Introduction
Kevlar vest; check. Military entourage; check. Somalia, here I come. A traveller to Somalia is spoilt for choice in the number of things that can go wrong.
Destination Facts
Capital: Mogadishu
President: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Prime Minister: Nur Hassan Hussein
Government: transitional
Time zone: GMT +3
Area: 627337
Population: 8025190
Languages: Sunni Muslim
Currency: Somali Shilling (So)
Country Dialing Code: 252
Getting there and away
Daallo Airlines operates weekly services from Dubai, London and Paris to Djibouti, from where there are connections to Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Mogadishu (Southern Somalia). They also have flights from Djibouti to other smaller Somali destinations. Ethiopian Airlines offers flights from Addis Ababa. There's a large amount of dhow traffic from Djibouti and Kenya, but piracy is rife - major merchant ships get shanghai'd in these waters so don't even think about sailing a yacht along Somalia's coast. The land border between Somaliland and Djibouti is open, but it's a difficult two-day truck journey between Djibouti and Hargeisa. From Jijiga in Ethiopia there's bus traffic to Hargeisa. Although the southern border town of Liboi was once a fascinating little place, there's no way you can get overland from Somalia to Kenya at present. Moreover, the entire border area is infested with well-armed Somali shifta (bandits).
Getting around
In Somaliland there are a few sealed roads (the one from Berbera to Hargeisa is one of the few), and medium-sized buses and crowded 4WDs service routes between major Somaliland settlements. However, foreigners are asked to rent a car with driver and guide when travelling outside Hargeisa.
Weather
With a generous serve of desert, it's no surprise that Somalia is as dry as a wafer in the sun. Inland and along the northern coast temperatures can be ferociously hot between May and September, making the coastal humidity particularly treacherous. In the south, temperatures are less severe but the humidity is significantly higher.
Warning
Somalia remains one of the world's most dangerous destinations. Travel is possible in the northern self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland, with the exception of the Sool, southern and eastern Sanaag regions and Buhoodle districts. These areas are in dispute with neighbouring Puntland which remains a no-go area.
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Kevlar vest; check. Military entourage; check. Somalia, here I come. A traveller to Somalia is spoilt for choice in the number of things that can go wrong.
Capital: Mogadishu
President: Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed
Prime Minister: Nur Hassan Hussein
Government: transitional
Time zone: GMT +3
Area: 627337
Population: 8025190
Languages: Sunni Muslim
Currency: Somali Shilling (So)
Country Dialing Code: 252
Daallo Airlines operates weekly services from Dubai, London and Paris to Djibouti, from where there are connections to Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Mogadishu (Southern Somalia). They also have flights from Djibouti to other smaller Somali destinations. Ethiopian Airlines offers flights from Addis Ababa. There's a large amount of dhow traffic from Djibouti and Kenya, but piracy is rife - major merchant ships get shanghai'd in these waters so don't even think about sailing a yacht along Somalia's coast. The land border between Somaliland and Djibouti is open, but it's a difficult two-day truck journey between Djibouti and Hargeisa. From Jijiga in Ethiopia there's bus traffic to Hargeisa. Although the southern border town of Liboi was once a fascinating little place, there's no way you can get overland from Somalia to Kenya at present. Moreover, the entire border area is infested with well-armed Somali shifta (bandits).
In Somaliland there are a few sealed roads (the one from Berbera to Hargeisa is one of the few), and medium-sized buses and crowded 4WDs service routes between major Somaliland settlements. However, foreigners are asked to rent a car with driver and guide when travelling outside Hargeisa.
With a generous serve of desert, it's no surprise that Somalia is as dry as a wafer in the sun. Inland and along the northern coast temperatures can be ferociously hot between May and September, making the coastal humidity particularly treacherous. In the south, temperatures are less severe but the humidity is significantly higher.
Somalia remains one of the world's most dangerous destinations. Travel is possible in the northern self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland, with the exception of the Sool, southern and eastern Sanaag regions and Buhoodle districts. These areas are in dispute with neighbouring Puntland which remains a no-go area.
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