Hi Per, Roro and others
As promised, here are the details for getting a transit visa for Libya. We did this in Tunis and the process may be different at other consulates.
First, you have to write a letter to the Consular General. (Don't address the letter to the Ambassador, or they will reject the letter and you'll need to get it rewritten, which is what happened to us.) The letter must be written in Arabic. Getting a translation from French to Arabic is easy as most Publinet offices have a translation service for a dinar or so per page.
What goes in the letter:
* Introduce yourself (name, nationality, passport number) and who you're travelling with
* Explain why you want a transit visa (We said we needed to get to Cairo and wanted to drive directly through Libya on the coast road.)
* Provide details of the car you're travelling in and who the owner is
* Provide a contact telephone number and your local address (We gave our UK mobile phone number, which they said they wouldn't use to contact us, but we got around this by agreeing to phone the consulate 7 days after our application went in.)
* Attach a copy of your passport (We also attached an Arabic translation of the details page of our passports)
* Attach a copy of the vehicle registration papers (referred to as the 'carte gris' by the consulate)
Drop this letter and attachments off at the consulate (not the embassy) in Tunis, which is in El Menzah 2, a suburb of Tunis. They say 7 to 10 days to process the request. We called on day 7 and were told to call again on day 10. On day 10, they told us our applications were successful and we were to bring our passports in. Surprisingly, the visas were issued right then and there. (Originally, they had said we would have to leave our passports with them for 3 to 4 days for the visa to be issued.) We had to fill in a separate application form (with help from the consulate staff), provide one passport photo and pay 31 Tunisia Dinar. Et Voila! Visa issued and we leave tomorrow.
On the accommodation front, it seems the YHA is fairly well represented in Libya, which might keep the accommodation costs down as we travel across. I found the info on www.hihostels.com.
I hope this helps everyone.
Good luck and safe travels
Bel

Thanks for this. So you obtained the Visa from scratch in Tunisia?

What passport were you travelling on?

Also, what were your costs for staing in Tunis?

Sorry, I forgot to mention that the man who processed our visas at the consulate said that not all applications were successful. I'm not sure what criteria they use. We were a little surprised that we, as 2 solo women without a male escort, were granted transit visas. Perhaps our Arabic translations of our passports helped and maybe the fact that we have our transport did too.
Bel

How may days does a transit visa give you to cross ?

Tim

Hi Tim and Ian
Tim, it took us 10 days to get the visa from scratch. We're both travelling on British passports. Ian, costs in Tunisia were high, compared with elsewhere we've been, but still affordable in terms of what you might pay for the same in England. Camping outside Tunis was expensive, but if you cook for yourself, you can keep the costs down. Difficult to refrain from all the lovely pastries, though.
We were issued with a transit visa for 10 days, starting from when we entered the country. Because of money and time constraints, we took 4 days to travel across. On the whole, accommodation costs (only hotels, no campsites in towns along the coast and as 2 lone girls, we elected not to bushcamp) were quite low, but food was a little more expensive. However, the cost of fuel (about a tenth of what it cost in Tunisia) more than made up for that! Libya was fabulous, albeit our journey was quick and only along the coast. We were treated with such kindness by the locals, who were very helpful with directions.
Beware that ALL roadsigns are in Arabic only and you'd do well, when planning your trip, to have an Arabic translation of each town you're planning to pass through or stay in. It's not always easy to work this out from the mileage on the signposts, as they don't always correspond to your maps. We asked one of many kind people to write down the Arabic names and managed that way, although allowing for the idiosyncracies of an individual's handwriting made this a challenge too!
Enjoy
Bel

Hi Matt
A transit visa is really only for getting across a country from one border to another and so isn't normally issued for periods of much longer than 10 days to 2 weeks, depending on the country. If you want to spend 30 days in Libya, you're going to touring and not just in transit, so will need to apply for a tourist visa. Tourist visas are not issued without arrangements made through a tour company (or Libyan resident) for invitations, etc, and yes, you will need a guide, I would think. When I was doing some investigation last year, I was told that a guide wasn't necessary in Tripoli, but it was everywhere else.
Bel

is it not possbile to buy a visum at the border?

er, see subject!

Sam.

It is possible to have the transit visa at the border, but must be at least for pax. The validity is only seven days and You have one month time from the date of issuance and the entrance.
You must arrange all the matter in advance with a local agency that will collect You at the border Actually as south borders are closed only the coastal road from rasejdir to sollum is possible.
This is the standard and regular procedure in use from now years.
Budrinna

__________________
Budrinna Co.

To clarify, you cannot just turn up at the border and buy a visa, even in Budrinna's post (above):

"You must arrange all the matter in advance with a local agency "

I hope this is clear!

Sam.

Travelled through Libya in middle feb and applied to the embassy in Tunis for the transit visa, luckily read this post first

I arrived Thursday night in Tunis from Italy and Friday morning went to the embassy, asked for the transit visa and after a while of this is not possible and you must fly in, I was asked to write a letter asking for permission to travel through Libya, I wrote probably the worst letter I’ve ever written. It contained all of the above (they will help you a bit so ask questions about what should be in it). The letter was written in English and addressed to the Libyan embassy. I did not get it translated in to Arabic, they also took a photocopy of my passport and I did not need to give them a copy of my bikes registration just included the reg number in the letter

To get your passport translated head for the French embassy in Tunis just off the main strip and there are 2 places near there that will do it for you very cheap 8 dinar £4 just ask around you can't really miss them rue du Yugoslav I think

returned to the embassy after 10 days not working days and was told to return in one week

applied 29th Jan, returned after 10 days 8th feb, got visa 15th feb

Its well worth it, it’s a fantastic country and everyone is very nice not like Tunisia and Egypt no hassle

The people in the embassy are a bit intimidating but once you have the visa you have been excepted and they will be very friendly, they were telling jokes and offering me coffee

once in the country to get through the checkpoints say that your travelling through Tunisia, Libya, Egypt or the other way around to explain what you are doing and say that you’re in transit, tell them you nationality (if from uk then say Britannia) the guards will go for Italia and French first. Tell them where you are going to stay the night (very important), some you will be waved through others are very difficult. I met 2 vans full of Romanians who helped translate for me through two of the worst checkpoints, basically they need to understand what you are doing

Some hotels do have signs in English and there are signs in Tripoli showing you the way, all have free wifi and are very good, basically look for the tallest building and that will be the hotel, There are petrol stations everywhere 10p per litre. restaurants are a little harder to find just stop at somewhere you think is one, it might be or it might not

For the British. The British embassy in Tunis does not translate your passport only provides the stamp and won't tell you where you can get it translated also no one knows where it is, it is a big waste of your time

Hope this helps

(edit)
Forgot I got a 2 week transit visa