Eritrea

Getting there & away

Land

Djibouti

There’s only one border crossing, at Rahaita/Moulhoulé, about 112km south of Assab. Travel overland to/from Djibouti is possible but traffic is fairly limited. Only dirt roads lead south of Assab to Djibouti. From Assab, shared taxis sometimes go as far as Moulhoulé in Djibouti to pick up passengers coming from Obock. Check the situation while in Assab, as this service is unreliable. Another option is to hire a 4WD to the border and then try and hitch to Obock.

From Djibouti, there are infrequent pick-ups and landcruisers that ply the route between Obock and Moulhoulé (about four hours); from there, in theory, Eritrean bush taxis go to Assab (four hours).

Ethiopia

As long as the conflict with Ethiopia remains unresolved, the borders between the two countries remain closed. The most convenient way to get to Ethiopia is through Djibouti.

Sudan

At the time of writing, it was possible to cross the border from Eritrea to Sudan but not the other way. Check the current situation when you get there.

From Teseney, there are bush taxis to Adi Bara at the Sudanese border. From there you should find transport to Kassala (Sudan).

^ Back to top

Air

Eritrea has one international gateway for arrival by air, Asmara Airport, about 6km from town. Eritrean Airlines is the national carrier. It has flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Milan and Rome with prices starting at around US$1000 return. Lufthansa also flies to Frankfurt. Your best bet for a cheaper deal is with Egyptair and Yemenia Yemen Airways, which fly to Asmara from Europe via Cairo and Sana’a respectively.

Within Africa you can fly to Asmara from Djibouti with Eritrean Airlines. Eritrean Airlines also flies to Dubai. Saudi Arabian Airlines has flights to Riyadh via Jeddah.

^ Back to top