Ferry from Asswan to Wadi Halfa, Sudan
 

According to my info the ferry stopped operation 2 months ago due to whatever problems.
Does anybody know if this is true? Has anybody taken this route recently? Is there any substitute by people with small boats, suitable for motorbikes? I am sitting in Cairo and waiting for my Sudanvisum. I will try it anyway. Any helpful ideas?

Ive not been there for a long time, but if you really want to be sure just call the ferry office in Aswan and ask them- they will know for sure. Better yet take a train to Aswan and ask them yourself, its a good way to kill a bit of time and a nice trip too.

Good Luck!
Jim

Ferry still running
 

Hi,

some friends of us crossed just two weeks ago, so ferry's still running. They can be contacted through their website: africandreamers.tk for more info.
Happy travels,

Koen

is running
 

The ferry is running. We are boarding tomorrow. Going south the passenger ferry leaves every mondeay and every second friday (new). Barge usually leaves on the same day (and arrives one day later). Best to call in advance to book a spot on the barge

Friday ferry...
 

Hey 2CVfred - in terms of the Friday ferry, would that be this Friday (25 Jan) or next (1 Feb)? Many thanks!

2cvfred is now in the Sudan, you can contact Midhat Mahir in Karthoum, 00249 912253485, he would be able to tell you.

Just one note on this Midhat Mahir guy and all of his nephews/uncles/cousins of him.
I would advise you to actually NOT use these guys. Sure they are friendly people and they speak reasonable English but they actually do little you can not do yourself.

They basicly run this operation on a monopoly base, they are onboard the ferry before it has fully docked and take away your papers before you can talk prices. They ONLY do paperwork. That means getting the carnet stamped and getting your passport registered! If you survived the paperwork in Egypt, you will survive the paperwork in (friendly) Sudan too.
They (Midhat)also try to charge yuour for some not existing taxes (Local tax) and are very obscure about all the other taxes.

They could have been very useful for negotiating to get our cars unloaded first, but this was "not their job", so we had to do this ourselves.

It was the first time we used a fixer, and surely it was the last!

BTW, on the Sudanese side you pay 'port tax' depending on the weight of your verhicle. Less then 2ton is 25SDG, more is 30SDG.

There is a 14SDG customs tax

Whatever they tell you, there is no such thing as a 'local tax'

For their services you should pay no more then 15US$ per car, they ask about double at first. It's a waste of money anyhow.

In Wadi Halfa the Defintoad hotel is indeed the best. 7SDG per bed.

Regarding passengers on the barge: This seems to be out of the question in both ways now. Egyptian regulations....

I will post all the details later when I process the information.

I'm taking a double decker bus from England to Ethiopia in October 2008. I'm aware that I need to book the barge across Lake Nasser well in advance. does anyone have any contact details for the Nile Navigation Company to allow me to do this ?

On the subject of Egypt/Sudan border crossings, I've heard some vague rumours about a land crossing from Abu Simbel down and also along the Red Sea, but nobody seems able to confirm if either is open or likely to be open soon. Does anyone have any news on either ?

.
.
.
That looks a very promising route.

From Abu Simbel to the Sudan border looks about 40km.

Crossing into Sudan may be the issue.

Would be great if there was a fully functional border crossing there. But why stop at Abu Simbel ? it shows a road all the way to Wadi Halfra.

contact details of nile ferry company in this post: http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...fa-ferry-32630

There are several roads (tarred even) cross-border. All are for military-use only thus far.

- Crossed from Wadi Halfa to Aswan ferry May 08.
- I had a spare day in Wadi Halfa so thought I'd try and do paperwork, thirty odd countries in Africa done paperwork myself at all borders if memory serves. "Shouldn't be a problem". After a few hours down at the port area in the heat, getting nowhere because basically couldn't find any English speakers and my Arabic useless , I gave up. Gave it to Mr Magdi to look after (details elsewhere in HUBB). Very happy with service, no queuing, told exactly when/ where to go, next step, etc. Officials knew him, they were happy. Easily justified the $10.
- Magdi told me they (the Sudanese) are building a land border post on road to Abu Simbel, a Minister had flown up recently to start it, expect it opened within few months. So, possibly soon. Don't have his number with me now, but would suggest you text him for news if needed. If you can't find details, PM me and I will find number.
- Hugh

www.LAPofAFRICA.com

Thanks for the info, I'm still struggling to contact anyone in Aswan to organise hiring the barge, the phone number for Mr Saleh doesn't seem to work. don't suppose there is an email address or another phone number is there ? I've also been told to contact Amr Ali Aljundi, but again, I'm struggling to make contact and time is drifting by... Any assistance greatfully received.
I've now heard a few rumours about this land crossing opening up soon. Has anyone else heard anything? Obviously this would save us a lot of time and it would also mean we could give more to the charity at the end if our travel expenses are reduced by a considerable amount.

Land Crossing
 

Came through a week ago, no land crossing in the near future.

If you pass with one vehicle then best is just to rock up in Aswan and organise. To charter a barge will set you back $1800. If you get space on the cargo barge (only takes 2 vehicles) then crossing will set you back about $450....

.... as with everything in Africal, prices change by the week!

Number38bus

When you you expect to be arriving in Aswan? Some friends and I are taking 2 vehicles from London to Capetown this Autumn, and will be looking to take the Aswan-wadi halfa ferry sometime in mid/late october.

If this lines up when you'll be there, and you'd be interested in going halves on the barge, feel free to drop me a message!

Ben

It will be sad to see the land border open. The end of the Ferry will be a pity as, I'm sure many will agree, the hassle involved in getting yourself on the boat with barge etc is one of the great memories of your trip.

That said, the ferry is a serious cash generator for a small group of people. Being an African enterprise I am sure that it funnels all the way to the top of the government. "They" will not want this slush fund terminated. I would expect that it will be some time before regular movement across the land borders will be allowed for tourists.

As said by others, there are numerous crossing points restricted for govnermrnt use. We were told at the time that it was being used to run the cement and other materials in from Egypt for the new WH - Dongola paved road which was well on track for completion in two years or so.

Mr Yahya at Adam's Home, is in regular contact with Mr Salah so you can get his latest details from him. Nubian Life-Style Holidays and Tourist Campaing

Crossing Info
 

Apparently since the kidnapping of the tourists in SW Egypt, the unofficial land crossing has not been possible (this info from 18 Oct 2008). There had been some travellers able to get across the border near Abu Simbel before then.

If you have a vehicle over 5metres long, you may have to hire the barge as we did. It is 24 metres by 6 metres wide, so can take a double decker bus plus several cars. The cost of the barge is 19,000 Egyptian pounds. If you manage to get a few cars on as well, this obviously reduces the cost, however we still ended up paying 14000 Egyptian. Probably wise to contact Mr Salah a little while before to make sure it's available. The barge does not allow ANY passengers, not even the driver, to stay on board.

I had been warned about steep ascent/descent ramps on the barge. Not a problem, the ramps were flat and there is the possibility of moving the barge at either dock to allow a flat drive on or off.

Lastly, the Wadi Halfa to Dongola road is fairly abysmal in places, however work is under way to tarmac the whole route. I would estimate that as of mid Oct 2008 it was approximately half completed, although only about 1/4 of the route was actually open. I'm guessing that within a year or so, it will be completed, but don't hold me to that. In the mean time, take sand boards and/or rely on the heavy roadmaking equipment to drag you out when you do get bogged down. The majority of the track is corrugated, hard packed sand. There are however sections of thick, very soft, fine sand that can catch you out. 4x4's are probably more sensible than double decker buses for this section of road.