By Air to Eritrea and other Eritrea Transportation Tips

'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: Eritrea is only served by a few airlines.
Of the neighbouring countries it is connected to Sudan, Djibouti and Yemen (but not Ethiopia!), while in Europe Rome, Milan, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt (and by now perhaps London) have direct flights.
Some of the cheapest flights to Eritrea tend to be on Egypt Air via Cairo.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: As of 2004, the only land border of Eritrea open for travellers was the one with Djibouti.
There are shared taxis between Assab in Eritrea and Moulhoule in Djibouti, with connections to Obbock.

The Sudanese border was only crossed by locals illegally during my visit, but reopened in late 2006. It remains to be seen how long it will stay open, and you need travel permits to reach the border towns (Kassala in Sudan and Tesseney in Eritrea) from either side.

The heavily militarized Ethiopian border is as tightly sealed as they get.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: Many travellers are hoping to catch a boat between Massawa & Sudan/Egypt, and Assab & Yemen.
However there are no passenger boats on either of these routes, and even if you found a cargo ship going your way, burocracy might stop you from taking it!

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: The only domestic flight in Eritrea is between Asmara and Assab.
Tickets can be hard to get, so you may have to go by bus anyway.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Bus
Getting TO/AROUND: There is an extensive and cheap bus service around much of Eritrea. Fares are incredibly low: around 1 USD for a 3-4 hour long journey! Of course, at these prices you can't expect much in the way of comforts.

Should you need those comforts (or flexiblity), you can either hire a car to drive yourself, or hire a taxi with a driver to take you around.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Train
Getting TO/AROUND: The Italians built a good railway network in Eritrea under their rule, but it has fallen into disuse later on.
However, since independence the Eritrean givernment has restored the extremely scenic line between Asmara and Massawa. Unfortunately there are no scheduled services anyway (probably because the buses are faster). Your only hope is tagging along for a ride on services chartered by tour-groups.

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'Mode': AROUND
Category: Ship/Boat
Getting TO/AROUND: The Dahlak Islands off Massawa can only be reached by boat. Unfortunately there is no regular service and charter are very expensive (around 200 USD/day).

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