Is this crazy? It seems there is NO WAY to start a trip to east africa now besides a dodgy boat service from Turkey to Eqypt. My plans of tunisia-Libya-Egypt and south seems to be withering with the Libya issue. I called the Italian consulate in Milan and the conversation was something like:" "er hello? YZES, er, is the this the Lybian consulate? Ah, maybe, who wants to know? Do you have tourists visas available to US nationals? Ah, no. Maybe later....click.."

I live/work in italy but will be moving back to the states this fall unless i can solve this problem and do this trip of dreams at the end of my work.

So why not fly a GS bike from Rome to Cairo on Egypt Air or AirItalia? less than 4 hours direct. how comes no one does that? I can at least prep the bike from my home and not in some far away land (like i plan to do from CapeTown if I ever get there..)

Hello,

i would take a flight to Addis Abeba.Why you should pay 500Euro for the ridiculous bureaucracy in Egypt? I spent ten hours in the airport to get the stamp in my carnet.

Mike

It sounds like a good idea as long as you appreciate that Egyptian immigration with a vehicle - land border, port and I'd imagine airport cargo - is among the most protracted in the world. It may take days as but you say, your choices are few.
Perhaps someone here from Eg can help you with the arrangements or advice.
And I wonder if air freighting to Israel may be less hassle - never heard of anyone doing that either though.

Ch

@Mike: If that is true and it took you only ten hours to get the carnet stamped at the airport (!) that would be great! Then I wouldn't want to miss Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia doesn't seem to be too easy anymore either.

@Chris: In the past, people had shipped mainly cars with Grimaldi from Israel to Italy. Since the upheavals in the Arab World more and more travellers have gone the other way and have made basically the same experiences as in Egypt: Car had to be emptied completely, horrendous costs for all kinds of completely pointless procedures which are no more than a hassle. I am not sure whether this is a good alternative, given that you still have to cross into Egypt afterwards ...

Greetings
Achim

We flew 4 bikes from Brisbane to Cairo in 2011, during Ramadan !!!! Was an experience, but total cost per bike was around $300 (I think) that included the License, the storage fees this bit of paper that bit of paper and all bribes which I suspect was about 1/2 of the total cost. Yes I would do it again & took about 5 days to get out, if not in Ramadan I think 3 days & you would be on your bike. We got in touch with a friend of a friend etc and he was invaluable ! Did all the shouting & waving of arms etc for us.
If you want some tips to watch out for just let me know if you go ahead with it.

Cheers
Paul

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Ciao fellow travelers
ok this sounds partially encouraging.
I might have a contact in Cairo
This dream is on the fence and I'm looking for a plan for November ,but maybe I am planning too far out? I am an engineer after all...

Paul
300 bucks to fly a bike from austrailia to egypt; that sounds cheap. I saw 400$ for ro-ro from turkey.

3 days seems accpetable, especially as there are very very few options to get to the start of the route!
this is where a 'fixer' would be handy. Can i hire your friend of a friend?

The way I read this, it cost them $300 to get the bike on the road on the Egypt end, not including the shipping. Hope to be wrong though :-) A clarification would be nice.

Cheers

Any updates on this or anyone else shipped in or out of egypt by air? I'd be interested in the details

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It would cost much less to just take a trip to Egypt and rent a DRZ-400 in Bahareya to enjoy the desert until you're done, or try the Sinaï peninsula with a rental KTM. If you want to take that big trip down to SA, then I'd recommend you simply lift the bike to Addis directly. Lived 4.5 years in Egypt, rode a bike and LR, loved it but hated the roads, and kept a profound disgust of corrupted officials and all this bribing business. Don't forget you'll need a carnet to enter Egypt, the priciest destination of them all. Good luck.

I hear you. But riding my own bike is important to me. Also, all though Egypt is not so appealing for many reasons, I still want to do it and not just cherry pick the world. Also, there is something about the whole connecting North-South that I can't leave alone.

Now that there is a road replacing the Aswan ferry, this trip looks more realistic for me to do in the not so distant future. That is if I can find some efficient way to get my bike to Egypt at some specified date. Therefore, flight...

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I got a firm quote from a freight company flying the cargo route from Milan to nairobi. Maybe on Qatar air thru Dubai, but im not sure, Qatar flies that cargo planes. i asked for a box big enuf for a GSA bike, they bumped it up to the size of 2.3x 1.6x1.5 meters, i'd have to check, but it came to a 720 k minimum weight for pricing purposes, 1000 euros, plus about 300 euros for the crating service if i just ride to the facility.

if i got the box down to minimum size i think i could get there for 700 plus crating.

In the end, i am hooked on the Paul Theroux idea of leaving from my driveway; ride to genoa, ferry to tunisa, dance across Libya, egypt and then south.

I never looked into just flying to Egypt.

Anyone know how, and what the process would involve, to get the bike on the road after it has arrived by plane?

For me, there are only two reasons to fly a bike in. One is to get it there when planned, the other is to leave me more time to travel where I want to travel by not having to ride it there, or not having to deal with the logistics getting it off a boat. I am less concerned about finding the cheapest means of transport.

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I do have practical and recent experience from living in Egypt until August. The two reasons you mentioned would stand for almost any country, but in Egypt you have to expect the worst in addition to get seriously frustrated as your wish may not become a straight forward reality.

Here's part of the scenario that you have to expect with custom and traffic authorities. Once you fly in, you'll have to get to the custom office near the airport, I must have the GPS point somewhere in my files. Just get your carnet stamped or alternatively leave an enormous deposit in cash (7x the declared value if I'm not mistaken). As this will take at least a day if you have a good fixer, and they are all very good listening to them, you'll have time to look at the fantastic parking lot in the middle crowed with vehicles seized for any good reason (to them of course). Once you get the carnet stamped, and pay for temporary plates after buying local insurance and paying more fees, you should be authorized to retrieve your bike from the airline cargo area about a km South terminal 1, where you'll have to undergo the full fledge paperwork again.

That process will be interrupted at some point by some guy you will have just tipped off to understand (if you have a bilingual fixer again - another one) that you have to find the place about 400 m down that road where a man in uniform will issue a temporary pass to access the cargo area, expect a picture to be requested, depending on the amount of the bribe you wish to leave or not. By then you will have spent a second full day, and yet not seen your bike.

With luck you'll access the airline cargo warehouse using the temporary badge from the day before, that you'll have had to renew earlier in the morning because it was only good for one day. Off you return to see the man in the uniform, and find out you either did not pay enough the day before, or the rate increased overnight. Eventually you'll be treated like a king by another man in uniform, he'll offer tea and a chair, while you wait, and wait and wait until another fellow shows up and leaves with the pile of papers you'll have gathered. He will return with at least one more, and one more request for Egyptian pounds. The other sharks will be watching how much you give the guy. Then your bike will be brought closer but then again you won't be able to touch it until some fat and ugly thing comes over and inspect for you, fills more paper, and ask for more money. If you're very lucky and rich, or were rich that day, the whole process may be over before the third day. Otherwise, you'll have to come again, and get yes another badge and resume the process.

If you decide to fly your bike in and go through this trouble, then venture out on the road safely because these guys are maniacs on the road, especially in Cairo. Luckily Egyptians are incredibly nice people, but dealing with custom and traffic authorities is something I can only recommend NOT to get into this level of difficulties, it's so costly in time and money, and will leave likely leave you with an aftertaste you'll carry until you're out of there.

But if you feel like doing it, just go for it and enjoy Egypt, it is a fascinating country. There are great folks out there that are very knowledgeable with the best areas to visit and can help with tracks and logistics. I encourage you to contact them once you're through with the paperwork. I hope your trip meets your expectations. Good luck!