Libya Hotel Tips by sachara

Ghadames was our first stay in Libya. After the bordercrossing Tunisia-Libya we arrived very late around midnight in Ghadames. The people of the local touring office brought us to a bed and breakfast villa in the new part of Ghadames.

It was december and also indoors it was very cold. So I had allready to use my thermic underwear and fleece pullover which I brought for the freezing desert nights outdoors.

Unique Qualities: The villa has five rooms, a salon, kitchen, toilet and bathroom. We were the only visitors. Nobody lived in the villa during our stay. In the morning we had a breakfast with warm local mint tea.

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Theme: Bed and Breakfast
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter

Ghat:
After crossing the desert from Ghadames to Ghat in four days we stayed at a campsite south of Ghat. Some of my fellow travellers slept in their tents, but I prefered to sleep in one of the huts at a bamboo bed, though I had to protect my self inflatable mattress against the sharp bamboo. At the campsite were two hot showers and a room with a table, chairs and electricity. I experienced this as luxury after camping in the dark and cold of the desert. And here we met the first local people. In the desert we passed only one police post and didn´t meet further any human soul.

Serdeles:
After our trip of 5 days through the spectacular Jebel Acacus we stayed at a campsite a bit outside Serdeles. The ten thatched huts looked nice, though we had to bend deep to go in and out. There were four hot showers. We were the only visitors and took the opportunity to use all the low walls in front of the huts to re-arrange our luggage. For dinner we went to another more crowded campsite in town. This one looked a little bit better and had more facilities than our campsite, but was very noisy because of many visitors with motorbikes.


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Theme: Campground
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Directions: Ghat and Serdeles are situated in the deep southwest of Libya and are both starting points for a trip to the Jebel Acacus, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

During our desert crossing from Ghadames to Ghat we had three times a bivouac in the desert. For the night I brought my own tent (a small umbrella one), a light weight sleeping bag (comfortable till 2 degrees below zero), thermic underwear and a fleece pullover.

At 5 pm we looked for a place to camp. I had just enough time to pitch my tent and to cook my own meal before it became dark and really cold. I brought a lot of dried food from home and bought some tins with beans and fresh vegetables at the market of Ghadames.

After the first night I found out, that the best way to keep warm during the night was to put on allready the thermic underwear before starting with cooking and not to wait till the moment of going into the tent. After dinner I sat at the campfire to get as warm as possible before going into the cold sleeping bag.

In the tent it was 5C, while it was freezing outside. In the morning I found ice at the outside of the tent. I took my breakfast in the tent and after striking the tents we went to the campfire of the drivers to burn our garbage and warm our hands before leaving.

Unique Qualities: This part of the trip was rather rough, but at the same time it was an incredible experience to be able to manage these circumstances. It was my 'fire' baptism of 'surviving' the cold desert nights. Luckily all my later desert trips were a little bit less cold and harsh.

And during the day, driving in the stunning desert landscapes, the harsh experiences of the night 'melted down very soon as snow in the sun'.

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Theme: Campground

During Christmas we had our bivouac high in the sanddunes south-east of Ghat. It was a fabulous place with stunning views all around at huge sanddunes and mountainridges. The sunset, sunrise and desertskies at this magic spot were incredible, feeling almost unearthly.

Luckily the night here was not really cold, it was about 15C in my tent. After our basic meals we stayed around the campfire all together for some time, singing Tuareg songs accompanied by drumming at a jarrican. The most memorable christmas ever and at the same time ramadan and friday.

Unique Qualities: Before I could go finally into my sleeping bag, I sat in front of my tent under the sky full of uncredibly bright stars.... meditating without any notion of time.

Far from the civilization and crowded world it was the most HOLY and SILENT night I ever experienced in my life.

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Theme: Campground

Opposite the Marcus Aurelius Arch we looked into a lovely inner courtyard (picture 1). The people invited us to have a look around. It seemed to be a hotel. The original hotel was allready created in 1816. The hotel was installed as a rendez vous for convoys of merchants coming from Africa and Europe.

The hotel is restored and furnished with traditional handiwork. When we visited the hotel in 2006, it was almost finished to receive the first guests. In the inner courtyard we could have a look at the picture (picture 2) how the building looked like before restoration and the plan (picture 3). We also looked at one of the 17 traditionally furnished rooms (picture 4). There are 4 suites as well. It has also a arabic session hall and an restaurant. The staff at the reception desk was vey helpful to explain us everything about the old and new hotel.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average

Address: Tripoli, old town
Directions: In the Old Town opposite the Marcus Aurelius Arch.

We visited Tripoli during the period of the solar eclips in March 2006. There were no rooms available in the hotel we had booked, so the Libyan tour agency brought us to another hotel, the Cleopatra Hotel.

The evening we arrived the breakfast hall wasn't furnished yet, they just cleaned it, I think after renovation. The next morning there were tables and chairs, so we could have our breakfast here as first guests. The hotel is situated at a narrow street. We had a room at the backside and from there a view in the direction of the harbour and Mediterrenean.

Unique Qualities: The rooms have private bathrooms. In the lobby is a small bar for softdrinks, tea and coffee. The hotel is OK, though not really special.

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Theme: Hotel

Phone: 021 444 1886
Address: St. Anter Cross St. Abn Al-hane -Al Thana- Tripoli
Directions: About 1KM east of the Green Square at a sidestreet of the Ahmad Ash Sharif Street, close to the catholic church.

When we came back in Tripoli after our eclipse trip into the desert we could move into the originally booked hotel. The Aldafaya Hotel lies in an area of Tripoli with more hotels. It's not far west from the old medina, situated between the busstation and the Tripoli International Fair.

The Aldafaya Hotel is a friendly hotel. I liked this hotel more than the Cleopatra Hotel where we had to move to, when at arrival the Aldafaya Hotel seemed to be overbooked. The Aldafaya hotel has a restaurant and a bar at the first floor. The rooms were OK and this hotel has the most spacious bathroom of all the hotels during the trip.


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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average
Prices: less than US$20  » Currency Converter
Phone: +218 21 444182
Address: Razi Street
Directions: From the hotel to the medina and Green Square along the Umar Al Mukhtar Street is a ten minutes walk. The Razi Street is two blocks north of the Umar Al Mukhtar Street.
Other Contact: diafatip@hotmail.com

In Benghazi we stayed in a beachresort south of the citycentre. In March it was not really the season yet, so the family cabins a the beach were still empty. We had a room in one of the main buildings, easily reachable indoors from the reception. Our bus could stop in front of the outdoor stairs close to our rooms to bring our luggage.

The rooms and bathrooms were comfortable. The breakfast buffet was the best of our trip, offering varied Libyan and international food. We didn't take our dinner here, but walked to the mainroad in front of the hotel. Here are some restaurants and a supermarket.

At the end of our stay the staff of the hotel offered us a cd-rom of the hotel, which I couldn't play at my pc back home.

Unique Qualities: The location of the hotel at the beach is nice, but during our visit in march it was still off-season. The two swimmingpools were without water. The windy beach was still empty and the sea did not look really inviting for a swim as well.

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Theme: Hotel

Phone: +218 6190980606
Directions: 5KM south of the citycentre.
Website: http://www.tourist-village.com
Other Contact: fax +218 6190969031

At the entrance of the ancient site of Appolonia is the Al-Manarah Hotel. From the hotelrooms in the front at the east side and at the seaside you will have spectacular views at the ruins of Appolonia.

Within one minute from the hotel you are at the entrance and ticketoffice of Appolonia. The hotel dominates the western part of the ancient harbour town. You can miss it.

I didn't stay in this hotel myself. I only entered and had a look in the lobby and at the groundfloor.

Unique Qualities: The toilets of the hotel are among the best I saw in Libya.

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Theme: Hotel

Address: Susah
Directions: This new hotel is situated at the coast just at the entrance of the ancient site of Appolonia.

In Al Bayda we stayed in the Ayatourist Hotel. From the citycentre we reached our hotel at dusk by an unpaved road driving between houses and apartments under construction. At that moment, being tired of a long ride, the hotel looked to be 'at the end of the world'. Later from our balcony at the third floor we saw that there was another road at the other side with shops, restaurants and terraces close to the hotel.

Taking the unpaved shortcut to the high street from where we arrived earlier in the eveningn the evening, we could walk to the citycentre very quickly within 10 minutes. So all the shops, restaurants and internetcafés were at walking distance from the hotel.

Unique Qualities: The hotel is nothing special, but OK for a short stay. We stayed in Al Bayda only as base to visit the ancient sites of Appolonia and Cyrene. The hotel offers the usual stuff like double rooms with private toilet and shower and a restaurant where we took only our breakfast.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: about average

Address: Al Bayda
Directions: East of the citycentre and the Great Mosque at the southside of the main avenue.