Across Libya by Road

Barry and Margaret Williamson
September 2010

Introduction

There are a quite number of Great Journeys readily open to the traveller in the world as a whole:

Round the world by any of a number of routes and means

Across the USA, coast to coast

Across Australia, coast to coast

India from Top to Bottom

Across Europe, for example from the Atlantic Ocean to the Sea of Marmara

Europe South to North, for example southern Spain to Norway's Nordkapp (see our journey to Nordkapp, starting in the Western Sahara, south of Morocco)

Many other journeys are blocked or delayed by the need for visas, insurance, a customs 'carnet de passage', restrictions on the kind of vehicle, restrictions on the length of stay, etc. These include:

Overland to India

Africa South to North, Cape Town to Cairo

The late and greatly missed Ian Hibell made many such journeys on his bicycle, including:

Nordkapp to Cape Town

Tierra del Fuego to Alaska

Rotterdam to Vladivostok

Bangkok to Vladivostok

Circuit of the Baltic Sea (Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden – restricted by the passage through Russia)

Circuit of the Black Sea (Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine – restricted by Georgia and Russia)

Circuit of the Mediterranean Sea (Spain, France, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco – restricted by Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Libya and probably blocked by Algeria)

Paul Theroux failed utterly in his attempt to follow the Mediterranean circuit, using public transport. The debacle is described in his usual bumptious manner in his 1995 book 'The Pillars of Hercules'. His journey ended on luxury liners in the eastern Mediterranean, while he shied away from overland travel along the southern shores of the Mediterranean, jumping from Egypt to Morocco.

Over the years, we can claim to have closely followed the shores of the Mediterranean, by bicycle and/or motorhome, from the tip of southern Spain to the border between Turkey and Syria. We have also travelled the Mediterranean shores of Tunisia and Morocco. All the other countries pose problems we have chosen not to solve, including the transit of Libya.

Recently we have begun to put some pieces together on our website. Journeys are described along the northern shores of the Mediterranean from Spain to the far eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea where Turkey meets Syria, along with Syria, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco:

The Hughes in Syria and Jordan:

The Williamsons in Tunisia:

The Williamsons in Morocco

The Williamson in Italy

The Williamsons in Greece

The Williamsons in Turkey

Dr Bob and Sandra in Spain

Dr Bob and Sandra in Morocco

Libya

We have recently been in touch with two sets of people who are set on making a journey from Tunisia to Turkey via Libya, Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Syria. Although not intending to make this journey ourselves, we have been interested in learning more about the feasibility of that route, filling in all the gaps except Algeria.

Here are the three stages we have completed so far.

One: Our Initial Ideas

In response to an email from Rachael Ayres (see below), we wrote the following:

“As for Libya, we have not heard of anyone doing this journey except as part of an expensive German-organised convoy ('Perestroika Tours' - not Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps). When we were in Tunisia earlier this year, a friend asked us to check on the Libyan border and get local knowledge. We learned that the border crossing is often closed without notice, that it is very hard to get a visa, and insurance is a problem. You will also need the Customs Carnet de Passage. Start enquiring at the Libyan Embassy in London – don't wait till you get to Tunis.

On the boat back from Tunisia to Italy we met an English guy who was working in Egypt, teaching English in Cairo. He had flown back to the UK a year ago to collect his car and taken it into Tunisia but he couldn't get through Libya to Egypt as he'd hoped. Eventually, he had to leave his car in Tunisia and fly on to Egypt to get to work. When we met him, he had just flown back to Tunisia again, this time to collect his car and drive it back to the UK.

Links

Article by John & Sue Hughes about their journey in Syria and Jordan, entering and leaving via Turkey is on our website:

http://www.magbaztravels.com/content/view/1046/30/

Perestroika Tours (German but the website has this English version):

http://www.mir-tours.de/englisch/index.htm

The Silk Route Motorcaravan Network - French/English joint venture for 'adventurous motorhomers':

http://www.xor.org.uk/silkroute/

New Zealander, Ivan McLellan, is a key member of the Silk Route Club. Email him at: . His website is very good with lots of links and his own adventures include Russia:

http://www.ivan.co.nz/

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) regularly updates its travel advice for every country in the world. It includes how to get into a country by road. Here are the links to their advice for Libya and Egypt:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/libya

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt”

Don Madge kindly provided the following links to websites being maintained by 2 couples with experience of travelling in Libya.

One couple obtained a transit visa in Tunis and crossed into Egypt in June:

http://www.thelongandwinding.co.uk/_/words.html.

A French couple also obtained a transit visa:

http://www.chazel.com/pagelibye.htm (in French)

Rachael and her partner are planning a journey through Libya and Egypt. They travel in two motorhomes carrying themselves, 8 (eight) children and Grandpa. Their ambitious dream is “to drive a big circle from Germany (cheapest place to buy vans), up through Sweden and back down Norway, across to Scotland (obviously via Denmark) and a second try at England, France, Spain, Morocco, back to Spain to catch the ferry to Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Turkey (where we ended our last trip, but in a time frame too short to appreciate - and at the time we said it would be a great place to motorhome), stop in at Sakar Hills Camping on the way across to Croatia, North Italy (for the cities we missed last time, important ones like Florence and Venice!), then hike in the mountains of Austria” while selling the motorhomes.

In addition to being in touch with ourselves and Don Madge, she has contacted Craig Baguley of Arkno Tours (see below). He wrote:

“Thank you for your email. Yes, we arrange many self-drive visits, although I have to tell you it is not cheap. I assume there is more than one vehicle. Here is a sample of prices as at today's date:

Customs clearance inc. insurance and plates (motorhome): £220 per vehicle (with carnet) / £370 (without carnet). (Arkno will advance the plates deposit from its fee and retain the refund).

Visa on arrival, passport registration and travel permits: £80 per person.

Escort (English-speaking) daily fee (inc. meal allowance): £65 per day.

Police escort daily fee (inc. meal allowance): £35 per day (Police escort is mandatory for 5 or more persons).

Escort/police transfer Tripoli - Ras Ajdir and vice versa: £35.

Escort/police transfer Tripoli - Umm Saad and vice versa: £340 (inclusive of daily fee, meal allowance, and hotel and flight).

These prices include the escort and the policeman travelling in your vehicle (and they will need to be in the same vehicle). If there is no room in a vehicle, they will have to drive a separate car, for which the extra cost is:

Separate vehicle cost per day: £60.

Escort/police transfer Tripoli - Ras Ajdir and vice versa: £0 included in daily cost of escort and car.

Escort/police transfer Tripoli - Umm Saad and vice versa: £410 (inclusive of daily fee, vehicle cost, meal allowance, and hotel).

You must also pay any camping and hotel fees for the escort and policeman.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kindest regards

Craig Baguley

ARKNO TOURS (LIBYA) INFORMATION OFFICE

www.arkno.com
T/F: UK +44 (0)20 8312 2358
A: 17 Watersmeet Way, London SE28 8PX, UK”