In case I can't ship my motorbike and myself from Greece to Egypt; which seems to be the case today, I will need to drive through Turky, Syria, Jordan to Sinai.

Since this is a big detour from my original travel plan, which was to use ferrie. I wanted to know how long time it would take me to drive this route, if I use regular touristic pace, not rally pace.

Due to the situation down there, is this route save or should I say open for travellers?

Jakob

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If you just want to go to Egypt(and not to any other Arab country) there is an alternative: you can take a ferry from Piraeus to Haifa in Israel. You can pass the Israely-Egypian border. The ferry leaves once a week and the journey takes three days. If you go overland through Turkey, Syria and Jordan on 'tourist speed'it will take about two weeks. The overland route is very nice; Turks, Syrians and Jordanians are nice people.

Have fun!

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Voorbij de horizon / beyond the horizon: www.wonderfultravels.nl

Martheijenes, thank you for you reply. My original plan was to ship the bike over to Egypt from Greece and then drive over the Sahara to Morocco.

Why would I not be able to visit any other Arab countries? Would I be able to bring the bike with my on the ferry? Have you done the Turkey-Syria-Jordan route? If so, how is it?




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My original plan was to ship the bike over to Egypt from Greece and then drive over the Sahara to Morocco.
Why would I not be able to visit any other Arab countries? Would I be able to bring the bike with my on the ferry? Have you done the Turkey-Syria-Jordan route? If so, how is it?

Hey there!

Why would you not be able to visit any other Arab countries? Apart from Egypt and Jordan, who have peace-agreements with Israel, all other countries (like Syria, Libanon, Libia, Iran) will refuse you to enter the country. Any mark of your stay in Israel in your passport or carnet de passage or anywhere else is enough to refuse you. As you enter Israel you can ask not to put a stamp in your passport but that is senseless. When you pass the Egyptian border at Rafah or Tabah, the Egyptians will put a stamp in your passport, so everybody can see that you passed Rafah or Tabah and so you must have been in Israel. If you want to visit other Arab countries besides Egypt and Jordan, don't take the ferry to Haifa.

The overland trip through Turkey, Syria and Jordan is very nice. There is a lot to see, people are very kind, there are well maintained road and it is easy to travel. Turkey and Syria are cheap countries; Jordan however is fairly expensive. Buy the Lonely Planet Guide for the Middle East. If there is anything special you want to know, I will be pleased to inform you. I travelled last year through Turkey, Syria, Libanon, Jordan, Egypt and Israel.

About your trip through the Sahara to Morocco. You have to pass Libia (as said before: they don't take you with a Israely stamp) however they probably won't take you anyway. It is very difficult (if possible at all) to get a visa for Libia. They don't want individual travelers. After Libia you pass Tunesia and Algeria. In Algeria are terrorist groups who have killed a lot of people. It is not safe to travel there. Maybe, if you really want to cross the Sahara, you can cross through Sudan and south of Algeria. You can ask for a Sudian visa in Cairo but it is very time consuming.

So, plan your trip!

Mart

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Voorbij de horizon / beyond the horizon: www.wonderfultravels.nl

Thank you for the info. I know that at least 4 persons will need to apply for Libyan visa. Solo travellers do not have a chance.

Southern Algeria is suppost to be "almost" save. At least, I will try not to get killed.

I don't know if you have read "10 years on 2 wheels" by Helge Petersen and "Running with the moon" by Jonny Bealby. These guys have done things that you would thing to be unpossible. But with good luck, friendship and common sence they have traveled around the world and made it home. Both these books have the same attitude - Go and see what happens, take a change on live.

Again, thanks for the info.

Jakob

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I came back home after a ride around the Mediterranean last month, from Tunisia to Italy across Lybia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Greece.
We had no problem anywhere, apart more than 6 hours to cross the border between Lybia and Egypt.
In Lybia is possible to travel indipendently for small groups (less than 4 people), without guides or escort.
For us italian, visa is not a problem, but you need 1 or 2 months to wait for it and a good travel agent.
To reach Jordan from Egypt is a must to take the ferry, since if you across Israel you can't enter in Syria.
I don't think is a good idea to travel in Algeria, notoriously a dangerous country.
Pietro

Hi, I am currently in Aqaba and will get the ferry to Egypt tomorrow, no problems with the Turkey, Syria , jordan route, get your Syrian visa before departure or you will need letter of recommendation from your consulate, ( UK passport holders $50 for letter) $40 at border for Syria for insurance and paper work, and about $45 at Jordan border all recipted, some interesting places in Syria and Jordan to see and camping out in Wadi Rum was excellent, they allow Motorcycles in so you can go where you like and camp up, only restriction is how much water you can carry. We took just over 3 weeks in Jordan and Syria but going slow, the countries are small and you could go through either in a couple of days each but whats the point in that. Good camp site in Damascus and at Aqaba ( Mohamad Sea ) if you want more info email me on the link above. Regards Chris

After spending a long time looking into the various possibilites of getting myself and my bike to Egypt from Greece last year, I ended up taking the Haifa ferry from Greece to Cyprus. From Cyprus, after a 6 day wait (lounge on the beach) I took the overnight ferry to Beirut, costing about $100 US I think. This allows you to avoid Israel and leaving you free to travel all the other Middle Eastern countries, as well as Sudan etc.

It was very difficult to find information about this ferry, and at the time I just managed to get the last one, the service was being stopped for the season because of a lack of interest afer September 11 (this was a couple of weeks later).

Presumably the ferry is now running again, but you would need to get in touch with some Cypriot travel agents before going there to make sure.

Lebanon is a fantastic country, and I really enjoyed Beirut. Clearing customs at Beirut was an expensive time consuming business, with me handing over about $100 US or so for all sorts of dubious "taxes". In my experience, ports are much more hassle than land borders, but I would still strongly recommend Lebanon.

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Do you maybe remember what is the price for a motorcycle and a person (or two persons)?

Thanx,

Pete, Slovenia

if you really want to cross the Sahara, you can cross through Sudan and south of Algeria.


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Hi!

What do you meen by that,there are chad and niger beetwin sudan and algeria,right?

cheers

jondoe

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cheers

jondoe

I don't remember exactly, seem something like 100$ per two person and one motorcycle.
Pietro