quite a lot of USD? How would I know that he's not going to rip me off? I imagine it as something that's not much less sketchy than buying weed from a stranger.

>>1252228
It could feel a bit sketchy, yeah. In Ethiopia I mostly used ATMs since I don't have fees on my card for doing that abroad, but during the period of "how the hell do I get rid of this excess birr" I ended up finding a black market trader. In this case, I was directed to a clothes shop, where the guy ended up lifting up a mirror and revealing a wad of foreign currencies.

I think it depends on how comfortable you are with the idea. Your money will go further if you buy the local currency on the black market, but you'll probably want a better idea of what their notes look like compared to exchanging at a bank. Perhaps exchanging a small amount would be a good starting point, and then once that's spent (or not spent, as it may be) you'll have a better idea of any issues that arose from the trade to let you know if it's worth doing it elsewhere.

Oh, and don't expect to get such good rates if you try and exchange back on the black market - they tend to want USD (hence such good rates if you're selling dollars) as it's generally more stable than the local currency.

>>1251036
>Is the current drought in Africa something that should be taken into consideration?

It's the worst one in current memory across the consent (not well known fact) so you are seeing many places that are very drought stricken

>>1252237
I'll look into what options I have with regards to the type of card I'm bringing.

That sounds like solid advice. Might try to see if I can find a local to go with me.

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I'm in Khartoum right now, been in sudan for a week, do you have any specific questions? I always felt safe and the people are very friendly. even though I don't speak Arabic people find a way to help you, unlike some experiences in Japan.

exchange rate at the airport exchange was 15.9 pounds per USD, and I got 18 from moneychangers at kabir mosque (there are dozens of. them in plain daylight).

there are multiple trip reports on the lonely planet thorntree forum far newer than 3 years. with those + bradt guide + wikitravel I was very well prepared, no surprises.

>>1254327
Are you travelling on a budget? How did you get to the pyramids and other sights in remote destinations? I found a travel blog, where the writer states that you can get around by public transport, but doesn't really explain how. Can you tell me a bit about that?

Also, I'd love to know your itinerary, highlights of the trip, recommended spots in Khartoum or whatever you feel like telling.

Where are you going next and how did you arrive?

>>1254327
Are Sudanese chicks easy?

>>1254738
Easier than Ethiopians, but not easy, globally speaking.

>>1254755
Lol, in the last Ethiopia thread we were told that there are going to be light skinned, black girls all over Addis Ababa wanting your white dick, and now you're telling us that it's easier pulling chicks in fucking Sudan...

>>1254559
accomodation: paid around 250 sgd per night, except for karima (100). always single rooms with en suite bathroom, however quite run down, but ok, sheets appeared clean.

travel: travelled around in khartoum exclusively by minibus & rickshaw. to get around khartoum i usually started from jackson station, 15.5939954,32.5188787. there there many minibuses going in all directions, i just went up to one and said my destination (e.g. the souqs: haj yousef, libya, omdurman) and they pointed me to the right minibus. you just get in and they leave when full (i never waited longer than 1min). once it's left a conductor will click his fingers at you and you pay him, will always be 2.50 to 5 sgd. if there's no conductor you pay the fdriver when getting off. you can see what the others are paying. you can get off anytime by clicking your fingers. at such a souq there are minibuses all around, again you just ask anyone your destination and they'll point you to the right minibus. it's also possible to flag down driving buses. the whole thing is very easy, and the people are very sympathetic and helpful. a rickshaw ride 10-20sgd.

>>1255903
food & drink is very cheap, 5-10 sgd for a meal and 5sgd for a tea.

long distance buses leave from very specific station, you'd just have to ask. e.g. in shendi i just flagged a rickshaw and told him khartoum bus station. tickets about 100 sgd for any leg between khartoum, atbara, shendi, karima. for meroe i got a taxi from the khartoum bus station, 500sgd for the return trip + 2h waiting, it would probabaly be possible to haggle the price down significantly.

highlights: haj yousef market (where the nubian wrestling's at) at friday evening, very vibrant. the drive from souq libya to the camel market at muweli7. the pyramids at karima & meroe. the nubian wrestling & sufi dancing were quite cool.

the shades in the corinthia were broken so at sunset 90% of the view was blocked which was a pity.

was there for 9 days, itineary khartoum, atbara, karima, atbara, shendi, khartium. would have liked to go to port sudan and kassala if i had more time. flew in & out of khartoum.

next trip: lebanon.

>>1254738
i wouldn't know

>>1251036
You're going to die.

Any anons here been to ethiopea can help me out? i'm planning on spending two weeks there in december is that good timing and enough to see some nature stuff?