Crossing the sahara east to west???

[persedel]

Hi!
I am planning to drive (in my 4wd) from South Africa up to Egypt along the east coast.My dream would be then to cross to Mauretania and then up to spain through Marocco.

After I have been reading a lot the route seems to be very complicated, expensive and risky. I was hoping to drive along the coast cross from Tunisia, algeria down to Mali and then to drive to mauretania.

Can anyone shed some light if this is too hard and stupid? I have not travelled in Africa before but have travelled in asia and Australia on longer trips before.Any suggestions would be great.

I am leaving for South Africa in a week and are planning to cross Ethiopia to Sudan in end of January.

PER

[Yves]

Hi Per,

the route is possible but extra costs of something about 1000 EUR arise for the compulsory guide in Libya and Algeria but cheap fuel compensates partially. I do not consider the route more risky than the rest of your trip. There are quite a lot of overlanders driving through Mau., Mali, Niger and less in Algeria. Actually crossing of northern Mali could be difficult because of the recent Toureg crisis but that could be sorted out until you arrive there; or travel through Niger instead of Mali.

Yves

[qwer1234]

You should bear in mind that algerian visas are only issued to nationals and residents living in the country in which you are applying. The same can be also said for syrian visas.
I have read about people who overlandad all the way from South Africa to Egypt and got stuck in Egypt, as they couldn't get a syrian nor a lybian visa.
BTW, you NEED a Carnet de Passage for Egypt!

[ursula]

you can get the libyan visa at the border if you show the invitation-letter of your libyan agency. their guide must also wait at the border in Amsaad for you.
Ursula

[persedel]

Thanks for that guys!

I have not checked but I cannot apply for that visa anyway as I am too late leaving in 6 days and I am from Sweden living in Australia.

I am not sure if I can sort that so far in advance either. I will get there in Feb or so.

I might be able to sort something out on swedish ground when I work in Ethiopia for 3 months at the end of the year.

Thanks again.

If anyone has any experince in getting into Algeria without preapplying for visa would be helpful.

/PER

[Landygirl]

Hi Per
Your route is the exact opposite of the one I'm on at the moment. We've spent the last 5 months travelling through Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Niger and Algeria. I'm in Tunisia at the moment and we're heading to Libya when we've got our visas and then on to Egypt, through the Sudan to Ethiopia and heading in a southerly direction, zigzagging our way down the East side of Africa. We're planning to be in Cape Town by Christmas. Wish the trip could be longer, but we're limited by money.
A note on the Libyan visa. I checked at the Libyan embassy in Tunis and it's possible to get a transit visa, which enables you to travel across the top of the country (along the coast). You don't need any invitation or guide commitments for a transit visa. You just need a letter in Arabic, explaining who you are and why you need a transit visa. You submit this to the embassy, along with a copy of your passport. They evaluate your request and if given the OK, issue a transit visa for the cost of 31 Tunisian Dinar. I'm in the process of writing the letter and have to find someone to translate it into Arabic. I'll let you know how I get on with this. Watch this post. It may be possible to do the same thing in Cairo.

Of course, this option means we have to miss out on the Libyan desert, which would be fantastic, but the costs are too high. Algeria worked out cheaper so we decided to spend our money there. We went with Tanezrouft Voyages and we had an amazing trip with him into the Hoggar and then travelling northwards through the desert via Assekrem to In Salah. From In Salah, it was a bit of a trek to the border (1200km in 3 days) and the drive through the Grand Ergs was incredible. We were escorted all the way from Ain Guezzam (Niger border) to Taleb Larbi (Tunisian border). Algeria is the most wonderful country - the scenery is spectacular and the people are very gentle and friendly (careful in El Gorlea though). Mohammed, our guide, read us very well (we were travelling with a guy on a motorbike that had endless battery and wheel problems) and changed our itinerary when he saw the state of the bike on arrival at Ain Guezzam. Our itinerary enabled us to have as much experience of the desert as possible, given our money, time and bike limitations. I've travelled with guides before and I can't recommend Tanezrouft highly enough. It was an awesome trip.
Let me know if you'd like more info on our route so far and our route southwards. It might help you with your planning.
Good luck
Bel