World Country Guide

Travel - International

Note
All travel to the border areas with Ethiopia and Sudan is advised against. This advice includes Tesseney, near the Sudan border, where there was a bomb attack on 1 March 2004 in a hotel. Visitors should also avoid the area north of Afabet in the Sahel region, and along one road in the west of the country. There is a continuing threat to Western targets from terrorism in Eritrea as there is in other countries in East Africa and the Horn. You should be aware that travel restrictions may limit the ability to offer immediate consular assistance (for UK nationals) outside Asmara, Keren, Dekemhare, Mendeferra and Massawa.

Air
Eritrea’s national airline is Eritrean Airlines. Other airlines operating to Eritrea include Egyptair (from Cairo), Lufthansa (from Frankfurt), Saudi Arabian Airlines (from Jeddah), Sudan Airways (from Khartoum) and Yemenia (from Sanaa). Flights from Europe and the USA can be booked through Ericommerce International Ltd, Robin House, 2A Iverson Road, London NW6 2HE, UK (tel: (020) 7372 7242; fax: (020) 7624 6716; e-mail: info@ericommerce.com; website: www.ericommerce.com).

Approximate flight times
From Asmara to London is seven hours.

International airports
Asmara (ASM) is 6km (4 miles) from the city. Buses and taxis are available to the city centre. Airport facilities include left luggage, bank/bureau de change, post office, bars, duty-free shop and restaurants.

Departure tax
US$15.

Sea
There are two main ports, Massawa and Assab, both on the Red Sea, but there are very limited scheduled passenger services. There is a weekly ferry service from Massawa to Jeddah.

Road
Currently, there are no safe land routes into Eritrea. Previously, it was accessible by bus from Sudan, and another bus route went from Asmara to Djibouti.