Libya

Libya [1] is a country in North Africa. In the north it has a Mediterranean Sea coast, with Egypt to the east and Tunisia to the west. It also has land borders with Algeria, Chad, Niger, and Sudan. More than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert.

Regions

Cities

• Tripoli - the capital
• Al Jufrah
• Al Khums
• Benghazi
• Darnah
• Ghadamis
• Misratah
• Sabha
• Surt
• Tobruk
• Marsa al Burayqah
• Misratah
• Ra's Lanuf
• Zuwarah
• Zletin
• Darna
• The Green Mountain

Other destinations

• Leptis Magna - Another highlight is the old Roman city of Leptis Magna. In its time, this site was the second largest town of the Roman Empire, after Rome.

Culture and History

Travel to Libya, visa requirements

Passports and visas are required for entry into Libya for most nationalities. Those who have passports indicating travel to Israel will not be allowed to enter. It is now legal for Americans to travel to Libya and spend money there. Soon US citizens will be able to get visas from the new Libyan Embassy in Washington, DC.

Flights to Libya, airtickets

Tripoli is served by most major European and Arab airlines [2] and of course by Libyan Airlines [3] which uses the airport as its main hub. Essentially one may expect daily flights to/from most major European international airports such as Heathrow, Paris CDG, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Rome and multiple weekly flights to/from Milan, Manchester, Vienna, Alexandria, etc.

A new private Libyan airline, Afriqiyah [4], provides daily services to many European (mainly Brussels, Paris CDG, Amsterdam Schipol and London Heathrow, according to their website) and African cities with Tripoli as a hub. It uses new Airbus 320 aircraft and seems to be expanding its 2007 route map rapidly.

Another new private Libyan airline, Buraq, provides domestic services as well as some limited international flights (example to Istanbul). It should be noted that some of Buraq's fleet (though not all of it) recently appeared on a list of unsafe airlines published by the EU.

There are also some international routes between Libya's second city Benghazi to destinations such as Alexandria and Cairo (according to the LAA website London and Casablanca are planned from Benghazi). These tend to be more seasonal and one should check schedules ahead of time.

Of course there are many direct flights from places such as Amsterdam to small oasis towns in the middle of the Sahara but these are operated by the oil companies for private purposes (i.e. to ferry the foreign oil workers directly to the oil fields).

By train

Libya has no international train connections and no significant domestic train infrastructure.

By car

One may travel to Libya overland. There are bus and "shared taxi" (accommodating 6 people in a station wagon) services from such places as Tunis, Alexandria, Cairo, Djerba, etc.

There are many online blogs showing people having done the trip in their own 4x4s or using their own dirt bikes, campervans, etc. It would seem that they encounter quite some difficulty at the border (1-2 days to clear paperwork type problem) but considerable hospitality once in the country.

Buses to Libya

There are bus services to Tunisia and Egypt .

By boat

Get around

Flights to Libya, airtickets

Libyan Airlines [5] has many domestic air routes and they are relatively inexpensive. The same goes for the new private Buraq airlines (see "Get in").

By train

Libya has had no train system since 1965. There are various plans to rebuild some lines.

By road

There are many weblogs showing people having done the trip in their own 4x4s or using their own dirt bikes, campervans, etc. It would seem that they encounter considerable hospitality once in the country. In fact it is not uncommon to see SUVs with Texas plates on them in Tripoli (most likely US oil workers of which approx 5-10,000 live in Libya). It is also not uncommon to see convoys of European campervans on Libya's highways. One German citizen recently back from a dirt bike tour of the desert explained how it was nearly impossible to get gas station attendants to accept payment for gas fill-ups since he was quite the novelty. In fact gasoline in Libya is typically cheaper than bottled water, currently 150 dirham, or about 10 cents, a liter.

Some self-drive car rental services are available in the large cities but the rates are typically high and the cars unreliable. This does appear to be changing as Avis and Europcar offer new cars now in their fleets. Around the major cities, driving can be an "education".

The recommended route of transport for tourists around major towns is taxis. There are also many shared taxis and buses (but they are amongst the worst drivers on the road, although I concede in two years of driving around Tripoli I have never seen a serious crash involving one of them!). The small black and white taxi's (or death pandas) tend to be safer (more cautious drivers) but learn the term "Shweyah-Shweyah", Libyan for slow-down, and ask them to keep off Al-Sareyah (the motorway from Souq-Al-Thataltha to Janzour)! A taxi driver will routinely try it on with tourists. Will always try to charge 10 dinars (about $7) for a fare around town. Negotiate the price first: Around most of inner Tripoli, you should not pay more than 5 dinars (bonus points if you can get them down to the local fare of 3 dinars!). If you find a good taxi driver with a good car, it doesn't hurt to build up a relationship and get his mobile number. Taxis from the airport can be more expensive as the airport is a long way from town. Note that the Corinthia Hotel also runs a shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

There are many bus services between the major cities and it is certainly a cheap way to travel. The larger bus companies use modern air conditioned touring buses which are relatively comfortable. This is important on the longer journeys (such as Tripoli to Benghazi which takes about 14hours by bus). The buses make stops for meals and the very important tea (shahee) breaks along the way. A faster method is to take the "shared taxis" but some of the drivers tend to be more reckless in order to cut the travel time.

Talk

Arabic is the main language though some more localised languages such as Berber and Touareg are used in many small town. English is somewhat widely understood in the major cities. Libya's Italian colonial past and access to Italian television in the 1980s makes that language relatively well understood. However this is no where near the level of, for example, French in Tunisia or Morocco. Many Italian terms are used in daily speech for modern words such as "semafaro" (traffic light) and "benzina" (gasoline).

Shopping, Libya souvenirs

Economy

The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction in December 2003. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy.

The exchange rate in 2005 was about 1.30 Libyan dinars per US dollar.

Good restaurants and cheap meals

In Tripoli, it is surprisingly hard to find a traditional Libyan restaurant. Most serve western-style cuisine, with a few Moroccan and Lebanese restaurants thrown in. This is a shame as there are some wonderful Libyan dishes should you be fortunate enough to be invited to a Libyan dinner party or wedding (but be prepared to be over fed).

A favourite cafe for the local expatriate community is the fish restaurant in the Souq. Here, you can enjoy a great seafood couscous for a few dollars, a speciality is the stuffed calamar

Another good seafood place is the Hofra Market. On the beach road to Mateiga Airport, only about five kilometres along the beach from Green Square, this fish market is grimy looking but don't be fooled: the fish is fresh and there is a huge variety. You can buy your fish (or seafood) and take it to the adjacent cafes where it will be cooked to your order and served with huge amounts of bread and salad. The tourist will pay more here than the locals (unless you are an experienced haggler!) but it is worth the $15 spent.

Also recommend Al-Saraya. Food OK but it's attraction is it's position right in Green Square. Another good seafood restaurant is Al-Morgan next to the Algeirs Mosque near 1st-September Street.

Don't miss Al-Sakhra restaurant , excellent food with live entertainment and a rustic atmosphere,located on Gargaresh road .

A relatively recent arrival in Tripoli are the flash-looking big fast-food outlets. These are not the multinationals but a close copy! They are springing up in areas such as Gargaresh Road (a big shopping strip in the western suburbs of Tripoli)

Libya nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs.

The most common drink in Libya is tea. Green tea and "red" tea are served almost everywhere from small cups, usually sweetened. Mint is sometmes mixed in with the tea, especially after meals.

Coffee is traditionally served Turkish style: strong, from small cups, no cream. Most coffee shops in the larger cities have espresso machines and will make espresso, capuccino and such. Quality varies so ask locals for the best around.

Alcohol is officially banned in Libya though some rumors are heard that the government plans to introduce alcohol sales in some resorts planned for mass western tourism in the future. In reality alcohol is very readily available through a local black market (anything from whiskey to beer to wine). It should be noted that penalties for unlawful purchase can be quite stiff and travellers should always exercise appropriate common sense with respect to local laws and, more importantly, local sensitivities and traditions.

Hotels, youth hostels, lodging

Major cities have a range of accommodations available from shabby hotels to four-star ones. Prices vary accordingly.

In Tripoli the largest (and only international) hotel is the Corinthia Hotel, situated next to the old city (The Medina or "Al Souq Al Qadeem"). Others hotels include the Bab-Al-Bahr, the Al-Kabir and the El-Mahari. Several smaller hotels have opened around town including the Zumit Hotel: an old, beautifully-renovated hotel right next door to the Old Roman Arch in Bab-Al-Bahr.

If over in Jabal Akhdir East of Benghazi, a very tidy 4-star hotel is the Manara Hotel. It is built next door to the Ancient Greek ruins of Appolonia Port.

While it seems to be diminishing with the arrival of more tourists every year, Libyans have a strong tradition of taking travellers into their own homes and lavishing hospitality on them. This is certainly true in the smaller towns and villages.

Youth Hostels associated with the IYH Federation (HI) are available. Please contact the Libyan Youth Hostel Association T.+218 21 4445171.

Learn

Learn more about Libya's UNESCO World Heritage Sites[6].

Work

Stay safe

Current safety regulations in Libya for Tourists:

- Night driving in rural areas is not suggested due to risks of accidents on and off road. Rural roads are mostly not marked at all, which makes it hard to stay safe in lane. Additional, many cars have non standard headlights making it very hard to see the road while traffic is oncoming to you. Speeding is common and the primary cause of death in Libya. Camels cross at night on rural roads. This animal is very dangerous to passenger cars. This is related to the height of the animal and center of gravity, which cars a re not designed for to manage the impact of a crash with a camel.

Off Road it is specially in the dune areas extreme difficult to navigate and drive safe. Due to the missing foresight it is hardly possible to navigate and rive safe, avoiding passages impossible to drive and finding the right passage. The average speed for distance longer than 10 km is less then 15 km/h (empiric tests)

Stay healthy

Not all of the bottled water in Libya is sanitary. Be sure to inquire about which brands are safest. If necessary, you can purchase foreign brands as well.

Respect

100% of the population is Sunni Muslim.

Contact

The United States reopened an embassy in Tripoli on May 31, 2006 and appointed a charge d'affaires pending the appointment of an ambassador. Go to [7] to see the US Embassy's website and contact information.

outline

• Site seening in Libya

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