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

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