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If the train doesn't tickle your fancy, I doubt whether the buses will either...converted Bedford trucks make the trip across the bumpy desert (there is no road) to Dongola twice a day, with one bus a day heading all the way to Khartoum. If you choose to take this route, don't drink too much tea beforehand, and make sure you empty your bladder too...being jolted around on a bus always makes me want to pee, but the drivers are not willing to stop for fear of getting stuck in the sand.
Written Oct 17, 2004
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Moving on from Wadi Halfa, you have a choice of buses or the famous train (watch Michael Palin's Pole to Pole...things have not changed much since he did the trip). The train sounds like one of those trips that are just begging to be done...but the reality is a slow monotonous and very uncomfortable ride through endless desert, stopping at some godforsaken outposts before joining the Nile at Abu Hamed. Nothing to see, nothing to do, nowhere to sit...it is a gruelling trip all the way to Khartoum, so I suggest you break the journey by leaving at Abu Hamed, Berber or Atbara, and continuing by road. For a rough idea of the speed of this ancient locomotive, it chugs along between Atbara and Khartoum in over 10 hours, while a minibus does the same journey in 4. The whole trip takes around 36 hours, give or take a few for break downs, emergency stops to pick up passengers who fall off the roof, and to clear the tracks of sand or animals.
The train can be very busy, especialy around either Eid, when practically the whole of Wadi Halfa heads south to celebrate with family and friends...if you can, book a seat well in advance, or you'll end up sitting on the floor.
The train is supposed to meet the boat, so if the train is late, the boat will wait and vice versa.
Written Oct 17, 2004
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There is a somewhat tired-looking ferry that takes passengers over to Aswan once a week...it leaves Aswan on a Monday, arriving the following day, then makes the return trip whenever the train arrives from Khartoum. There is a first class, which consists of a few cabins (apparently quite comfortable, so I'm told), but most choose to go second class (I prefer to call it steerage!), which means sitting on a hard bench in a stuffy crowded lounge, or marking your own little patch on deck and sleeping under the stars. One meal (plain fuul, bread, cheese and tea) is included in your ticket, but as the trip is a long one, bring supplies with you. Not much to see en route, although the ship passes by Abu Simbel, so make sure you are on deck at that point as the views are impressive. Some immigration is carried out on board the ship...but be warned, getting onand off the ship is chaotic! And before disembarking in Wadi Halfa, DON'T FORGET YOUR YELLOW CARD, or you'll be screeched at by the customs officials!
Tickets are bought in a hidden office in Aswan, at the port in Wadi Halfa, or through some travel agents in Khartoum.
Written Oct 17, 2004
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Reviews and photos of Wadi Halfa' attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Wadi Halfa' sightseeing.
There is a somewhat tired-looking ferry that takes passengers over to Aswan once a week...it leaves Aswan on a Monday, arriving the following day, then makes...
Q: Hi All, I am planning a trip from Cairo to Cape Town next summer and was wondering if anyone knows anything about rumours that the...
A: I'm unsure about whether or not the ferry will be cancelled. I did the trip a few years ago, but I only went as far as Zimbabwe. Which way are you going to go? I went via...
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How on earth do people live here?!
Wadi Halfa...gateway to Sudan, and what a gateway it is! Aswan's port is sleek, modern, well-organized...Wadi Halfa's is, erm, subtle. A piece of floating wood with a customs official on it. But calm...
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