YEMEN

Country Updates

You can get a Yemeni visa by fax and take it with you. When you arrive in Sana'a they will enter it into your passport.If you can hold of the name of a travel agent in Yemen (Sana'a or Aden), fax them with your request, all your details, and ask for a visa to be faxed back to you. It can cost about US$100 for the service but it saves a huge headache.

You can get visa's easily within a few hours from neighbouring countries that have a Yemeni Embassy (eg Jordan) or apply say to the Embassy in London (this way can take a long time). I wouldn't recomend just landing without a visa however the are extremely friendly and won't treat you too harshly.

Don't miss out on Yemen just because geting a visa might take a bit of work. It truly is a treasure. If a traveller has to visit the immigration office to extend a visa and apparently also for simple regstration, a HIV test is required. At the Sana's office at least, they provide the address of a lab. It is cheaper to get the test at the national health clinic, which is in a compound near the Hospital. However, I also recommend Sana'a Medical Laboratories, which the American Institute for Yemeni Studies also uses, behind the Taj Sheha Hotel in Sana'a, Street #9, bldg #4, PO Box 3346, tel 272345. The test costs about US$20 or YR2,700 and you must supply a passport photo. Results are available the following business day.

The immigration office in Sana'a is no longer in the same place as the guidebook says. It is in a new looking government building set well back from the road to Taizz on the east side behind the Yemen Commerical Bank (YCB - the sign is in English & Arabic).
Scott Morrison, USA (Aug 98)

The new address of the Yemen embassy in Belgium is Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 114, 1050 Brussels. The phone number is the same (tel) 2-6465290).
Caroline Klein, Belgium (Aug 98)

We obtained our one month/single entry visa in Djibouti City in 20 minutes. The cost is FDJ5,000 (US$30). Return air ticket was not needed.

For a visa extension, you need a certificate from a Yemeni Hospital to state that you don't have Aids. The Yemen embassy in Djibouti has moved. It is now located on the Plateau du Serpent, opposite the US embassy in Djibouti.
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

The visa office for Yemen in London has changed address to 57 Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2 ED. Ph: 0171 584 6607.

Visas cost 25 pounds and lasts for 3 months from the date of issue ie; you must enter the country within the 3 month period and upon arrival you are issued with a one month visa. Visa extensions can be obtained in Sana'a for a small fee but getting through the bureaucracy is hell and as well tourists must register with the immigration dept located in either Sana'a or Aden.

Travelling through the country is relatively easy if the police let you through the checkpoints and if you have permits for certain areas like the north otherwise I have heard of people being turned back and even experienced a situation where I was almost turned back. One way to get around this is to go to the tourism authority in Sanaa and get them to write your itinerary or major towns that you plan to visit on official Government paper with a stamp and this helps get through the checkpoints. Tour groups are exempted from these permits as they hire local guides but as I heard from other travellers the permits were probably thought up by the tour companies to make sure that everyone hired a car and a guide which is quite expensive at over US$60 per day.
Mohan Gunatilake - Australia (Jan 98)

Marib is worth seeing but make sure you have enough time. We were rushed around to see everything between 3 pm and 5.30 pm when the sun began to disappear and it really is not enough time to get a sense of things. It was mobbed with other tourists when we were there and it would be better to take your time and see things when the others have hurried off into their land cruisers. Seeing the town of Old Marib at sunset was magical, though our solider was understandably anxious to get his Kwahajas back into the car and back to the hotel.

We were in Yemen at the time of the recent killing of tourists. I can honestly say that the Yemenis were more surprised and shocked than we were and could not believe the tragedy. Since that time there are increasing numbers of kidnappings but it seems to be tribal groups focusing on pressurising the government rather than Islamic groups. Still security is clearly much more of an issue. I would suggest anyone planning to visit get up to date information from their embassy but also perhaps from a tour group like Universal, which cannot really afford to have people kidnapped and therefore should be able to give a view on how dangerous going on trips to a particular area may be. Local bus travel is probably more risky.
Kate Harris, UK(Jan 99)

When we were in Yemen recently the rate of kidnapping had increased so police permits were required for Sada and Marib and there were police roadblocks on most roads. As a result it is probably easiest to hire a car for Sada with a driver who can arrange for permits and negotiate with the military - the six-man machine gun truck will ask for tourists to pay for their lunch. With a multi-car convoy that could mean, say 300 riyals per vehicle but with only one car going through the soldiers will lean on you for 1000.

There are some casual operations in Sana'a offering to take tourists across the desert to Sayun without bedouin guides. It is probably not a good idea to accept since the bedouin do not take kindly to attempts to deprive them of their revenue, and we can attest to the real usefulness of having somebody who understands the desert and knows the tracks.
Michael Becket (June 1998)

No taxi or bus would take me to Mar'ib and Jawf because of the dangers of kidnapping. They said I wouldn't be allowed past the checkpoints on the roads leading there anyway.
CJW Daniels (June 98)

There are still a lot of checkpoints where you as asked to show your passport. Most of the time showing copies is enough (except one time leaving San'a for Shibam). The explanation that our passport was in Sana' didn't impress the soldiers. We had to leave the taxi and take the next taxi back to San'a. We refused to do this and after a confused 20 minute discussion we could continue our trip to Shibam.

For independent travellers it was not possible to travel to Marib and Sa'da unless you have a special permit from the Ministry of Tourism.
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

Yemenia is the only carrier flying to/from Djibouti. Yemenia and Ehtiopian airlines fly to/from Addis Ababa-for exactly the same price. At the beginning of April, Yemenia increased its prices by 50%. At the moment there are no cargo ships between Eritrea and Yemen (due to the disagreement of both countries about who owns some islands in the Red Sea. There are (regular) cargo ships between Djibouti and Aden & al-Makha (mostly Aden). These boats were only willing to take us from Djibouti to Aden for a ridiculously high price of US$90/person, or half the price of a two way ticket to Tair. People of Djibouti told us however that the normal price of a one way trip is US$60. Probably you can find a boat for this price if you wait a few days. The trip takes 20 hours and the boats (dhows) offer no accommodation at all (not even a shelter from the sun).
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

After some talks to local tour guides and a visit at the immigration office, we decided to cross the border to Yemen on land at Al Mayzuna.

We were not able to find out if there is a border station along the coast from Dalkut/Sarfayt (Oman) to Hawf (Yemen). It seems that there is only a military control which will only let pass Omani and Yemeni people. The immigration office didn't mention that there is a border although some tour operators told us there is but that it is nearly impossible to pass.

There seems to be the possibility to take a ship from Raysut - the port of Salalah - to some towns in Yemen. The immigration office told us that it's no problem. We decided not to try this because we had no satisfying info about the passport check in Yemen then and we wanted to make sure not to enter the country illegally by some mistake.

Port Raysut is, at the moment, built into one of the worlds largest Cargo Ports which will become a central position in this area soon. The works will be completed in a few years and the first terminal finished this year, according to an article in the Oman Times. Then it should be no problem to do the border trip by boat.

From Salalah we took the bus to Thumrait (Thumrayt) some 80 km north. There is also a new hotel there which we didn't use. If you go by your own car this is the last place to get petrol. A few km before you enter the city you should try to get out at the crossing to Al Mayzuna and Mudhai. From there on is a good gravel road with not much traffic. If you hitchhike make sure you travel to the village of Mudhai (about 80 km west of Thumrait) or directly to Al Mayzuna (about 10 km west of Mudhai). Don't take a lift with no distinct end where you might end somewhere in the desert with no cars any more and no orientation anymore. Mudhai is a nice little village with a Government center and lots of children and camels which seem to never have seen a stranger. You will find a shop with most useful things to buy there - water and some food, cigarettes.

Al Mayzuna is a kind of village where you will also find shops and a restaurant and lots of astonished eyes that will follow all your movements. The border station is a few km away from the village. Its a modern building with a very profession crew, so be sure that you have both visa if necessary and that your visa is still valid. If so, it will take you about half an hour and you can pass on. If you hitch hike you don't need any other permits - only passport with visa for both countries.

The area between the Omani and Yemeni border station is about 17 km so you need to hitch hike that part as well. Ask the custom people to help you get a lift.The border station of Yemen is called Shihan (Makinat Shihan). There is a village where we have not been which is now Yemen but not long ago it was a divided village.The Yemeni border station is a container village not comparable with the Omani side.We were told that in two months they will move their border about 4 km into the direction of the Omani border and that they will have a building there

. We had to spend four days in Shihan because we couldn't get a lift further. The problem there is that there is good transfer but mostly form Oman to Yemen Trucks from Dubai and Oman transport mainly cheap clothes and electronics from Asia to Shihan and unload it there and go back empty. Because this take two days, each truck has two or three drivers and there is no room.

Doing the same trip from Yemen to Oman should be no problem at all cause all trucks go that way are empty. We heard of someone who travelled from Mukalla to Salalah in three days last January. If you decide to make this trip across the border, the chances reduce the more people you have. Two is maximum, otherwise you would have to split. The chances increase more if you take the route from Yemen to Oman.
Janda Christoph (Mar 98)

In March 1998 it was not possible to visit the north (Sa'da Province, Shihara, Hajja) or the east (Ma'rib or Wadi Hadhramawt) on your own. It is necessary to organise a chauffeured vehicle (with or without guide) with at least one day's notice for tourists' names to be registered with the police. There are numerous checkpoints, vehicles must travel in a convoy or have a police office accompany each leg of the trip.
Barry M. Pell (Apr 98)

It was not so easy to visit Sa'da. We had to be at the checkpoint at the border of the governorate at 9 am. There, a special police unit joined us with a pick-up, armed with anti-air defence. They stayed with us till we arrive din the town of Sa'da. There, somebody of the Intelligence Service joined us and we could not move around on our own. At night, we had to stay in the hotel. They told us that the government ordered that every transport of tourists is accompanied by police or military forces. It is a goodwill gesture towards western governments since the attack in Luxor, Egypt.
Britt Mathys - Belgium (Jan 98)

The situation with areas which are open to independent travellers keeps changing. The Government appears very sensitive to the recent spate of kidnappings - which has meant that routes from Sanaa to Marib, Sa'da and Shibam/Kawkaban (in Al-Mahwit) are open only to foreigners on tour. Travellers on buses and share-taxis are usually turned back at the police check-points. Baraquish and the desert route from Marib to the Wadi Hadramawt are completely closed to foreigners. When we travelled from Sanaa to Marib, all the foreigners had to do so in a convoy of 4WD's led by an army truck.
Kwan Lee (Dec 97)

The situation with areas which are open to independent travellers keeps changing. The Government appears very sensitive to the recent spate of kidnapping's - which has meant that routes from Sanaa to Marib, Sa'da and Shibam/Kawkaban (in Al-Mahwit) are open only to foreigners on tour. Travellers on buses and share-taxis are usually turned back at the police check-points. Baraquish and the desert route from Marib to the Wadi Hadramawt are completely closed to foreigners. When we travelled from Sanaa to Marib, all the foreigners had to do so in a convoy of 4WD's led by an army truck.
Kwan Lee (Dec 97)

Saudi Airlines does fly to Yemen but at the moment Kuwaiti airlines does not, but this may change when the two countries re-establish relations.

Air Tanzania is the only airline flying between Oman and Yemen with one Flight a week between Muscat and Aden and U.V. Cost $800 return!
Ralph Lawson - UK (Oct 1997)

In Sana'a, the Djibouti embassy is now next to the Cuban embassy, off Amman street. Visas are issued without fuss; cost US$30 and you need 2 photos.

The Ma'sib travel agency on Abdul Mogni street is reliable, accepts Visa at a bad exchange rate and is the AMEX representative.

There is a British Council office in Sana'a, up the road from the Italian Embassy.
Ralph Lawson - England (Oct 1997)

Having refused to pay 4000 ryals to take a car, I chose to walk to Shihara with a guide and a group of Dutch tourists. The Beduins threatened the Dutch people and forced me to go on one of their cars. Apparently only tour groups paying good money are authorised to visit Shihara.

Similarly in Ma'rib you get legally robbed - the road was closed to independent travellers, meaning it is compulsory to go through a travel agent. Many agencies ask for $450-500 to do the whole trip across the desert to Hadramout.

One way is to take a plane which costs as much and doesn't give money to the mafia that seems to control the area.
Laurent Bianchi - France (no date)

There is an American Express office on Ali Abdul Mogni Street between the Taj Sheba Hotel and Shazarwan Restaurant.
Barry M Pell

Moneychangers are allowed again. They offer slightly better rates for US$100 notes than the banks. Smaller denominations and notes dated 1989 or earlier will get you slightly worse rates, but not always. There are plenty of money changers, so keep trying. You should go to a money changers office. The money changers operating on the street corners offer worse rates and apply tricks (notes folded double - damaged notes are no problem as long as the number is intact - or just errors in counting the packs of YR100 notes) to rip you off.
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

As a negative effect of package group tourism in Yemen, bargaining has become compulsory for most hotels, restaurants and shops in tourist prices. Even drivers of shared taxis try to overcharge you sometimes. The Museum for Arts & Crafts even tried to sell us overpriced tickets.
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

In some much visited highland villages, lots of children (and sometimes also adults) are begging for baksheesh. This seems to be encouraged by tourists who actually give pens, balloons and candy to the children. I urge people not to give anything to children as it only spoils the fun for the tourists coming after you. Walking from Thula to Shibam, we thought ourselves being in Ethiopia with children shouting continuously for "baksheesh, baksheesh".
Pascal Vanhove (Apr 98)

Salalah is the last point where you are able to get money by credit cards. So make sure if you travel to Yemen and if you use credit cards that you get enough cash there for Yemen, plus some extra in case of some extra unexpected costs that might occur.
Janda Christoph (Mar 98)