Middle East

Getting there & away

Travel documents

Tickets

Buying cheap air tickets in the Middle East isn't easy. Usually the best deal you can get is an airline's official excursion fare and no discount on single tickets unless you qualify for a youth or student fare. Some travel agencies in the Middle East will knock the price down by up to 10% if you're persistent, but may then tie you into fixed dates or flying with a less popular airline.

The nearest thing you'll find to a discount-ticket market in the Middle East is offered by some travel agencies in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, particularly in Tel Aviv, and in İstanbul, especially in Sultanahmet.

As well as discounts on tickets to Western Europe and North America, the İstanbul agencies often have cheap deals on flights to places such as Moscow, Mumbai/Delhi and Singapore/Bangkok.

Travel agencies recommended for online bookings:

American Express Travel (www.itn.net)

Cheap Tickets (www.cheaptickets.com)

Expedia.com (www.expedia.com)

Lowestfare.com (www.lowestfare.com)

Orbitz (www.orbitz.com)

STA Travel (www.statravel.com)

Travelocity (www.travelocity.com)

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Sea

Ferries shuttle reasonably regularly between southern Europe and Israel, Turkey and Egypt. There are other less frequented routes connecting Egypt with Sudan and the Arabian Peninsula.

As well as the services listed below, some cruise liners call at Middle Eastern ports such as Suez, Alexandria, Tripoli, Benghazi or Tobruk. A good travel agent should be able to tell you what's available in the season you are travelling.

A slight discount may apply on return tickets as well as student, youth or child fares on some lines. Schedules tend to change at least annually according to demand; fares, too, often fluctuate according to season, especially on the Mediterranean routes.

Although vehicles can be shipped on most of the following routes, bookings may have to be made some time in advance. The charge usually depends on the length or volume of the vehicle and should be checked with the carrier. As a rule, motorcycles cost almost nothing to ship while bicycles are free.

You're unlikely to regret taking an adequate supply of food and drink with you on any of these ships; even if it is available on board you're pretty stuck if it doesn't agree with you or your budget.

Between Greece, Cyprus and Israel & the Palestinian Territories

Twice-weekly car and passenger ferry services connect Haifa and Piraeus (the port for Athens), with a stop at Limassol (Cyprus). For more information about sailing times and fares, contact Rosenfeld Shipping (04-861 3671; reservations@rosenfeld.net) in Israel.

At the time of writing, boats depart from Haifa at 8pm Monday and Thursday and arrive in Limassol (US$160/285/225/125 for passenger/jeep/car/motorcycle) around 10 hours later, with a further 12-hour journey on to Piraeus (US$250/460/385/277). Fares include port taxes, war-risk taxes and all breakfasts and dinners; return fares are about 20% less than two one-way fares.

Between Italy, Greece & Turkey

Private ferries link Turkey's Aegean coast and the Greek islands, which are in turn linked by air or boat to Athens. Services are usually daily in summer, several times a week in spring and autumn and perhaps just once a week in winter.

From Çeşsme, situated about 85km west of İzmir, Marmara Lines (www.marmaralines.com; per person from €110; 2½ days) ferries run twice weekly to Brindisi via Corfu and Patras in Greece (once weekly in winter).

Marmara Lines also connects Ancona in Italy from Çeşme between April and November (from €200, 2½ days).

Daily boats operate from Ayvalik to Lesvos (Greece) from June to September (€40/50 one way/return). There's at least one boat a week, even in winter. Çeşme is a transit point to the Greek island of Chios, 10km away across the water. In summer, there are daily ferries to Chios (€35/40 one way/return), and at least three weekly services in winter. Buy your ticket from any travel agency at the harbour.

All Kuşadası travel agencies sell tickets to the Greek island of Samos. There's at least one daily boat to/from Samos year-round (€30 one way, €35 same-day return). In summer, daily hydrofoils (€33 same-day return) and ferries (€23 same-day return), link Bodrum with Kos (Greece); in winter services shrink to three times weekly. In summer, there are also two weekly services to Rhodes (Rhodos, €45 one way, €50 same-day return); check with the ferry offices near the castle. From Marmaris, hydrofoils to Rhodes operate twice daily in summer (once or twice weekly in winter) for €40 one way/same-day return (one hour). Buy your ticket in any Marmaris travel agency.

Between Cyprus & Turkey

From Alanya, there are ferries to Girne (Northern Cyprus) three times a week from April to October for a return fare of €83 including tax.

If you have a multiple-entry visa for Turkey you should be able to cross over to Northern Cyprus and back again without buying a new one. However, if your visa has expired, you should anticipate long queues at immigration.

Between Russia & Turkey

Travelling from Trabzon, there are two to three weekly ferry services to Sochi (from €50 one way).

Between Cyprus & Egypt

From Port Said, boats to Limassol in Cyprus depart twice weekly from May to November. A ticket costs US$120 one way. For information and tickets, visit one of the many shipping agencies in Port Said. These include Canal Tours (066-332 1874, 012 798 6338; canaltours@bec.com.eg).

Between Sudan, Saudi Arabia & Egypt

Telestar Tours (in Cairo 02-794 4600, in Suez 062-332 6251) runs a ferry between Port Sudan and Suez three times per week. Tickets cost E£300 one way.

The Nile River Valley Transport Corporation (in Aswan 097-303 348, in Cairo 02-575 9058) runs one passenger ferry per week from Aswan to Wadi Halfa. One-way tickets cost E£383.50 for 1st class with bed in a cabin; E£236 for an airline seat and E£164.50 for deck class. At the time of research the ferry was departing on Monday at around noon. The trip takes between 16 and 24 hours. Passengers should arrive at about 8.30am to allow time to clear customs and fight for a decent seat.

To board the ferry, you must have a valid Sudanese visa in your passport.

Telestar Tours also runs an irregular ferry service between Suez and Jeddah (about 36 hours). Tickets cost E£300/400/500/600 for deck/3rd/2nd/1st class (or the US dollar equivalent). The ferry also carries cars. Note that getting a berth during the haj is virtually impossible.

There's also a thrice weekly fast ferry (adult/child E£300/200, three hours) between Hurghada and Duba in Saudi Arabia. You must be at the port three hours before departure. For information, contact an agent for International Fast Ferries Co (in Hurghada 065-344 7571; www.internationalfastferries.com) or enquire at the Hurghada port.

You will not be allowed to board any of these services unless you have a valid Saudi visa in your passport.

Between Iran & the Arabian Peninsula

Iran's Valfajre 8 Shipping Company has regular but unpredictable ferries between several Gulf ports. For travellers, the Bandar-e Abbas-Dubai (US$55 in 1st class, one way) fast boat service is the most convenient, though flying is easier and cheaper. Slow boat services between Bushehr and Kuwait (US$64), Qatar (US$43) and Bahrain (US$45) could also be useful. For schedules and prices, see www.vesc.net.

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Land

Border crossings

Border crossings in the Middle East can be slow and it can take hours to pass through immigration and customs formalities, especially if you bring your own car. Make certain that you have all the required documentation with you. Showing patience, politeness and good humour is likely to speed up the process.

If travelling independently overland to or from the Middle East - whether hitching, cycling, driving your own car or riding by train or by bus - you can approach the region overland from Africa, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Europe or Pakistan.

Africa

Travel between Africa and the Middle East was extremely problematic at the time of writing. The Nile ferry connecting Aswan in Egypt to Wadi Halfa in Sudan is running, but much of Sudan is unsafe for travel. Most East African overlanders skip Sudan by flying from Egypt to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia; but, recent clashes on the Eritrean-Ethiopian border have now placed a big question mark over the validity of this option.

Many travellers fly to Tunisia (for which there are numerous cheap flights) and then cross the Tunisia-Libya border by land at the Ras al-Jedir border post (the only border crossing open to travellers). There are numerous buses and shared taxis between Tripoli and Tunis, although most travellers take a Tunisian shared taxi from Sfax or Ben Guerdane as far as the border where their Libyan tour company will meet them and arrange onward travel.

Some hardy souls make the long desert crossing into Niger via the Libyan border post at Tumu. Other than overloaded and downright dangerous trucks carrying African immigrants, there is no regular public transport between the two countries, and the journey to Agadez in Niger - which involves crossing the Sahara desert - is only for the well equipped and well prepared. Visas are not available at the border in either direction, so make sure you have one before setting out.

Libya's borders with Algeria, Chad and Sudan are not open to foreigners.

Armenia & Georgia

The main border crossing from Turkey into Georgia is at Sarp on the Black Sea coast, near Hopa, but you can also cross at Posof, near Ardahan. The Sarp border crossing is open 24 hours a day, but Posof closes at night.

From Trabzon otogar there are daily bus services to Tiflis (Tbilisi, Georgia, €25, 20 hours) and on to Erivan (Armenia, €30, 25 hours) via the Sarp border crossing. You can also take a minibus from Trabzon to Sarp (€7) and on the other side of the border you can take a taxi to Batumi (about €15).

A certain amount of extortion seems to be a fact of life at these borders, especially when coming back into Turkey.

In Turkey, the train line from Ankara to Erzurum runs as far as Kars but at the time of writing the Turkish-Armenian border was closed to foreign travellers.

The border between Armenia and Iran is open at Agarak (Armenia) and Norduz (Iran), about an hour by private taxi (IR60,000) from Jolfa, in northwestern Iran. The border is theoretically open 24 hours and Armenian visas are available there for US$30, or US$20 for a three-day transit visa; Iranian visas are not. It's faster and more fun to take public transport to either side of the border, but buses do run between Tabriz (IR150,000) or Tehran (IR250,000) in Iran and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, several times weekly.

Azerbaijan

Some of the buses from Trabzon to Tbilisi continue to Baku (US$75, plus a US$10 'tip' payable on the bus if you're going to Tbilisi, US$25 for Baku). It's a fairly gruelling journey with a three- to four-hour delay at Sarp on the border with Turkey and Georgia - mainly because the Georgians and Azerbaijanis buy up and take home half of Turkey. Trabzon to Tbilisi takes the best part of 19 hours.

You can also cross from Turkey to the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhichevan via the remote Borualan/Sadarak border post, 105km southeast of Iğdır. Once in Nakhichevan, you'll have to fly across Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh to reach Baku, the Azerbaijani capital. From Iğdır, there are about seven daily minibuses to the border (€4, three hours).

You can enter Iran with little hassle at the twin towns of Astara between 8.30am and 6.30pm - visas are not available at the border. Astara is accessed via hops from Rasht in the west or Ardabil and Tabriz to the south. Alternatively, direct buses between the Azerbaijan capital of Baku and Tabriz (IR150,000, eight hours) or Tehran (IR150,000, 16 hours) leave the Iranian cities nightly, but the border wait can be long.

Afghanistan

Crossing the Afghan border (open 7.30am to 4.30pm) is easy at Dogharon, southeast of Taybad in northeastern Iran. Most travellers take the direct bus between the Mashhad terminal and Herat (IR55,000, eight to 12 hours), the major city in northeastern Afghanistan. This service is prone to lengthy delays at the border but is safer and easier. Alternatively, take a bus to Taybad (three hours), a savari the 20km to the border, walk across and find something going to Herat. Visas are available in two days in Mashhad, but note that Afghanistan is definitely not for the faint-hearted or inexperienced.

Turkmenistan

There are two main crossings between Iran and Turkmenistan. Visas are not available on arrival in either direction. The Bajgiran border is easiest, with regular savaris (long-distance taxis, IR20,000 per person, 3½ hours) leaving from 100m north of Azadi Sq in Mashhad, and regular buses from the terminal running via Quchan. You'll have to change transport at the border (open 24 hours, but best between 8am and 6pm), and on the Turkmen side it's a short but costly hop to the capital, Ashghabat.

The relatively quiet border (open from 8am to 5pm) at Sarakhs (Iran) and Saraghs (Turkmenistan) is easy to reach by bus, savari or train from Mashhad although the train times can be annoying. From the Turkmen side, occasional buses and savaris run to Mary (three to four hours).

Travelling in either direction you must obtain a visa in advance.

Europe

One train a day heads from İstanbul to Bucharest (17 hours) and then on to Budapest (31 hours), with connections elsewhere in Europe. There have been reports of long delays and hassle, especially for women, at the Bulgarian border.

Despite the romantic appeal of train journeys, getting to Turkey overland is usually cheaper and faster by bus. Several Turkish bus lines, including Ulusoy, Varan and Bosfor, offer reliable and quite comfortable services between İstanbul and major European cities such as Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna for around US$80 one way. These services travel via Greece and the ferry to Italy, thereby avoiding any hassle at the Bulgarian border.

Bulgaria & other Eastern European countries

The main border crossing between Bulgaria and Turkey is at busy Kapitan-Andreevo/Kapıkule, 18km west of Edirne. It's open 24 hours.

From İstanbul, there are regular bus services to Sofia and Plovdiv (about €25), transiting the border post at Kapıkule. Or you can head for the Bulgarian border crossing at Kapıkule from Edirne (€0.50).

If you plan on leaving the Middle East via Bulgaria, nationals of the USA and the EU are admitted without a visa for stays of less than 30 days. Travellers of other nationalities (including Aussies, Kiwis and Canadians) need a transit visa, which is issued at the border for US$68.

A few bus services are offered from İstanbul otogar (bus station) to Macedonia (€30), Kosovo (€35) and Romania (€30). These all pass via the Kapıkule border post.

From İstanbul's Sirkeci Railway Station, there's the daily Bosfor Ekspresi service to Budapest via Sofia and Bucharest.

Greece

The crossing points between western Thrace in Greece and eastern Thrace in Turkey are at Kipi/İpsala, and Kastanies/Pazarkule, near Edirne.

At least six weekly buses travel from Athens' Peloponnese train station to İstanbul (around US$85; 22 hours). You can also pick up the bus in Thessaloniki (around US$60) and at Alexandroupolis (US$25). Alternatively, you can make your own way to Alexandroupolis and take a service from the intercity bus station to the border town of Kipi (US$3, thrice daily). You can't walk across the border but it's easy enough to hitch (you may be able to get a lift all the way to İstanbul). Otherwise, take a bus to İpsala (5km east beyond the border) or Keşan (30km east beyond the border), from where there are many buses to the capital.

Greece's sole rail link with Turkey is the daily Thessaloniki-İstanbul service. The train leaves İstanbul late in the evening, arriving in Thessaloniki late the next afternoon; in the reverse direction, it leaves Thessaloniki late in the evening. Although the 1400km trip is supposed to take 16 hours, delays of more than five or six hours at the border are common, especially on the eastbound leg, and the train can get uncomfortably crowded and hot. Only 2nd-class seats (US$40) are available.

Pakistan

The only proper crossing for foreigners is between Mirjaveh (Iran) and Taftan (Pakistan). It's pretty smooth as long as your papers are in order and you don't take the train, which might see you stranded at the border for ever as your fellow passengers are exhaustively searched. This would be a fate worse than death, as Taftan has been described, not unfairly, as hell on earth. It's best to take a bus (IR5500) or savari (about IR15,000) between Zahedan and the border, and a bus for the mind-numbingly long trip between Taftan and Quetta. Bargain hard! The border opens from about 7am to 4.30pm Iranian time.

Car & motorcycle

Anyone who is planning to take their own vehicle with them needs to check in advance what spare parts and petrol are likely to be available. A number of documents are also required:

Green card Issued by insurers. Insurance for some countries is only obtainable at the border.

International Driving Permit (IDP) Although most foreign licences are acceptable in Middle Eastern countries, an IDP issued by your local automobile association is highly recommended, and is required for entry with a vehicle at some border crossings.

Vehicle registration documents In addition to carrying all ownership papers, check with your insurer whether you're covered for the countries you intend to visit and whether third-party cover is included.

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Entering the destination

Entering the Middle East

Please note that neither Israeli citizens nor anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport will be allowed to enter Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria or Libya.

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Tours

International tour companies offer a host of tour possibilities for visiting the Middle East - everything from a package tour by the beach to a more gruelling six-week overland expedition.

One particular point to note: at the time of research, Libya could only be visited as part of an organised tour. Although public transport exists throughout Libya, most of your transport will be organised by your tour company once you reach the border.

Australia & elsewhere

In Australia and elsewhere, most of the companies that offer tours to the Middle East do so as agents for the UK packages.

In Australia, there are also a few interesting home-grown outfits:

Passport Travel (03-9867 3888; www.travelcentre.com.au) Middle East specialist (especially Libya, Egypt and Jordan) with a focus on arranging itineraries for individuals or groups.

Ya'lla Tours (03-9510 2844; yallamel@yalltours.com.au) Wide variety of package and private arrangement tours to the Middle East.

An innovative Netherlands-based company is Idrisi Travel (0492-340632; info@idrisitravel.co.uk), which specialises in walking and archaeology with tours to Jordan and Libya.

UK

Adventure Company (0870 794 1009; www.adventurecompany.co.uk) Small-group 'adventure' tours with structured itineraries to Egypt and Jordan.

Crusader Travel (020-8744 0474; www.crusadertravel.com) Diving and adventure tours from Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Territories and Turkey.

Dragoman (0870 499 4475; www.dragoman.com) The largest of the overland companies takes in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Libya and Egypt, not to mention just about everywhere else on the planet.

Economic Expeditions (020-7262 0177; www.economicexpeditions.com) İstanbul to Cairo, or vice versa.

Exodus (020-8675 5550; www.exodus.co.uk) Overland and adventure trips covering Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Turkey.

Explore Worldwide (0870 333 4001; www.exploreworldwide.com) Small group exploratory holidays that take in Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

Imaginative Traveller (0800 316 2717; www.imaginative-traveller.com) Highly professional, established outfit with a vast range of tours offered to Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Syria and Turkey.

Kumuka (020-7937 8855; www.kumuka.com) Masses of routes offered including dedicated explorations of Egypt, Jordan or Syria.

Oasis Overland (01963 363 400; www.oasisoverland.co.uk) Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

On the Go (020-7371 1113; www.onthegotours.com) Egypt and Turkey specialist with the odd detour into Jordan.

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Air

All the major European, Middle Eastern and some Asian airlines serve the principal cities of the Middle East, although the cheapest (and most frequent) flights head for Cairo, İstanbul and Tel Aviv. Outside these three, most of the Middle East is still seen primarily as a business destination, a fact reflected in the expense of flying there.

What this means in practice is that when booking a flight to the Middle East, you shouldn't automatically aim for the airport nearest to where you are going. For instance, your first destination might be Jordan, but you may find tickets to Tel Aviv significantly cheaper, even taking into account the cost of the overland trip to Amman.

Airlines

The following airlines all fly into the Middle East:

Afriqiyah Airways (airline code 8U; www.afriqiyah.aero) Hub: Tripoli.

Air Canada (airline code AC; www.aircanda.com) Hub: Pearson International Airport, Toronto.

Air France (airline code AF; www.airfrance.com) Hub: Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Paris.

Alitalia (airline code AZ; www.alitalia.com) Hub: Rome.

American Airlines (airline code AA; www.aa.com) Hub: O'Hare Airport, Chicago.

Austrian Airlines (airline code OS; www.aua.com) Hub: Vienna.

British Airways (airline code BA; www.britishairways.com) Hub: Heathrow Airport, London.

EgyptAir (airline code MS; www.egyptair.com.eg) Hub: Cairo.

El Al (airline code LY; www.elal.co.il) Hub: Tel Aviv.

Emirates (airline code EK; www.emirates.com) Hub: Dubai.

Ethiopian Airlines (airline code ET; www.flyethiopian.com/new/) Hub: Addis Ababa.

Gulf Air (airline code GF; www.gulfairco.com) Hub: Bahrain.

Iran Air (airline code IR; www.iranair.com) Hub: Tehran Mehrabad Airport.

Iran Aseman (airline code EP; www.iaa.ir) Hub: Tehran.

Kenya Airways (airline code KQ; www.kenya-airways.com) Hub: Nairobi.

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (airline code KL; www.klm.com) Hub: Amsterdam Schipol Airport.

Kuwait Airways (airline code KU; www.kuwait-airways.com) Hub: Kuwait City.

Kyrgyz Airways (airline code KT) Hub: Bishkek.

Libyan Arab Airlines (airline code LN) Hub: Tripoli.

Lufthansa (airline code LH; www.lufthansa.com) Hub: Frankfurt.

Mahan Air (airline code W5; ) Hub: Tehran.

Middle East Airlines (airline code ME; www.mea.com.lb) Hub: Beirut.

Olympic Airlines (airline code OA; www.olympicairlines.com) Hub: Athens.

Point-Afrique (www.point-afrique.com in French) Hub: Paris.

Qantas Airways (airline code QF; www.qantas.com) Hub: Sydney Airport.

Qatar Airways (airline code QR; www.qatarairways.com) Hub: Doha.

Royal Jordanian (airline code RJ; www.rja.com.jo) Hub: Amman.

Singapore Airlines (airline code SIA; www.singaporeair.com) Hub: Singapore Changi Airport.

Sudan Airways (airline code: SD; www.sudanair.com) Hub: Khartoum.

Swiss International Airlines (airline code LX; www.swiss.com) Hub: Zurich.

Syrianair (airline code RB; www.syriaair.com) Hub: Damascus.

Tunis Air (airline code TU; www.tunisair.com) Hub: Tunis.

Turkish Airlines (airline code TK; www.turkishairlines.com) Hub: İstanbul.

Turkmenistan Airways (airline code T5) Hub: Ashghabat.

Uzbek Airways (airline code HY; www.airways.uz) Hub: Tashkent.

Africa

The widest choice of African destinations is offered by EgyptAir, but, despite the proximity, there is nothing cheap about flying from the Middle East into Africa. In fact, for most African capitals a ticket bought in London will be cheaper than one bought in the Middle East. The best bet is to buy your African ticket with a stopover in the Middle East.

As an idea of prices, Cairo to Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines and EgyptAir) is around US$600/850 one way/return; Nairobi (Kenya Airways) is US$635 one way; and Khartoum (EgyptAir and Sudan Airways) is US$400/490 one way/return.

Another alternative is Afriqiyah Airways, which connects Tripoli with 11 sub-Saharan African capitals, including Bamako (Mali), Accra (Ghana), Lagos (Nigeria) and Khartoum (Sudan).

Australia & New Zealand

EgyptAir has a regular service from Sydney via Southeast Asia to Cairo, from where there are connections to almost all other Middle Eastern destinations. However, the aircraft and in-flight service are much better with Gulf Air and Emirates, both of which fly out of Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Dubai, with connections onward from there to most other Middle Eastern capitals. Return fares to the Middle East start from around A$1450. Gulf Air's round-the-world (RTW) fare could be good value if you also want to visit London and stop over in Asia.

If you're heading for Tel Aviv, Qantas Airways and El Al via Asia are the best. Other options include Alitalia via Milan, Lufthansa Airlines via Frankfurt or KLM Royal Dutch Airlines via Amsterdam.

Both STA Travel (1300 733 035; www.statravel.com.au) and Flight Centre (133 133; www.flightcentre.com.au) have offices throughout Australia. For online bookings, try www.travel.com.au.

In New Zealand both Flight Centre (0800 243 544; www.flightcentre.co.nz) and STA Travel (0508 782 872; www.statravel.co.nz) have branches throughout the country. The site www.travel.co.nz is recommended for online bookings.

Central Asia & the Caucasus

There is a small but rapidly growing number of flights from the Middle East to Central Asian and Caucasus destinations. There are regular flights between İstanbul and Almaty (Kazakhstan), Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Baku (Azerbaijan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Ashghabat (Turkmenistan) with either Turkish Airlines or the national airlines of each country. There are also flights to these destinations from Tehran with either Iran Air or Iran Aseman, as well as services from Mashhad to Ashghabat, Bishkek and Dushanbe.

From Tel Aviv, Uzbekistan Airways flies to Tashkent.

Europe

Although London is the travel discount capital of Europe, there are several other cities where you'll find a range of good deals, particularly Frankfurt. Generally there's not much variation in air fare prices for departures from the main European cities. All the major airlines are usually offering some sort of deal and travel agencies generally have a number of special offers, so shop around.

Look out for cheap charter flight packages from western Europe to destinations in Turkey, Egypt and Israel. Some of the flight-plus-accommodation packages offered by travel agencies can work out to be cheaper than a standard flight, although often the dates can be very restrictive.

Afriqiyah Airways flies to Tripoli from London Gatwick, Brussels, Paris and Geneva, while Mahan Air offer flights to Tehran from Birmingham and Düsseldorf. Another option is to fly with Point-Afrique from Paris or Marseilles to the Libyan oasis town of Ghat (late October to early May only).

Mainland Europe

Most European carriers fly into the major cities of the Middle East (usually several times a week); the most frequent connections are with Paris, Frankfurt, Rome and Athens. Unless you're travelling on a charter flight, expect to pay around €500 as a minimum, but you could pay a whole lot more.

Recommended agencies on the mainland:

Airfair (020 620 5121; www.airfair.nl; Netherlands)

Barcelo Viajes (902 116 226; www.barceloviajes.com; Spain)

CTS Viaggi (06 462 0431; www.cts.it; Italy)

Expedia (www.expedia.de; Germany)

Nouvelles Frontières (0825 000 747; www.nouvelles-frontieres.fr; France)

STA Travel (01805 456 422; www.statravel.de; Germany)

Voyageurs du Monde (01 40 15 11 15; www.vdm.com; France)

UK

You can get to the Middle East on direct flights from almost any European city of any size. For the past few years fares to the region have remained fairly steady and the cheapest return fares you can expect to find (including all taxes) are around UK£235 to İstanbul, UK£250 to Cairo or Tel Aviv and UK£275 to Damascus.

As far as Middle East flights are concerned, there are few dedicated specialists and the best bet is to call STA Travel (020-7361 6142; www.statravel.co.uk) and Trailfinders (020-7938 3939; www.trailfinders.co.uk), both of which have branches throughout the UK.

If you're looking to fly into Egypt then it's also worth calling Soliman Travel (020-7244 6855; www.solimantravel.com), a reputable Egypt specialist that often manages to undercut the competition.

USA & Canada

There are more flights from the USA than from Canada, but still not that many: Royal Jordanian flies between New York/Chicago and Amman; EgyptAir flies between New York/Los Angeles and Cairo; while El Al connects Tel Aviv to a number of US cities as well as Montreal. Expect to pay around US$1400 for a return ticket.

Otherwise, it may work out cheaper to go via Europe or even fly to London and buy a ticket from a bucket shop there; the latter option would depend on the fare to London and the time you would have to spend in London waiting for a flight out.

Council Travel (800-226 8624; www.ciee.org; 205 E 42 St, New York, NY 10017), America's largest student travel organisation, has around 60 offices in the USA. Call the head office for the office nearest you or visit its website. STA Travel (800-777 0112; www.statravel.com) has offices in many major US cities; call the toll-free 800 number for office locations or visit its website.

Travel CUTS (800-667 2887; www.travelcuts.com) is Canada's national student travel agency and has offices in all major cities.

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