Travel Tips: Visa and overland border crossing Egypt-Sudan-Ethiopia

How to get the visa for Sudan and Ethiopia? How long does it take and how much does it cost? How to cross the border from Egypt to Sudan and then to Ethiopia? How to get through the Sudanese registration process? I found little information on the topic while I was organizing my trip. Hopefully this post will help fill the gaps.

I crossed overland the Egypt/Sudan border and the Sudan/Ethiopia border in February 2018. Keep in mind that this is Africa, things can change quickly. I have a French passport and met several other European travellers (UK, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands) who went through the same procedures.

 

Getting the Visa for Sudan in Aswan, Egypt

The easiest and cheapest way to get the Sudanese visa is definitely at the Sudanese Consulate of Aswan in Egypt.

The Sudanese Consulate is located South of Aswan. Refer to the map screenshot below. From the train station, it takes about 15 minutes drive and costs around 20 EGP one way (tourist price). You can negotiate with the driver to wait for you. The Consulate is closed on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

The visa section is on the first floor and is open from 8.30AM to 12.30PM. Whether you arrive at 9AM sharp or 11AM (as I did because my train from Cairo was late), you will still have to wait until 2PM to get released. But if you arrive early, you will have a seat.

 

 

Bring with you the following:

– passport

– copy of your passport first page (with your picture and profile info)

– copy of the Egyptian stamped visa page in your passport

– 2 ID pictures

– USD 50 (bring the exact amount and preferably good shape bank notes)

You can make copies for 2 EGP per unit in the shop 2 minutes walk from the Consulate. Refer to the map screenshot above.

 

 

The officer will give you a form to fill. Just have a Sudanese hotel address and phone number handy. You can pick any hotel (select one in Wadi Halfa or Khartoum on internet). Payment comes in a second step, after about 2 hours waiting time.

Then wait another one to two hours and you get a receipt with the pick up date for your passport and visa. In my case, I submitted the visa request on Tuesday morning and got the visa on Thursday morning same week. It is not possible to get a multiple entry visa. The visa sticker takes a full page, the registration sticker (read further below about Sudan registration) half a page.

I just put a summary of my own experience of the Sudanese Consulate in Aswan. Againstthecompass has a detailed post available here, which is regularly updated.

 

Crossing overland from Egypt into Sudan

Here you have several options:

– by ferry from Aswan (leaves once a week on Sunday, you can buy the ticket the day before)

– by bus from Aswan (leaving early in the morning)

– by bus from Abu Simbel (that is what I did)

Most people take a day trip from Aswan to visit the Abu Simbel temple. I found an option that allows me to spend one day and one night in Abu Simbel and then catch the bus to Wadi Halfa in Sudan on the following day.

There is a bus leaving at 8AM from Aswan. The bus station is located North of Aswan, refer to map screenshot below. It costs 20 EGP to get there by taxi from the ferryboat pier (tourist price!) and takes about 15 minutes. Plan to arrive no later than 7AM at the bus station to get a seat.

 

 

You can buy the bus ticket at the ticket office in the bus station for 60 EGP. The very morning I intended to travel, the bus got cancelled without notice. I negotiated to get on one of the minibus leaving at 7.30AM. Officially, tourists cannot take the minibus to Abu Simbel. But hey, they cancelled the official bus that day, so… Local price is 30 EGP for the minibus, they made me pay 60 EGP to take me on.

 

 

Several checkpoints and police controls on the road. Have a photocopy of your passport and of the Egyptian visa page handy. The ride takes about 3 hours from Aswan to Abu Simbel. You can ask the driver to drop you off next to your hotel. Be prepared to pay an extra tip for that. Otherwise he will stop at the main crossing in the city centre.

 

 

Next morning I caught the official bus coming from Aswan. Only two buses are currently going through Abu Simbel, all the others take the non-stop road on the West bank of the Nile. It stops at Abu Simbel pier around 8.45/9.00AM (refer to map screenshot above). Be there in advance to ensure you don’t miss it and to have time to negotiate your ticket to Wadi Halfa. I paid EGP 160, plus EGP 50 for the mandatory exit fee.

 

 

The bus is loaded on the small ferry. Crossing takes about one hour to the other side. Then it is about 45 minutes to get to the border and the endless process starts.

At the border, you have to disembark with all passengers for passport check and get the exit stamp from Egypt. Then the whole bus is unloaded and bags are controlled through X-ray. My bus was transporting dozens of washing machines which had to be examined one by one by the customs authority.

 

 

After another one to two hours, you can proceed to the Sudanese Immigration Office, get your passport stamp. Here again, they will ask for the hotel you are staying in. You can also change your remaining EGP for SDG for a good rate with the guy next to the exit door. After that, you are done. You just have to wait for the other passengers. Total process from Egypt portal to Sudan Portal which are like 200 meters away took 6 hours and a half! It takes time… but it works.

My advice, bring enough water and food and a nice book for this border crossing. There is also a small “tea shop” on the Sudanese side of the border. It does not look fancy but the tea is actually delicious. Standard price for a glass of tea in Sudan is SDG 5.

 

 

 

Sudan registration and photography permit

The law requires you to register within 3 days of your entry on the Sudanese territory. The process is very easy in Wadi Halfa. No matter how you got to Wadi Halfa (bus or ferry), you will have to stay the night there.

Next morning, go to the Police Station (blue building, refer to the map screenshot below). It opens at 8.30AM. The whole process takes 1 to 2 hours.

 

Bring with you the following:

– passport

– copy of your passport first page (with your picture and profile info)

– copy of the Sudanese freshly stamped visa page in your passport

– 2 ID pictures

– SDG 532 (which is about USD 20)

 

You can get the copies and the ID pictures in the shop next to the police station entrance (refer to map screenshot). Copy costs SDG 2 and 8 ID pictures on white background cost SDG 70. You can also exchange money on the street parallel to the Police Station street (refer to map screenshot).

 

 

Fill the form provided by the police officer. You will go from one room to another to hand over the form, have your passport checked and pay the registration fee. Then you are good to go!

Getting the registration is mandatory. I got controlled several times on the road during my stay in Sudan. Hotels also ask for the proof of registration when examining your passport.

 

 

As for the photography permit, it is delivered in Khartoum by the Ministry of Tourism. I heard contradicting reports whether it is mandatory or not to get one. Apparently, individual travellers can go without it while members of organized groups need it. I was never asked for it.

Getting it is super easy, fast (5 minutes) and free. Just present yourself at the Ministry of Tourism to retrieve it.

 

Getting the Visa for Ethiopia in Khartoum, Sudan

You can get the visa at the Ethiopian Embassy in Khartoum. Refer to map screenshot below for exact location. I paid SDG 20 for a 10 minutes tuktuk ride to the Embassy.

The visa section is open on the morning every working day.

 

Bring with you the following (no matter what the lady at the entrance tells you):

– passport

– copy of your passport first page (with your picture and profile info)

– copy of the Sudanese stamped visa page in your passport

– 2 ID pictures (with white background)

– USD 40 for 30 days visa or USD 60 for 90 days visa (single entry delivered only)

– the visa request form you retrieved at the entrance

 

You can make the copies directly in the building left of the entrance in the courtyard. Each copy costs SDG 2. This is also where you retrieve the visa request form (costs SDG 5).

 

There are two lines for security check, one for men and one for women. It gets much faster on the women’s side. The ratio was about 1 woman for 10 men the day I applied. You are allowed to keep with you only your passport, the form, the copies, the ID pictures and the money. All the rest, including your phone and bottle of water, is prohibited and will be locked in a cupboard.

The lady will watch over your belongings and give you two ticket numbers. One for the visa application and one for your belongings. Don’t worry, it is perfectly safe!

 

 

Basically, you wait to be called to hand over your passport and confirm the type of visa you wish with the officer. They do not deliver multiple entry visa. Keep in mind that the visa is valid from the date of issuance. Then you get back into the queue and wait to be called for the payment in cash (waiting time is about one hour). Wait another half an hour or so and you will get your passport back with the visa.

The whole process took 4 hours for me. I arrived at 10M at the Embassy and got out at 2PM. Compared to other foreign travellers applying that day, I did a pretty good performance.

 

Crossing overland from Sudan into Ethiopia

Direct buses leave from Khartoum and Port Sudan to Al-Qadarif, the last city before the Ethiopian border. If you are in one of the intermediate cities (Sawakin or Kassala for example),you may try to get on the bus en route, bus there is no guarantee they will take you. I took the bus leaving from Port Sudan and it was full.

Apparently there is a direct bus from Khartoum to Gallabat (border point), leaving around 5.30AM and costing under SDG 200. Make sure you understand which bus station it departs from in Khartoum and what is the exact departure time. There are at least 3 bus stations in Khartoum and they are all located way outside the city centre. Believe me, you do not want to be wandering in the dark in Khartoum’s suburb at 4.30AM!

 

 

The bus from Port Sudan leaves at 5.30AM from the Northern bus station. Refer to map screenshot above. You have to take a tuktuk to get there, it costs SDG 20 and takes about 20 minutes. You can buy your ticket directly at the ticket office in the bus station, it costs SDG 260 to Al-Qadarif.

The bus is comfortable, with air con and a meal served on board. The journey takes about 10 hours. You reach Al-Qadarif around 4PM.

 

 

From there, take a tuktuk or minibus to Koda bus station in the South. It costs about SGD 20 for the tuktuk and SDG 3 for the minibus. Driving there takes 30 to 40 minutes. Once you reach Koda bus station, ask for the minivan to Gallabat. It costs SDG 45 and leaves when full.

 

 

I got one of the last minivans of that day which left at 5PM. The road is bumpy most of the time and many police controls on the road. Have you passport and Sudanese visa page photocopy handy. The ride takes 4 hours to Gallabat.

Accommodation in Gallabat is limited (one shelter) and very very very basic. If you don’t feel like staying there, another option is to spend the night in Al-Qadarif and take the first minivan leaving for Gallabat in the next morning.

I spent SDG 60 (price after negotiation) for an individual room. Surprisingly I did not get bitten by any insect there. The alternative was the common dormitory for SDG 40 (price before negotiation).

 

 

I even considered sleeping on one of the bed benches on the street. Having a stars sky above me appealed more than a crumbling muddy shelter. But I gave up for safety concerns about the street dogs and people wandering near the border. It is not possible to sleep inside the custom or immigration building as they close the doors for the night.

Customs open between 7.30AM and 8AM. The officer will search your bags. Then proceed to the immigration blue building right from the bridge. Here again, have an Ethiopian hotel address and phone number handy in order to fill the form and answer the officer’s questions. Just before crossing the bridge, another custom check occurs on the left side of the bridge.

 

 

You may meet some guys from a Migration Organization. You do not have to answer any questions. Just tell them you provided all required information to the immigration officer and they can go check with him directly.

You can exchange your EUR and USD for ETB in any of the banks on the street. If you want to exchange your last SDG though, you have to deal with the street guys directly. This is what I did. Roughly SDG and ETB were at the same rate the day I crossed.

Walk about 2 km up to the first minivan or take a tuktuk for 3 to 5 ETB. The minivan to Gondar leaves when full and costs about ETB 75. It will stop in Azezo bus station though, near the Gondar airport. Two options here. Either you negotiate with the driver to take you into town. Or you get off the minivan and take a tuktuk to the city centre (3 to 5 ETB here again).

 

 

I had a bad experience with the minivan. The driver asked me ETB 100, which I refused at first. In the end I had to pay as he refused to give me back my bag if I did not pay this amount. He was quite aggressive, telling me that being a European I was rich and must give him my money. I actually had only ETB 100 in my pocket as I had just exchanged my remaining SDG.

It was not so much the price difference but the attitude that I frankly disliked. One positive thing though, I made a point in paying only when I reach my final destination in Gondar which was 10 minutes walk from my hotel. Still, a bitter taste as the attitude of a single driver gave me a rather negative first impression of Ethiopia and Gondar.