Hi Glenn,

Let me answer your questions:

The costs for ferries:
Port Said to Iskenderum:
450$ for the bike
200$ for me
50$ for the cabin (I´ve heard of people asking 150 for the cabin... just get it on the ferry, there is a nice reception there).
200$ for the fixer and customs clearance
500 EGP for... I don't know...
100 extra EGP because the ferry did not leave on wed but sunday, so that was the parking tax (ridiculous....)
Total: 900$ and 600 EGP.

Wadi Halfa to Aswan:
on sudanese side:
ferry ticket: 250 SdP
moto ticket: 206 SdP
Tax, customs, office and fixer fee... 280SdP
Capitain Tips: 40Sdp
Passport Registration (I forgot to do so in Khartoum): 240 SdP
Total: 1016 SdP

on egypcian side:
3500 EgP for Carnet
200$ for fixer, customs, etc..

Total cost for everything together:

1100$ + 3500 EgP + 1016SdP = Aprox 1840$, and that is without adding the hotel + food costs for the 2 weeks I had to wait total on sudan and egypt....

You need a fixer to exit sudan and a fixer to enter/exit egypt. For sudanese part i would recommend Magdi Boshara (nubatia51@yahoo.com / Tel:0121730885), for the egypcian part i would not recommend Mohamed Abouda. I have the contact data for another fixer, but i don't know how good or bad is he: Eslam Elshamaa (eslam_elshamaa@windowslive.com/ Tel:00201289220002).

If you are in Port Said I recommend hotel de la poste, good rooms at good price (75 EgP per night). On Wadi Halfa, I don't remember the exact name of the hotel but sounds like "CanGam hotel" (not exactly that), they have some rooms with A/C that are just ok, but I was told that was the best hotel in the city, it is also cheap.

Hope that helps, if you have more questions, just ask!

Good Luck with those borders and beware Egypt is now in a very unstable situation....

Thanks for the super quick response Issac - just like your riding style! We are aware of the current situation in Egypt, hence why we want a full understanding of costs so we can consider our options. It could even be cheaper/same cost to fly? I wonder if there are services from Port Sudan to Turkey? Does anyone know? We are aware of a RORO from Djibouti to Naples then Marseilles, but this would mean backtracking to Ethiopia to Djibouti. Any advice/suggestions are welcome (I will create a seperate post about this so as to not hijack the TIP/Carnet post completely).

I'm glad to help!

I was told there is a ferry service between Port Sudan and Europe (Possibly Italy or France), but I have not researched that. If you do not have CpD and you want to enter Egypt, try to get it on Khartoum (I was told it cost approx 1800 SdP, too late for me of course!).

Good Luck!

since riders are now chosing to cross Africa without carnet it maybe useful to have a border crossing repertory with all info given by riders per country

Hi Isaac,

Thanks for your shared insights! I'm leaving on a trip down the African east coast in the next month, but would prefer to avoid Egypt - UK Carnet is extremely expensive.

Do you know how it would be coming from the other direction (north to south)? Ferry to Egypt from Turkey/Greece and then trying to get an Egyptian CDP?

Other options? Ride through Turkey/Iran/Saudi and take a ferry across to Sudan? Has anyone any experience coming though Israel and trying to get into Sudan recently?

Any advice appreciated.

Sorry I have not experience nor heard of anyone doing the trip this way recenlty. But I guess it should be as easy from turkey as from Sudan.

About avoiding Egypt, If you don't care about crossing europe to Turkey, I believe there is a ferry between Italy or France and Sudan, but I don't know details. Just Keep in mind crossing Egypt will cost you about 2k dollars and a lot of time and headaches... so now, if I were you, I would try to avoid it if possible.

Entering arabic countries with an Israel stamp in the passport may be impossible, but I do know Israel borders allow you to get the stamp on a separate paper (or you can try to get two valid passports in your country, as I did in Spain).

Good Luck!

We are in New Zealand, planning a trip to Africa.

A carnet here costs approx $600 plus 15% of the value of the bike (that you get back when the bike comes home).

If I have a carnet (as above) and arrive at a border to Egypt, what else do I need to pay? I am a little confused around the Egypt border and what you would pay WITH a carnet already?

Kiwi Mike