Definitely looking forward to your update dstehouwer.

I plan on making that trip with the business visa obtained in Cairo on bicycle within the next few months.

update:
Libya Travels and tours claims they've heard from colleagues the border 'should be open'....
The Egyptian embassy in South Africa claims it is closed for NON-Libian passport holders since August. 8-|

We're up for some discussion with LTT I'm affraid...

The border seems closed since August, and we booked everything with LTT on the 4th of October.

We're discussing a refund now, as Libya seems CLOSED when you come from Egypt.

Hurts a lot to loose 350USD per person on this, but we're discussing it with LTT....

The warning signs were there - sorry if you have lost out though.

Folks
We are now safely in Cairo having driven across Libya from Tunisia.
As requested, I have put a summary below. You can read the full details in our blog: aimlessinafrica.blogspot.com

Jill at contact@libyatravelandtours.com obtained Business Visas for us. These are probably a bit better for overlanders, as you do not need to have a guide. The cost was $ 400/person.
We picked up our visas at the Libyan embassy in Tunis. The process seems to be that the administration in Tripoli sends a fax with a reference number to the embassy where you want to collect your visa. Unfortunately we were given an incorrect fax number for one of our visas and this took a couple of days to sort out.

You queue at the side of the Libyan embassy in Tunis and talk to the people through an open window. You do not enter the embassy. With the correct fax number the process is simple and straight forward. You need to complete the application form in ARABIC and hand over 2 x passport photos and TD 45. About 1 – 2 hours later you have your visa.

Day 1
We passed through the Tunisia formalities with little delay.
On the Libyan side there were some questions about our sponsor, so we showed the email from Jill with the details. If there were any further hassles we would have asked them to phone Jill. They also wanted to know where we were staying in Tripoli etc . After ~ 30 min we were on our way.
We elected to get the carnet signed in case the Egyptian side asked about it. This took ~ 60 min, as they did not know what it was and it was not in Arabic. Still, it was finally signed.

We stayed in Sabratha at the Hotel Tellel Complex, a resort on the beach, LD 180 for dinner, bed & breakfast. If you were a little braver than us, there were plenty of places to camp on or near the beach on the way to the hotel.

Day 2– 16/10/12
We visited the Sabratha Roman ruins. Then we had a very hard time finding a bank to get money. Finally, just before the ring road in Tripoli, the Amen bank had working ATMs and currency exchange. We did not stop in Tripoli
We visited Leptis Magna ruins and camped at a clearly marked camp site near the entrance. TD 10.

Day 3– 17/10/12
We drove to Benghazi. A lot of the hotels were full, so we strayed at the Hotel Juliana, LD 220. The braver folks could drive a km or so off the Sirte – Ajdabaya road and camp.

Day 4– 18/10/12
We visited Cyrene and drove along the coast to Tobruk. The drive from Marsa Susah to Darman along the ocean was wonderful. There were plenty of places to pull off the road and camp on a secluded beach/ocean view. There also seemd to be a few resorts, one advertising RV facilities.
Near Tobruk we visited the Knightsbridge War Cemetery. We stayed at the Al Masira hotel, LD 135

Day 5– 19/10/12
On the way out of town we visited the Tobruk War Cemetery. We then drove to the Libyan border. Immigration was competed in less than 60 secs. Getting the Carnet stamped took 60 min! This is probably because they had not seen one before and did not have the stamp at the outgoing border post.

Overall
The Libyans we met were friendly and super generous. They invariably went out of their way to assist us in any way. That said, they are the world’s worst drivers, total maniacs.
We did not feel there were any security issues and we always felt safe. However, we stayed in hotels or secure areas at night and did not wander after dark. This added to the cost.

The border TO LIBYA FROM EGYPT is really cloesed it seems.

After multiple emails with LTT they agreed to pay us back 50% of the fee as this border is closed for us already for a few months.
Honestly, it still hurts to have lost 175USD on this per person, but 50% back is better than nothing.

I have to say LTT is a professional business, but they should think about their product a bit better .... and pay back 100% if it turns out that their 'product' doesn't exist.
From TUnesia no problem, we've bumped into multiple travellers who drove that way through Libya without big problems, with b.visa's from LTT.

We saw people passing through the boarder from Egypt to Libya. But, no overlanders.
The queue of trucks on the Egypt side heading into Libya was huge, ~ 20 - 30 km long. However, cars seemed to bypass the trucks and and go direct to the border post. We did this on the Libyan side.
Did you have a local fixer when you went to the Egyptian boarder post?? The local facilitator made a huge difference to our transit from Libya into Egypt. But, we are old & retired! The LE 200 for this was money well spent on our part.
Maybe it is just Business visas or non Egyptians/Libyans who are stopped??
We found LTT to be good and very responsive. The incorrect fax number was a bit annoying, but for any long time overlander, just a blip.

yes, LTT is responsive....

But: if you read the whole topic, you'll find out EGYPT closed the border for non-Libian/Egyptian passport holders! Hence the trucks...

we are thinking of taking your route to egypt next april 2013 . you have giving a lot of detail and it will be a great help to all travelers ....thanks ,,,all info. welcome