can somebody help with the following:

Which way is better from Wadi Halfa to Karima - through Dongola or the east road?
If we enter in Ethiopia and the visa expires in Gondar/Lalibela, what we should do?

Hi Sashkow,

I think the answer is pretty easy: Go along the Nile via Dongola and take time! There is a lot to be seen on the way, the villages along the river (though the new road passes outside the palm areas), the temple of Soleb, the mud-brick temple in Kerma, Old Dongola. There is a ferry passing from the Western side of the Nile to Old Dongola on the Eastern side (leave the main highway at km 374 to the left). From Old Dongola a new tarmac road passes all the way to Karima on the Northern bank of the Nile (you might want to stop to visit the two tombs at Kurru (turn right at km 15 before Karima).

If your question meant whether to go from Dongola straight via the short cut to Karima or follow the Nile via Old Dongola, I would still opt for the latter.

Greetings from Sudan
Achim

Thx, Achim!

It could be that we are in hurry due to Ethiopian visa expiration, so besides the pyramids in Meroe we my need to skip the rest.

Sudan is an amazing country - I wished I hadnt hurried through it.

There is a brand new road in the north, it just gets a tiny bit bad towards Ethiopia. With this in mind and you are in a hurry you can do the whole country in three long days.

Im sorry I dont entirely understand why your visa is expiring... you can get one for Ethiopia in Khartoum for $20 it takes one day (if you go in the morning - you can pick it up in the afternoon)

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The issue is that if we follow our normal schedule, we'll be in Khratum Friday.
So we'll try arrive in Wednsday night in order to apply for visa.
And we'll leave Wadi Halfa probably Thursday or Wednsday morning.
That's tricky one.
The other option is enter Etiopia, our visas expires 1 day after and to hope we can extend it relatively fast and easily in Adis Ababa.

i think your visa is valid for 30 days from the date of entry ,so i believe that you have the right to enter Ethiopia any day if its not expired and then you have the right to stay as long it is written on your visa (duration of stay )
so please check the visa details well, and correct me if I'm wrong

Dear Achim
thanks for the good info ,
please try to make a post with all details ,and post it as a topic like Northern Sudan ,so every one can have good info as so many travelers just ride or drive to escape Sudan although there is lots to see and visit
drive safe my friend

well. from what I see, there is only date of issue and date of expiry.
So I hope you are right, but no any evidence on that in the visa.

Hi Sashkow,

I think you are right. We managed to get a 6 month visa from the Ethiopian embassy in London last year and it started to run from it's date of issue. We had to get into the country and to Addis and extend it before the expiry date.

I would aim to get a new/extended visa in Khartoum. Otherwise it sounds as though you will rush to get over the border and even then probably not get to Addis until after your visa has expired. I suppose there is also a risk they may not let you through the border if you only have 24 hours left on your visa.

I found this post on TT.

Advice on visa extensions at the Ethiopian Immigration in Addis Ababa - Lonely Planet travel forum

The info on extending was still correct last year. I can't vouch for what he says about the grace period or what happens if your visa is more than two weeks over.

Dear Sashkow,

I don't think that your schedule is feasible: If you are lucky and everything works out nicely, then you will get your car on Wednesday, let's say at noon. There is no way you can reach Khartoum by Wednesday night. It is a smooth, but nevertheless 894 km drive from the intersection on the exit of Wadi Halfa to the beginning of Khartoum!

So you can as well take your time, see the beautiful Nubian North of Sudan, arrive in Khartoum anytime and apply for a new Ethiopian visa. Since you already have one, it will be a matter of one day (as it normally is anyway).

That gives you the comfort of travelling without any issues that might make you a little nervous which would certainly be the case if you were travelling with an expired visa. To try to extend it then in Addis might prove difficult. I know that the Ethiopians can be very nasty: a German internet forum for travellers (Wuestenschiff.de) reported the case of travellers who didn't get their carnet stamped upon entering the country and really got into deep - and prolonged - trouble.

To cut a long story short: You don't gain anything by rushing through Sudan, but you may lose a lot. And when you go all the way to Africa, you shouldn't miss out the continent's formerly largest country!

Greetings,
Achim

Well, the only way to reach Khartoum in Wednesday night is if we can manage to get the car Thursday morning. We are planing to sleep in Karima and to see the pyramids in Meroe. Do we miss anything important?

Actually we have 2 visas already - because of the delay in Alexandria. if we arrive in Friday, most probably the Embassy is not working in Saturday. So we need to stay until Monday morning... and we have schedule to folsow...

I wish you all the luck, Sashkow! I was very lucky to get my car on Wednesday afternoon! Tuesday (this was probably the day you meant, right?) morning does not seem a realistic option - unless the car was already shipped on Saturday ...

I read in another thread on the HUBB that if travelling in Africa, you better forget your clock or the time in general. I know this is easier said than done since I also had a limited time budget. I just feel that a country as big and diverse as Sudan should not be a mere transit stopover.

In any case, the Ethiopian embassy will certainly open on Sunday, not Monday, as all embassies do in Khartoum, since the weekend is Friday and Saturday.

Good luck and safe travel!
Achim

We have just done the road via Dongola this last week and it was brilliant. Best bit of our trip so far. Lovely villages and great camping spots...

The only dull part down to Khartoum is between Atbara and Khartoum.

You would do well to drive it in a day but could probably do it with a couple of longish days.

Nick

We did it- greetings from Khartoum.
Hopefully the Embassy will issue the visas tomorrow.

Hi Sashkow,

Congratulations! Hope you were lucky today!!

Greetings
Achim