Budrina
 

HY all I am Budrinna of past years , hope to resume travel activity , actually all closed but many libyans are now bikers and 4x4 lovers.

I was in Libya (west) in late 2017 and early 2020. On both occasions it is a hassle compared to before, and absolutely requires a business visa (obtainable in London, for a huge fee, assuming all the invitations are in order). There are definitely easier places to go to right now. What has changed since early 2020 is something I cannot speak for, but at least then, it was feasible. On both of those occasions I came in from Tunisia, and out to Tunisia.

In 2020 we drove to Sabratha, Tripoli, Leptis Magna and Misrata, and back. In 2017 we did the same + Sirte + Sabha + Ghademes.

Hello, everyone! I've just been informed by a Libyan tour operator that tourist visas are now being issued again! They've told me this change is so recent that they can't say yet whether it will be VOA or not and what the cost will be (though surely much cheaper than the phoney "business visas" that tour companies were charging some $350-$500 for).

I've also been told that the Tunisia-Libya boarder is confirmed to be open. Unfortunately, you still need to book a tour package and be accomanied at all times by a police escort, though. The tour operator tells me he doesn't see this changing anytime soon, as this was also the case for tourists before the war.

That's great news, but for those of us who are here on the HUBB forum looking for information about travelling on our motorcycles or 4X4s to Libya, take that information with a grain of salt.

It's one thing to travel to Libya as a tourist when you go in and out by air and stay at a hotel or (better even still) stay with friends or family. Those kind of travellers are the ones who can reasonably get excited about tourist visas being issued again.

It's an entirely different matter for those of us who are interested in doing a land border crossing and riding or driving 100s of kilometers across the country unaccompanied. There is still a civil war ongoing in Libya, different parts of the country are controlled by different groups, and there is no truly national police or military organization to provide security to motorists.

Libya is a great place, but until a single national government is established that is able to effectively govern the entire country, it's not a place to be doing individual unescorted motor travel in.

Michael

I have been experimenting with the Gaia GPS recently on their free trial. It seems Gaia has quite a following in SW Libya, with many tracks posted publicly. I suppose this doesn't mean much for the forum, but I thought people might find it interesting.

Which tour operator is this?