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From: B-Haile (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Dec 18 2010 - 06:51:21 EST
Thorn Tree travel forum
31-May-2010 22:00
Eritrea Trip Report
Hi, I left Eritrea two days (May 22) ago after spending 11 days there. Had a great time. It is a fabulous country with very friendly people. The following trip report is a bit lengthy but might be useful.
Cheers,
Accommodation:
In Asmara I stayed at the Khartoum Hotel (300 nakfa/$20 a night with shared bath and toilet or 350 nakfa with private bath). I took the shared option. Shower and toilet were always spotless as was my huge bedroom. Bar downstairs was quite pleasant but restaurant had very limited range of food. That was no problem as there are plenty of restaurants nearby. I though the Khartoum was excellent value. Right in the middle of town, very clean and extremely friendly and helpful staff.
In Massawa I stayed at the Luna Hotel (300 Nakfa with air con and private bathroom). Not a good choice. Room was dirty as was bathroom. Staff are also unhelpful and not exactly friendly. But food in the restaurant is good.
Central Hotel right next door is a far better choice. Quite a bit more expensive and often booked out. But it offers far better value even at the higher price. Also has good food in a great seaside terrace. So book in advance.
Permits:
The first thing to do on arrival is get your travel permits. The Tourism Office is on Harnett Ave in the middle of town directly opposite the Cathedral. Take with you photocopies of the main page of your passport as well as the Eitrean visa page. You will need one copy of each for each permit. The cost for the permits is 20 nakfa per permit.
They will give you one permit to cover Massawa, Nefasit and Ghinda, even if you do them on separate trips (e.g. go to Massawa by bus and then to Nefasit by train after returning to Asmara as I did). Just make sure your dates are covered.
You will need separate permits for Qohaito (see below) and Filfil (also see below).
Train:
If you want to do the train trip to Nefasit (well worth it; brilliant trip), then go to the train station and book your seat. The train only goes on Sundays and only if 10 people are going. It nearly always has 10 but do not expect to just turn up on the Sunday morning. Book in advance and make sure. The railway traffic manager is extremely helpful.
On the Sunday be at the train station no later than 7.30 a.m. so you can look around and take photos. You pay at the station. It costs $50 payable in nakfa (750 nakfa at current exchange rates). The train departs right on 8.00 a.m. and gets back at around 1.00 p.m.
It is a superb trip. Great for photos and just having fun. You will be served coffee on board (freshly roasted beans and the full coffee ceremony; no extra charge). Take water with you.
MAssawa:
The bus to Massawa costs 30 Nakfa ($2). Getting to MAssawa from Asmara is no problem as long as you get to the bus sttaion by around 9.00 or 9.30 a.m. You might have to wait a hour or so but there will be a bus.
Returning is much more problematic. I got to the bus station in Massawa at 9.15 a.m. and there was already a queue of around 100 people. The queue comprises bags lying on the ground. Just put you pack at the end of the line. Very few buses came. After three hours only two buses had picked up passengers and people were queue jumping. I still had at least 40 people in front of me and it looked very doubtful if I would get a bus that day.
Two Eritreans gave up and went and got a taxi and asked me if I wanted to share costs. In the end 4 of us shared a taxi to Asmara. It cost 150 nakfa each. This was less than half the usual price because the taxi driver was going home to Asmara. If it was a Massawa taxi it would have cost at least 300 nakfa each.
Qohaito:
New rules mean that you can only get a permit to Qohaito if you are a group of at least 5 people. So you need to find people to make up a group. Try Explore or Travel House tour operators (listed in LP and recomended by the Tourism Office in Asmara). If they do not have a group going, ask them to start one with your name and give them various dates so that if other travellers come in they can make up a group.
Cost varies but will probably be $50 to $70 per person depending on size of the group. THey will organise permits for you but you will need to give them a photocopy of your passport and visa.
It is best to go to both these tour operators on the day you arrive so they have the maximum possible time get other group travellers. In the meantime look around Asmara and visit Massawa etc.
They might try and tell you that it is a 2 day trip (they tried this with me). This is rubbish. Everything can be well and truly seen in a day trip from Asmara leaving at 7.00 a.m. and returning at around 6.00 p.m.
Filfil:
No public transport so you need to hire a car from a rental agency (e.g. Fortuna). You can do this with or without a driver. I took a driver (only costs $10 for the driver) so that I could relax and enjoy the scenery. For $10 I would strongly recommend a driver. Fortuna (or another firm) will give you a car registration number. You need this to take to the Tourism Office to get your permit (again with copies of passport and visa).
Total cost of the hire car (with driver) is betwen $80 and $100 depending on how many km you cover. You get 50 km free and then have to pay 2 nakfa per extra km, hence the variation in cost.
It is a very good drive over a spectacular road. There is no town enroute, just a couple of rest stops where you can get a cool drink. Filfil comprises a campsite which is worth a stroll around along the dry river bed (wadi) and through the trees.
I would recomend driving in an anti-clockwise direction (i.e. start by taking the road to Massawa). This will give you the best possible lighting for photos. Going in the opposite direction (which the drivers usually want to do) means that the sun is always in your eyes and thus bad for pix. So if taking a driver make sure you establish the direction of travel when you book the car.
I did not get to Keren.
Read more http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1917562
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