Hello All,

I am an American. I have been living in Kenya for the past 5 years. I am going back to grad school in the states and as a last hurrah before being stuck in a classroom for two years, I am planning on getting to school on a BMW F800 via one of the following routes.

1. Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan-Egypt-Isreal-Greece-Western Europe-Ship bike from London to NYC.

2. Kenya-Ethiopia-Sudan-Port sudan to Jeddah, Saudi-Jordan-Israel-Greece and onwards as above.

I have six weeks to make it from Nairobi to London and trying to figure out which of the two options above will be more expedient in terms of border crossings and logistics.

Having lived here for quite some time and being a resident that travels throughout Africa quite frequently for work, I am not that worried about getting my visas for Ethiopia and Sudan (I can spend a few months banging my head against the walls of those embassies here in NBO), What I am unsure about and need advice on is,

The entire Egypt situation. How challenging is it to get into the country from Sudan with a bike, and get back out, if I have already gotten my Egyptian visa here in Kenya?

Same questions for the Port Sudan crossing and Saudi.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Best,

Michael

Hi Michael

Welcome. Have a look in the Africa subforum - i'd start here.

Egypt-Sudan border (+ Egypt index - see post #1)
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...ad.php?t=63126

There are also threads on getting out of Egypt - i've not looked in detail at these (since flying out of Egypt) but i think the essential message is you ain't getting across the Sinai on your bike at the moment.

When you travelling? I am planning to cross into Ethiopia end July, Sudan mid Aug and Egypt late Aug.

Cheers
Andy

Thanks Andy,

Looks like you will be a few weeks behind me. I am Launching from Nairobi mid June.

Are you on a bike or 4X4? Have you organized your flight out of Egypt yet?

I'll be on a bike (KLR650). I've booked my flight for early Sept but not for the bike yet.

I had a quote from James Cargo of £1,295 for the bike (Cairo to London). Might be another option for you to fly from Cairo to Italy, Athens or Istanbul (say) leaving you some great riding to London if you pick the right route. You'll have to cut a few corners somewhere anyway to get it all done in 6 weeks.

Hey Michael... I just crossed from Sudan to Egypt last week on a DR650. Got Egyptian visa on demand on the border, easy, $25 USD, I'm American too. Border processes for Sudan > Egypt are more time-consuming and costly than other borders but I did it solo, no real problems and people very nice on both sides.

Sitting in Aswan now... at a McDonald's LOL, first one I've seen in five months of riding north from Johannesburg... so can't speak to getting out, but I have a roro boat lined up from Alexandria to Greece, so ask me in a few weeks how it went...

Best of luck!

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http://ridefar.typepad.com

Hi Ride Far

How did you get the roro sorted? I had understood there were no running options so really keen to explore that. I am just finalising my 'how to leave Egypt' options now.

Cheers
Andy

Andy -- I'm working with a shipping agent called CFS Egypt, based in Alexandria. They have been great so far. Contact nermien_mamish@cfsegypt.com... (she is traveling right now until 17 March) ... so be sure to CC export2@cfsegypt.com.

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http://ridefar.typepad.com

Great, thanks Ride Far. I'll get in touch.

Cheers
Andy

Ridefar, How did the Roro from Alexandria go? Any issues?

I'll pipe in case Ride Far doesn't see this. I shipped using CFS from Alexandria to Pireaus about two weeks after him. For both us it went well with the only minor hiccup being both ships being delayed slightly. With the delay I collected my bike 13 days after handing it over in Egypt. Total cost was US$900 at the Egypt end and about $125 at the Greek end. I give CFS full marks for their service, they made what could have been a nightmare with the Egyptian bureaucracy relatively straight forward. They are also nice people to deal with and quick at answering emails. I've put more info in the shipping database.

Sent from my TECNO H6 using Tapatalk

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Martin

finally back on the road again


http://awayonmybike.blogspot.com/

I agree with Martin... it was smooth and relatively painless. I definitely recommend CFS.

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http://ridefar.typepad.com