welltraveledbrit

We are heading to Sudan in January and I wondered if anyone else has been, or to has plans to go? I looked at several group tours but we've decided to book a private trip for the two of us with a local agent. The archeological sites in Northern Sudan, including the temple at Soleb and the pyramids at Meroe look interesting and historically it's an extension of our trip to Aswan by spending some time looking at Nubian sites on this side of the border.

Happy to take any advice/suggestions if you're familiar with Sudan

I'll be posting on Instagram for anyone who used it (welltravbrit) and hope to blog about the trip, along with writing a trip report, when I get home.

ekscrunchy

Regretfully cannot offer advice but I do say that your moniker is very well earned! Will look forward to the reports of your adventure.

welltraveledbrit

Thanks ekscrunchy - I appreciate your note. My husband says the moniker is obnoxious and he's probably right! When I joined Fodors so many years ago I never imagined it would follow me to my blog and for so long here .

I probably won't make it to the Chinese places in Flushing until we get back in early February but I appreciated your recommendations on the US board.

Sudan looks fascinating and it's appearing on an increasing number of European tour company itineraries, though we've arranged the trip through a local agent. For anyone who's interested here's my trip planning post over on the blog with some tips on using United frequent flyer miles in Africa

http://www.somuchmoretosee.com/2016/...eychelles.html

inquest

Likewise. Only admiration , no advice . As much as these places fascinate me, the thought of being on the edge all the time seems unnerving.Ground realities could change in a blink.South Sudan was on my radar but I didn't go much further. Inspite of the war, wildlife is said to have survived.Especially the ones which migrate between Bandingilo , Sudd region and Boma NP.Early 80's is said to have had 80,000 eles, now down to 2000 (optimistic).Believe the victims of war are recovering and in positives numbers.

Nothern Sudan is of course a distant dream for me.The closest I come is experiencing the Nubian culture.Particularly the food.

Will await your TR.

annhig

WTB i'm not sure why your DH finds your moniker obnoxious, it seems very apt to me. What gave you the idea of going to the Sudan? Even for someone as well- travelled as you, it's a bit of a reach.

I hope you have a wonderful time and I will certainly be very interested to read your TR when you get back.

welltraveledbrit

inquest -
<the thought of being on the edge all the time seems unnerving> in our experience the sense of being on edge is often only before we go. Generally on the ground we find people just living their lives the way they do everywhere else and the welcome we find tends to blunt any nervousness we bring with us. In all our years of traveling we've only cancelled one trip due to political upheaval and that was to Bangladesh right around the contentious 2014 election. Looking back we probably should have gone anyway, but it's good for us and our families to know that we are capable of drawing a line somewhere!

We've never regretted a trip we've gone on and sometimes you have to grab the opportunity when you can, for example I'm glad we went to Mali in 2000 when we had the possibility. The trip that was at the top of our list this year was to the wonderful Sangha Lodge in the Central African Republic (there was an amazing trip report a little while ago here on Fodors) but we had some difficulty getting hold of them and transportation was extremely expensive to get there. If we can make it work I would love to go there.

Nubian culture is one of the great attractions for us too. South Sudan looks fascinating but certainly not somewhere we'd go right now. There have been several days of peaceful civil disobedience in Khartoum recently and we are keeping an eye on the the situation there. It's a difficult time for regular Sudanese people due to the lose of oil from the South and to rising food prices coupled with a 300% increase in the price of medicines. The government is repressive and continues to involve the country in military misadventures including the tragedies in Darfur and the conflict with the south.


Annhig - Thanks for your response! My husband teases me because it's fine to say someone else is well travelled but it's just embarrassing to declare yourself so! I ignore him and call him "less travelled git" ;-). Somehow it works for us!

The big attractions in Sudan are the Nubian and Egyptian temples and pyramids and in that sense the idea for the trip came from our recent trip to Egypt where we were just on the other side of the border at Abu Simbel. We are looking forward to following the history south - after all the Nubian Kingdom controlled all of Egypt for a short while.

Sudan doesn't seem anymore of a stretch than Syria and in fact it has been far easier to sort out visa wise than a place like Turkmenistan.

I was surprised find the British company, "Undiscovered Destinations" runs more than ten group trips a year to Sudan and there are plenty of European groups too. A local Italian/Sudanese company has set up two rather nice places to stay including a tended camp at the Meroe pyramids and a small Nubian style guesthouse in Karima - both of which get solid reviews. There's a discussion of all this with links on the blog post above for anyone who is interested in the details.

Thanks to you both for the encouragement and discussion, I hope it's an interesting trip and I'm looking forward to seeing the historic sites and learning a lot more about contemporary Sudan too.

annhig

I ignore him and call him "less travelled git">>

Yes! [though I'm sure he's not really a git!]

I look forward very much to reading your TR, WTB and good luck with the trip.

progol

No suggestions, just admiration here, WTB! I'm looking forward to following your adventures rather off the well-traveled path!

welltraveledbrit

Thanks Annhig! I'm going to be in Gittisham in Devon for New Year's Eve which is the furthest west I've been in England but not quite Cornwall yet . My trip reports normally surface about 5 to 6 months later, so I'll probably get around to the Sudan trip report in June - lol!

Thanks Progol - you know I like the less travelled path but we weren't able to make Eritrea work this time!

annhig

oh Gittisham is nice, WTB - I seem to remember a good pub there. Hope you enjoy yourselves in darkest Devon.

on the current timetable, i'll expect a TR in about 2 year's time! [not that I can talk]

welltraveledbrit

Thanks Annhig - I think we are booked into that nice pub for a meal or two . Glad I've got plenty of time for the trip report...

annhig

lift one for me, WTB!