"Elmsaafir's Somalia Page" Top 5 Page for this destination Somalia by Elmsaafir

Somalia Travel Guide: 147 reviews and 317 photos

Spent three months here as part of Operation Restore Hope. Got in Christmas Eve morning after a 3 day flight, landing in the souther port city of Kismayu. Sang Christmas carols with Belgian paratroopers.

We secured the Juba river valley from Kismayu up to Jilib. Lived in an old Chinese Rice farm. Our unit didn't see much action...just a few sniping incidents that were responded to with appropriate force. We were fortunately in an area that hadn't been hit as hard by the famine, and were there at a time when they still "liked" us. Bottom line, we came home with everyone we went with, and that's good.

But, that being said, this picture is why we went...

Somali Flag

We were primarily working in the south of the country, in and around Kismayu. After a few weeks in country, we moved north to Jilib, about 60 miles away.

Pros and Cons

Pros:Beautiful country, amazing experience
Cons:Lawless, chaotic, and unfortunately seemingly hopeless
In a nutshell:Give it some thought before going...

Last visit to Somalia: Dec 1992
Intro Updated Jun 6, 2003
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Reviews (14)

Trucks Transportation (3)

The most ubiquitous form of transport for locals was the Toyota pickup truck. I've never seen anything like how many... more travel advice

Trucks Transportation (3)

The most ubiquitous form of transport for locals was the Toyota pickup truck. I've never seen anything like how many... more travel advice

Fix ing a flat at the local mechanic's - Somalia

HMMWVs Transportation (3)

We did all of our travels in High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), or the "Hummer," as it's... more travel advice

Camels Favorites (2)

more travel advice

Travelogues (4)

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Comments (18)

Bashir2005 May 18, 2007 at 2:56 PM Report Abuse

Dear Elmsaafir, I really enjoyed your story about the the cooking fire. I nearly fall off my chair. Maaaaaaaaaaaaan, you made my day.
Knuppel Feb 6, 2007 at 1:49 PM Report Abuse

-RESPONSE TO CRITICISM- this smells like patriotism.
Sue08080 Jun 7, 2006 at 8:42 PM Report Abuse

A most interesting page, Dave. Thanks for your service.
Sininen Jun 7, 2006 at 8:57 AM Report Abuse

Dave - great and informative page of an interesting country. You didn't manage to put me off from going there, though I am not going in a hurry. Happy birthday from Finland!
devillush Feb 17, 2006 at 9:30 AM Report Abuse

Very interesting page. I really hope Somalia stabilizes and more people get the chance to visit this unique part of the world. Thank you for sharing your experiences!
abdinho Sep 5, 2005 at 9:59 AM Report Abuse

u saw somalia and u saw good things aboutit,right. U also saw some things u didnt like. Do u think u have any solution that can help somalia to regain its prosperity? ANY WAY Thanks for commenting so well on a country that people blindly critisize
freya_heaven Jul 10, 2005 at 3:10 PM Report Abuse

I guess you could could consider warlords as a tourist trap! Very interesting page Dave, good to hear all who arrived left safely too. Thanks for the insight (~_~)
travelife May 26, 2004 at 11:40 AM Report Abuse

Educational and informative...
thelittlevoice Mar 10, 2004 at 8:00 AM Report Abuse

very nice page! would love to go there one day.
oijsoijs Mar 7, 2004 at 4:46 PM Report Abuse

hello i am a journalist doing a story on tourism in somalia. please contact me asap if you have a chance jsiegel@ucsc.edu