The Sudan-Egypt border crossing is notorious for its bureaucracy. We awoke bright and early after three hours of sleep, determined to get a good start. Unfortunately, as we arrived at the gate, so did six passenger buses. It was going to be a long day.

As we moved through the process of exiting Sudan, we were repeatedly greeted with surprise charges. We had exited many countries by this stage, and this was the first time we had been asked to pay in order to leave. The bill came out as follows:

The original pricing provided by a room full of uniformed Sudanese border officials.

And after a few more discussions, a revised version:

The revised bill after a few conversations over tea.

We made it out of the Sudan border post in a mere two and a half hours, cautiously optimistic about what was to come.

Our route through the shelters of the Sudan border post.

The Egyptian bureaucracy started even before we entered the compound with compulsory “quarantine” and “entrance” fees at the gate, administered by the border control “bouncer”. An onslaught of paperwork and fees ensued as we were sent back and forth between the buildings.

A slightly longer walk through the Egyptian border post. Yes mom, we did wear sunscreen.

It took us five hours to navigate the process but we made it out before nightfall. Egyptian number plates professionally fitted and good to go.

Ross’s glorious handy-work.

Note: If you plan to tackle the Sudan-Egypt border yourself, I highly recommend this step-by-step blog. We would have been lost without it.

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Published by Ross

Variety is the spice of life, and I like things spicy.