World Country Guide

Travel - International

Air
Air France (AF) (website: www.airfrance.com) operates three flights a week from Paris to Djibouti, stopping en route in Jeddah. Djibouti-based Daallo Airlines (D3) operates flights to Paris and services to Ethiopia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia and Somalia. Other airlines offering services to Djibouti include Air Kenya, Air Tanzania, Djibouti Airlines, Ethiopian Airlines and Yemenia Yemen Airways.

Approximate flight times
From Djibouti to London is 10 hours (including stopovers).

International airports
Djibouti (JIB) is 5km (3 miles) south of the city. Taxis are available. Airport facilities include duty-free shops, restaurants, left luggage, tourist information, car hire (Maril), bureau de change and a craft shop.

Departure tax
None.

Rail
The Djibouti–Ethiopian Railway operates regular trains between Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa with one train daily connecting with Djibouti; in theory, tourists and businesspeople can use this service (for which they should book first-class tickets only), but it is not recommended as trains are old, fairly unreliable and the volatile security situation in Ethiopia is causing considerable risks to all travellers.

Road
There are roads from Djibouti to Assab (Eritrea) and going west into Ethiopia via Dikhil. Travellers using them should be aware that road conditions are generally poor (the roads are more often dirt tracks than asphalted) and personal security might be at risk when travelling – particularly to Ethiopia (see Travel – Internal section for information on documentation required). Visitors are also advised to check transit regulations as political conditions in Ethiopia and Eritrea are changeable. Travel to neighbouring Somalia (which has bus links with Djibouti) is not recommended due to the highly unstable political situation in Somalia.