| Eritrea ((ti)ኤርትራ, (ar)إرتريا) | |
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| Panorama of Asmara | |
| Flag | |
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| Information | |
| Capital city | Asmara |
|---|---|
| Area | 117 600 km² |
| Population | 5 869 970 hab. (2016) |
| Density | 49,91 inhab./km² |
| Nice | Eritrean |
| Sea | Red |
| Minimum altitude | −75 m (Kulul lake) |
| Maximum altitude | 3 018 m (Mount Soira) |
| Official language | any (de facto) tigrigna, Arab, English |
| Other languages | Italian, amharic |
| Change | nakfa (ERN) |
| Electricity | 230 volt / 50 hertz, socket type L |
| Telephone prefix | 291 |
| Internet suffix | .er |
| Flow direction | Right-hand drive |
| Spindle | UTC 3 |
| Location | |
 15 ° 6 ′ 0 ″ N 39 ° 36 ′ 0 ″ E | |
| Government site | |
TheEritrea is a country ofEast Africa, frontier of Sudan, of the'Ethiopia, and of Djibouti.
Understand
Regions
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Cities
- 1 Asmara – Capital of Eritrea.
- 2 Massaoua – port city on the Red Sea.
- 3 Keren
Other destinations
To go
Formalities
- Eritrea
- Exemption from Visa
- Visa on arrival
- Visa required
By plane
At present, for a Westerner, the air route is the only option to enter the country since crossing the land border (and a fortiori maritime, but there is no boat line anyway) is prohibited.
At this time (November 2013), there are only two airlines serving Asmara: Egypt Air (via Cairo) and Yemenia. Erythrean Airlines, in fact
On a boat
There is no regular boat line serving Eritrea.
A few boats intended for diving sometimes stop at Massaoua, at the cost of great difficulties.
By train
No train runs between Eritrea and a neighboring country.
By coach or car
No entry is authorized by Sudanese territory (border post in Kassala) for the moment, except for a few nationalities (in particular neighboring Sudanese).
The border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is obviously totally closed.
Circulate
Travel permits and restrictions
The travel permit is not a formality. In fact, it will entirely determine your trip, especially since the authorization to go to a particular city is not the rule but the exception.
It is therefore easy to draw up the exhaustive list of authorized places in July 2013:
- Asmara
- Massaoua
- Keren
- xxx
That's it, folks! This list is subject to variations, but it is clear that it has only been reduced over the past three years.
To obtain a permit, you will have to go to the tourist office, which will issue it to you for the next day if you drop it off in the morning. No need, it seems, to ask for information: this office seems entirely dedicated to delivering the precious paper.
You will be asked for the precise dates of your visit to the different cities and the duration of your stay, knowing in any case that it is not allowed to stay more than three days in Massaoua and two days in Keren.
If you are renting a car, you will need to indicate the registration number and the rental contract provided by the lessor. If you are hiring a taxi, this will be the number of that vehicle. Tourists are not allowed to borrow other individual vehicles, which are also provided with a special colored plate. There is therefore no question of traveling in the car of a friend, a foreign resident or an Eritrean, even less of hitchhiking ...
By plane
On a boat
By train
By bus
By car
It is possible to rent a car, either with a driver for 4x4s, or without for passenger cars (Toyota corolla type).
Given the constraints related to obtaining travel permits, rental is therefore de facto only possible in Asmara, where there are many rental companies.
Prices for a "basic" passenger car range from 800 to 1200 Nakfa. Passing travelers will have a hard time finding less than 1,200, especially during the summer, when the Eritrean diaspora returns for the holidays.
A passenger vehicle is normally sufficient to make the few trips authorized by the authorities to the traveler (namely Keren, Massawa and ...).
To have the right to drive, it will first be necessary to obtain a transitional license in an office of the Ministry of the Interior located on the outskirts of Asmara. The place seems familiar to everyone insofar as it seems that this is where the driver's license is passed. It will be necessary to bring his international driving license, a photocopy of the latter, a photo and obviously his passport. The process should not take more than an hour.
Note that a foreigner is not allowed to board a vehicle other than a bus, a taxi or a rental vehicle to leave Asmara. It is therefore particularly impossible to hitchhike.
Speak
Buy
The currency of Eritrea is the Eritrean nakfa (nakfa, ERN)
The problem in Eritrea is the official exchange rate inflicted on tourists. In July 2013, it was 15 Nakfas for 1 $. This artificially low (or high, depending on your point of view) rate makes Eritrea an absurdly expensive country, both for food and accommodation.
It will therefore be necessary to change to black, the rate of which is 45 Nakfas for 1 $.
Eat
Have a drink / Go out
Housing
Learn
To work
security
 | Emergency telephone number: Police :113 Ambulance:112 Firefighter :116 |
Government travel advice
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Belgium (Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation) 
Canada (Government of Canada) 
France (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) 
Swiss (Federal Department of Foreign Affairs)
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