Hi all!
I´m planning a trip from Iran to somewhere in the east coast of Africa, so i was thinking of taking a boat to Oman and then, since i don´t think i´ll be able to get a visa for Yemen, i was wondering if there is any boat going from Oman to Djibouti or Eritrea. Or is there any chance to get a transit visa for Yemen in Muscat in order to get a boat from Yemen to Djibouti? Thanks a lot!
Cheers
Sergi
I have no idea, but if I were you I would visit Yemen, which sounds like a very interesting place.Of course you need to be extra careful and perhaps stick to the main places.
In short, no to all of the above. 1) there are no ferries that run to/from Oman. 2) There is no chance of getting a transit visa in Muscat. 3) Even getting a tourist visa would require an return ticket.
And regarding the boat option:
"Piracy is a significant threat in Yemeni waters"
from
http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/destinations/yemen.shtml
Do you have a visa for Eritrea? It's one of the more problematic ones in a tough region. Getting from Yemen to Djibouti is (or was) doable but it isn't the easiest crossing and those waters are increasingly risky. Not saying it can't be done, but you need to do a good deal of research to assess the risks and get through the red tape.
Would be a great trip indeed. As chriskean allready pointed out, the visa for Eritrea would be tricky. On wikitravel the have the following warning "Travelers should exercise caution as the Eritrean government has placed restrictions on travel outside the capital city and heightened tensions exist along Eritrea's borders with Ethiopia and Djibouti. " So it would be difficult to arrange. Also Eritrea has some issues with Yemen about some small islands.
I can only recommend the book Motoring with Mohammed: Journeys to Yemen and the Red Sea by Eric Hansen. It goes mostly about Yemen but he also writes about how he got shipwrecked on a desert island in the Red Sea. So maybe, hopefully not, will the info in that part of the book also become useful. The code word is goatsmuggeling.