Money and Costs

• Budget hotel room: US$10
• Local-style meal: US$2
• 4WD hire per day: US$150
• Police escort per day: US$20

Somaliland shilling (SISh); US dollars (US$)

• Somaliland’s currency is the Somaliland shilling (SISh). There are bills of SISh500 and SISh1000.
• Your best bet is to carry considerable amounts of US dollars (vastly preferable to euros) that can be exchanged for shillings in hotels, shops and bureaux de change; payment in US dollars is accepted everywhere. Bring a good stash of smaller denomination bills.
• At the time of writing one ATM was being installed in Hargeisa, and there were plans to introduce more ATMs in the city. Don’t get too excited, though – there’s no guarantee that they will work with foreign credit cards; check while in Hargeisa.
• There’s no chance of changing your travellers cheques.
• If you need to wire money, you’ll find Dahabshiil, Western Union and WorldRemit offices in Hargeisa.