Djibouti
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Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings
Visas for either country must be obtained in advance - they are not available at the border. Crossing this border isn't as difficult if you go on the Wednesday (when the large passenger ferry leaves from Djibouti City to Obock). The ferry leaves Djibouti City at 11am and costs DFr1000 . Once it arrives in Obock, watch out for Toyota pickups to Moulhoule or "Assab" (the latter also go to Moulhoule only). A ride will cost DFr2000 . It takes about 2 hours from Obock to Moulhoule on a dirt track through the desert - watch out for gazelles! In Moulhoule passports are checked but not stamped by the Djiboutian authorities. Not getting a stamp is no problem if heading for Eritrea, but those coming to Djibouti should insist on getting stamped in or they will face difficulties when leaving Djibouti via another crossing.
In Moulhoule there will be another Toyota pickup that will go to Assab via the Eritrean border post at Rahaita for Nfa150. At Rahaita there is a small Eritrean immigration post where passports are stamped. Once in Assab, note that you can't take next morning's bus to Asmara, as you will first have to go to the local authorities to get a travel permit which is issued for free. This permit will be checked along the road, so don't leave without it!
László Wágner, Hungary (Sept 04)
There are direct jeeps between Djibouti City and Hargeisa. They cost 20 USD from Hargeisa, where they can be found in front of the Djibouti Cafeteria near the radio tower. They leave Hargeisa around 4pm, and travel on unmarked desert tracks avoiding the roads and police checkpoints. There is a lot of wildlife along the way, so you might want to tell the driver beforehand that he should stop for photos if you wish! The jeeps stop around midnight at a few restaurants about 2 hours before the border where passengers sleep out on mats. Next morning they drive to the border at Loyada. At the Somaliland immigration foreigners pay a 10 USD exit tax. Then you walk over to Djibouti immigration to get stamped in there however you should get a Djibouti visa before coming to Somaliland! It is recommended to carry your luggage with you, as all luggage left in the Somali jeep is opened and searched thoroughly. Once over the border, wait for the jeep to get through and take you on to Djibouti City.
If coming from Djibouti City, the jeeps to Hargeisa can be found along a road in the south of the African Quarter (you can take a taxi there) and they may charge more going that way. A Somaliland visa may perhaps be obtained at the Loyada border for just 20 USD, but it would be safer to get one from the Somaliland Liaison Office in Addis (Ethiopia) before coming to Djibouti.
László Wágner, Hungary (Sept 04)
There is now a Djibouti consulate in Kampala. It's hidden behind the Gapco service station on the road to Kisamenti. The consulate is open until 5pm, and the friendly consul will issue visa in about 15 minutes for US$40. It is very close to the Ethiopian embassy so if you plan to visit both countries, you can get the visa the same day as you pick up your Ethiopian visa. The Djibouti visa is cheaper from the French embassy but could take 48 hours. The French embassy has moved to Lumumba road.
Hanne Finholt, Norway (Mar 03)
The border crossing in Danakil from Ethiopia to Djibouti is easy: a few miles before Galafi there is the Ethiopian border shack by the roadside on the left. If the official isn't there he cannot be far - this is in the middle of barren wasteland, i.e. he can only be in the nearby bar. In Galafi by the roadblock there is the Djiboutian border post. They were unfamiliar with my ten day visa issued by the French embassy but reasonable enough to acknowledge it after quarter of an hour of deep thinking.
At Djibouti port there are usually several dhows that can take you to al-Makha or Aden in Yemen after at most a couple of days waiting (the loading). Sometimes dhows depart also to Bosaso. The latter trip is not to be taken lightly - Puntland is still quite unstable and there have also been several recent incidents of piracy along the Somalian north coast. There are apparently no boats from Djibouti to Berbera, but since Somaliland imports a lot of goods from Yemen, it is possible to do the trip in two legs: first a dhow from Djibouti city to Aden and another from there to Berbera.
Kari Eloranta, Finland (Jan 03)
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