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DJIBOUTI G SU H E I TC T R TVHI N VA I NGGLAGRUOIUDNE D
another bus to Djibouti City; see p288. Bring plenty of water. » From Djibouti City, buses leave at dawn from Ave Gamel Abdel Nasser. The company is called Société Bus Assajog (Map p302; %77846670). Buy your ticket (DFr3000) at least a day in advance to be sure of getting a seat.
expect to pay around DFr25,000 a day. Fuel is generally extra, although not always.
Local Transport Public transport is available between Djibouti City (see p318) and major towns. It’s a cheap way to get around but services are infrequent in remote areas.
Hitching
Tours
Hitching is never entirely safe in any country, and we don’t recommend it. Still, if you want to enter Djibouti from Ethiopia via the border town of Galafi, you can hitch a lift (front seats only) with one of the legions of trucks that ply the route between Addis Ababa and Djibouti City via Awash, Gewane, Logiya and Dikhil. This option is best avoided by women.
Train
Djibouti is not properly geared up for DIY tourism. The only way of getting to some of the country’s principal attractions is by joining an excursion. Tours are expensive (from DFr15,000 per person), but the price includes food and accommodation. Try to be part of an existing group – the more people, the less you pay. Your chances of joining an existing tour group are decidedly greater at weekends.
There are plans to resurrect the old Djibouti City–Addis Ababa train.
Agence Le Goubet (%21354520; valerie@ riesgroup.dj; Blvd Cheikh Osman) Can make
SOMALILAND
From Ave 26, 4WDs depart daily to Hargeisa and Borama. They usually leave around 3pm (it’s wise to buy your ticket in the morning). The border crossing is at Loyaada. It costs from DFr6000 (back seat) to DFr9000 (front seat). Be warned: it’s a taxing journey. Bring plenty of water.
Getting Around Boat A passenger boat operates between Djibouti City and Tadjoura and between Djibouti City and Obock (see p318).
Car »
The Route de l’Unité, a good sealed road, covers the 240km from the capital around the Gulf de Tadjoura, as far as Obock. » Off-road excursions into the interior are usually off limits to anything other than a 4WD. » Most rental agencies make hiring a driver compulsory with their vehicles. » There are several car-hire agencies in Djibouti City (p318), but the prices really don’t vary much. For a 4WD with driver
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bookings to Plage des Sables Blancs and in the campements touristiques. It sometimes organises kayaking trips on Lac Assal. Also sells flight tickets. Ask for Valerie, who can get by in English. Agence Safar (%77814115; safar.djibouti@ gmail.com) Friendly and professional, this
operator seems to go the extra mile for their customers. It organises all kinds of customised tours throughout the country, including multiday guided treks and excursions to Lac Abbé and Lac Assal. Can also make bookings in the campements touristiques. The owner, Houmed Ali, knows everything about the Afar culture. Dolphin (%21350313, 77718034, 77825318; www.dolphin-excursions.com; Blvd de la République) This well-established operator can
organise all kinds of tours throughout the country, on land and at sea, as well as live-aboard dive boats to the Gulf of Tadjoura. Houmed Loita (%77822291, 21357244; houmed_asboley@hotmail.fr) Friendly Houmed
Loita runs the Campement Touristique d’Asboley and can organise all kinds of cultural trips and excursions.
4/03/2013 4:13:00 PM