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Travelling from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia to Khartoum, Sudan.


Traveling from South Africa to Kenya has been easy, the transport infrastructure is set and its simple to go from one country to the next on only one bus.
I had to fly into Addis Ababa from Nairobi due to visa issue but I honestly would not recommend road travel North of Kenya to anyone, it is really not safe.

From Addis to Khartoum you will need to take a 12 hour bus to Gondar, long distance traveling is prohibited in Ethiopia after dark so your bus will leave Addis Ababa at 5am. You will arrive in Gondar just before sunset. This bus will set you back 485 Birr.
Be aware that all the bathroom stops are in the bushes, and only lunch is at a restaurant that is not really appealing so I suggest you have a packed lunch.
Find a hotel in Gondar, there is one right next to the bus station, about a 50 metre walk. Stay the night and in the morning you will take a mini bus taxi to Matema which is the neighbouring village to Sudan. This is a 4 hour drive because you keep stopping for people to get on and off. This mini bus will cost you 70 Birr.

At the Matema Bus station, take a Bajaj (Tuk-Tuk) to the border, it is about 4 to 5 kilometres away. Do not pay more than 10 Birr for the minibus.

At the border you will go through customs to check your bags, then get stamped out and just like that you are out of Ethiopia.

Then you walk 50 metres and this is where your nightmare will begin to build up. Walk 50 metres over the bridge to Sudan customs, on your way there will be guys to exchange your money for you into Sudanese Pounds. I however changed my money back in Gondar.
To get stamped into Sudan is quite a process, especially because the customs officials would rather sit outside in the heat under a tree and drink their coffee.
Should you go out and ask for assistance, do it in English as they only speak Arabic. They will help you quickly to get rid of you.
At the Sudan border you will need a copy of your passport and a copy of your visa. I don’t know what for but just be prepared. You will also be required to pay 50 USD to register as a tourist if you intend to spend more than 3 days in Sudan. And if you are using public transport, you will definitely spend more than 3 days.
Yes, the 50 USD is to be paid even though you paid for your visa.


Then proceed to have your luggage checked by Sudanese customs officials. This is simple and real quick. From there drop your bag off at the bus office and proceed to the security office. I am not very sure what happens here but have your passport and someone will write your details on a piece of paper and you are good to go get that bus ticket.

Here is the real nightmare – due to the fact that buses cannot drive in Sudan after dark just like in Ethiopia you have to spend a night in Gallabat. Gallabat is a bordering village to Ethiopia. Be aware that there are no good hotels in this place. They call them hotels but what they really are shelters with beds, mattresses two fingers thick and look bed bug riddled. Good luck, you are going to need it. I spent the night at the hotel by the police station, it was much better than some of the places I saw that looked like a scene from a horror movie.

At 7am, you will take the bus from Gallabat to Khartoum which costs 115 Sudanese Pounds. Toilet breaks are just in the middle of the dessert, stay away from liquid although you can’t because Sudan is extremely hot. Just good luck, you need it.
After 12 hours on the bus, you will have arrived in Khartoum. And you will meet the nicest people who just want to feed you. These are the Sudanese people. 

Feel at home.

x0x0
#TheSolowanderer
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