Related Sudan Favorites Tips

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Favorite thing: I went to Sudan in late Feb/early March 2009. Waleed Arafat, a tour guide and fixer in Khartoum, got me my visa. It wasn't easy and it wasn't cheap -- about $150. His email is waleed.travel@gmail.com, and his web site is www.lenditravel.com. I loved Sudan; I had a great time. Waleed could also advise you on how to rent a car if you want to visit the Meroe pyramids, etc., which are a long day's drive from Khartoum.

Fondest memory: I traveled around Sudan with my guide Waleed, cook Yahya, driver Yassir and a fellow American tourist. So many fond memories stand out, but I would say my favorite was when we were walking around the Royal City of Meroe, and a group of schoolgirls were also there. One of the girls ran after me and offered me candy from a plate -- just to be hospitable, because I was a guest in her country. This happened to me over and over again in Sudan. It is just an amazing place full of incredibly hospitable people.

Favorite thing: As as in most of Africa..they don't take American Express here. Western ATMs do not work here. I took cash but the dollar sucks right now and wish I had Euros. There is an exchange in the airport that will give you a decent rate but when you are on the street you will need to bargain a bit. The larger hotels will take your dollars or euros as payment but the rate will probably be a bit lacking. If you want to shop for a good rate ask one of the many UN workers you will see in Khartoum as they have a reputation among the locals as being cheapskates. (Excuse me do you have a special UN rate???)
And when you pay for things and they say 5 or flash 5 fingers for payment..keep in mind that they may be forgetting a zero as they did when I went for a boat ride on the Nile near Meroe.

Favorite thing: the rest of Sudan by City Trail publishing (www.thecitytrail.com). Hey LP books are great and I have more than a few of them on my bookshelf but for Sudan this one is the best IMO!
Why you ask? It is geared towards budget travel and the uniqueness of Sudan. Sudan is a tough place to figure out as a tourist since most of what is written about it tends to focus on the problem areas..this book while touching on those areas tends to highlite the best of Sudan with great tips, maps and even a few local recipes to make some cool Sudani dishes for your friends when you return home with you Kenyan souvenirs that you bought in the Omdurman tourist Souq.
If you are going to avoid the net while you are here - this is a great item to have in your pack.
Order it on the net at Amazon (or wherever you by books online) as I did not see it in any local book stores in Los Angeles. Luckily Brooke had a copy waiting for me when she picked me up at the airport in Khartoum...thank you B.

Favorite thing: If you want to do much in Sudan you need a permit...a permit to travel outside of Khartoum and one to take pictures.With all the negative attention from the media in the west the Gov't had said no more to this crap..they don't want you going to certain places ie: Darfaur etc..and they don't want pictures taken of starving children...those can be taken in the US at a much cheaper cost.
Permits are free for the most part..just bring extra passport photos for your photo permit..(don't need one for the travel permit) and be prepared for the run around ie: officials not being in their offices when they are supposed to due to extended meetings etc.

Fondest memory: This is not one of them. The people you will deal with are not jerks so to speak but calling them helpfull would be a bit of a stretch....a friend in Sudan told me they just like being A..holes because they can. Be nice to them and be prepared to wait.
I ended up getting my travel permit in an office behind the National Museum after waiting a day and half..bring a local with you to proof it as it is printed in Arabic and check the spelling of your name. When I was in at the bus station in Khartoum getting signed off with security for my trip to Port Sudan the guy almost did not let me go because my middle name was not on my travel permit like it was on my passport....be prepared for this kind of hassle here

Favorite thing: There are not a lot of maps of Sudan available. You might find some general maps on the Net.
On www.openstreetmap.org/ you'll find a quite good map of Khartoum.
In the Citytrail guide (see my tip "Guidebook") you'll find maps of Khartoum and several other cities.
On Google Eart you'll find quite good satellite pictures of most Cities. Some of my tips contain coordinates and you can find the corresponding places on Google Earth by pasting these coordinates in the search box.

Favorite thing: It was quite difficult to find information about traveling in Sudan. Virtualtourist.com is the best site I found. But I like also to have a guidebook. This is handy when you travel.

After a lot of searching, I found a very good guidebook published in 2008. All the other guidebooks available (if they are still available?) are much older.

I can only recommend this guidebook:
Blake Evans-Pritchard & Violetta Polese
Sudan
The City Trail Guide to Khartoum and the rest of Sudan
City Trail Publishing, 2008

www.thecitytrail.com

Favorite thing: I brought my GPS receiver with me wanting to add content to the OpenStreetMap of Khartoum and to draw one for El Obeid. But I soon realized that the GPS isn’t very precise. Taking the coordinates of exactly the same point with an interval of a few minutes, I got coordinates that where about 60m apart, despite a supposed precision of 8m. I suppose the USA don’t want to give Sudan the help of their precise system and switch it off over Sudan.
However, you can use GPS for general orientation, but don’t expect high precision.
In some of my tips I nevertheless add GPS coordinates for your information. You'll also find those places on Google Earth at the same coordinates.

Favorite thing: No credit cards are accepted in Sudan. There are now a lot of ATMs around Khartoum, but they seem to work only with the banks own cards.
So you’ll have to carry cash with you. You can exchange US$ and Euro in most banks, even in the small towns. But it is worth to compare the rates. In Khartoum, the Bank of Khartoum gave me a good rate, in El Obeid, the same bank gave me a very bad rate (SDG 3.20 to the Euro compared to SDG 3.55 at another bank). So compare before you exchange larger amounts. And try to get small denomination banknotes.
After the double currency change in Sudan, there is still some confusion in the population. Most prices are quoted in the new SDG currency. But for small amounts, people (especially older and poor people, like the street vendors) will still quote you in the old Sudanese Pound, e.g. 500, 1’000 or 5’000 for SDG 0.50, 1 and 5. And for large amounts, they also like to use the old currency, 1 million old Pounds sound better than SDG 1’000.