Eritrea: Getting there & around

Eritrean Airlines run weekly passenger and cargo flights from Asmara to Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan and Djibouti. Asmara is also served by EgyptAir from Cairo (Egypt), Lufthansa from Germany and Yemenia Airlines from Sanaa. Tickets can only be paid in US dollars cash, so make sure you have some with you. The only border officially open is from Eritrea to Djibouti.Travel overland to Djibouti is now possible as the relations between the two countries have normalised. Only dirt roads lead south of the town of Assab to Djibouti. Very little traffic heads south, except for some shared taxis that go to Moulhoule, the first town after the border. The border between Eritrea and Ethiopia is closed and all transport services are suspended. The situation is fairly volatile with Sudan; check with the Sudanese embassy in Asmara.

Eritrean Airlines, based in Asmara, flies to just one domestic destination: Assab. There is a relatively good network of roads connecting Asmara with Keren, Massawa, Adi Quala and Barentu. The bus service is reasonably efficient, comfortable and extensive. There are usually at least two buses a day between the larger towns (Asmara, Massawa and Keren) and at least one bus a day between the smaller ones. Fares are cheap (about US$3.00 for the stretch Asmara-Massawa). Note that buses don't adhere to fixed timetables: they leave when they are full. For long-distance journeys, you need to be at the bus station by 06:00 to buy a ticket and be guaranteed a seat. The old railway line that stretches between Asmara and Massawa has been repaired and chartered services for groups of tourists can be organised.