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North Africa Topics specific to North Africa and the Sahara down to the 17th parallel (excludes Morocco)
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



Trans Sahara Routes.

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  #1  
Old 9 Mar 2018
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Cairo to Nairobi

Hi there - am looking into the possibiltiy of riding from Cairo to Nairobi through Sudan and Ethiopia around August time. Would plan to buy a (semi) decent bike in Cairo and then head down. If anyone has got any advice on routes, borders, camping etc. would be massively appreciated.

Thanks,
Sam
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  #2  
Old 19 Mar 2018
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I suspect as a foreigner without local contacts or a fixed address you will struggle to buy a moto legally enough to cross African borders.
Will be much easier to buy in RSA (not Kenya, I admit) and ride in the other direction.
More choice there too.

Last edited by Chris Scott; 19 Mar 2018 at 15:21.
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  #3  
Old 20 Mar 2018
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Chris is spot on there. Difficulties ahead can’t be overstated and opportunities to buy good bikes capable of taking you South don’t come around so often. Also August is very hot out there, you don’t want to get stranded with a broken machine under that heat, let alone incurring the risks of heat stroke and deshydratation while riding, it’s anything but a cool breeze, so bring shade!
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  #4  
Old 28 Mar 2018
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Will be doing same trip on september/October, but with my own bike. The entry will be through Israel to taba in Egypt


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Old 30 Mar 2018
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Hi Aponso,

you seem to have a clear plan of how to get into Egypt from Israel.

I want to go on my bike from Cairo to Capetown in early 2019. I'm still struggling over entering Egypt via ferry directly from Europe or Turkey or from the other side like Jordan.

Do you have any information about these alternatives?

Cheers, Harti
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  #6  
Old 30 Mar 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Harti View Post
Hi Aponso,

you seem to have a clear plan of how to get into Egypt from Israel.

I want to go on my bike from Cairo to Capetown in early 2019. I'm still struggling over entering Egypt via ferry directly from Europe or Turkey or from the other side like Jordan.

Do you have any information about these alternatives?

Cheers, Harti

Hi!

By the moment there are no ferries from Europe to any port in Egypt. Even in a Cargo ship, Grimaldi told me that they have no permission to disembark passengers in Egypt. With that on mind, the only ways to arrive there is by plane or by land.

I decided to do the second one, so I’m going with a Grimaldi Cargo from Europe (Monfalcone or Piraeus) to Ashdod in Israel and getting into Egypt through Taba. Talking with some people of Cairo told me that by the moment the south of Sinai is ok and you can go to Sharm El Sheik and Cairo with no problems.

The other alternative, which was to cross Libya , is impossible right now with three governments on place and a civil war on the whole country.

However, I’m going in September and the whole situation can change in this months, so I’ll be posting what I’m doing.



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  #7  
Old 30 Mar 2018
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Quote:
Originally Posted by congorider View Post
Hi there - am looking into the possibiltiy of riding from Cairo to Nairobi through Sudan and Ethiopia around August time. Would plan to buy a (semi) decent bike in Cairo and then head down. If anyone has got any advice on routes, borders, camping etc. would be massively appreciated.



Thanks,

Sam


Sorry, didn’t answer you before. You have a lot of posts in this forum about borders and paperwork. Personally, I’ll try to cross Egypt to Sudan by the new border in Argeen to avoid the ferry in Assuán.

Apart of that, there is a good site with lots of information about camping , tracks, etc... which is Tracks 4 Africa. And I’ve also downloaded the OpenStreetMaps for that region for the GPS.

Hope it will help.



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  #8  
Old 4 Apr 2018
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I am planning to do the same trip next year. Can`t wait to hear about your trip, aponso!
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Old 8 Jun 2018
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Hi Aponso
Is Taba open? Thinking that due to recent Gaza trouble it may be closed.
Shipping bike Athens to Haifa early August, plan was to pass through Israel, Jordan to Acaba and a ferry to Newieba. Has anyone else tried this route recently?
Colin.
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  #10  
Old 9 Jun 2018
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Hot

It's around 52C in northern Sudan in August.
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  #11  
Old 9 Jun 2018
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A note to anyone planning this route if you go through Israel you will almost certainly not be allowed into Sudan, even if there is no Israeli stamp in your passport the Egyptian entry stamp will give it away.
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Old 9 Jun 2018
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Originally Posted by mark manley View Post
A note to anyone planning this route if you go through Israel you will almost certainly not be allowed into Sudan, even if there is no Israeli stamp in your passport the Egyptian entry stamp will give it away.

Are you sure about it? Which is your source? It happened to you? It’s very important to know, as that was the route we were planning....

Quote:
Originally Posted by colin4935 View Post
Hi Aponso

Is Taba open? Thinking that due to recent Gaza trouble it may be closed.

Shipping bike Athens to Haifa early August, plan was to pass through Israel, Jordan to Acaba and a ferry to Newieba. Has anyone else tried this route recently?

Colin.

I think it is. At least some people recently did it



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Old 9 Jun 2018
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Originally Posted by aponso View Post
Are you sure about it? Which is your source? It happened to you? It’s very important to know, as that was the route we were planning....
Here is just one example but search yourself for confirmation that any indication that you have been to Israel will get you banned from most Islamic countries.

https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...-and-the-sudan
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  #14  
Old 9 Jun 2018
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Originally Posted by mark manley View Post
Here is just one example but search yourself for confirmation that any indication that you have been to Israel will get you banned from most Islamic countries.



https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntr...-and-the-sudan


Thanks! I´ll check it


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  #15  
Old 11 Jun 2018
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Never heard this before. 18 months ago I had no trouble in Ethiopia just using my home licence and an international driving permit. I was stopped at many police check points but licence was never queried. Good luck

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