No. Sudan is currently one of the hardest countries in Africa to backpack independently. The war that began in April 2023 has closed Khartoum, Darfur and most of Kordofan to travelers, and most governments advise against all travel.
The few who go stick to the north and east:
Port Sudan,
Kassala,
Karima, the
Meroë Pyramids and
Wadi Halfa. Expect to register with the authorities, carry travel permits and show your passport at frequent checkpoints between towns. Foreign bank cards don’t work, so bring all your money as clean US dollar notes. Basic Arabic or a local contact makes the paperwork much easier. Simple lodges cost roughly US$10 to 25 a night.
Ten to fourteen days covers the parts of Sudan currently open to travelers: the Nubian Nile and the Red Sea coast, plus Kassala if you have two weeks.
Five days is enough for the coast alone, with
Port Sudan as your base for Suakin and the Sanganeb reef. Ten days lets you ride from Port Sudan to Atbara (7 to 9 hours by bus), spend two nights at the
Meroë Pyramids and three in
Karima below Jebel Barkal, then exit north via Dongola and
Wadi Halfa into Egypt. With fifteen days you can add
Kassala, 8 to 10 hours from Port Sudan. Build in one spare day, because checkpoints, permit offices and fuel shortages can each cost you hours.
Yes. Most travelers in Sudan get around without a car, using long-distance buses between towns and shared minibuses or pickups for shorter hops.
Buses run from
Port Sudan to Atbara in 7 to 9 hours and to
Kassala in 8 to 10 hours. The paved road across the Bayuda desert to
Karima takes about 4 to 5 hours, and Dongola to
Wadi Halfa takes 5 to 6 hours. The
Meroë Pyramids sit a couple of kilometers off the highway, so buses drop you at the turnoff and you walk or find a ride. For the Sanganeb reef you charter a boat from Port Sudan, and remote temples such as Soleb are easiest with a hired driver for the day.
The must-visits in Sudan are the
Meroë Pyramids and
Jebel Barkal at Karima, followed by the Red Sea coast around
Port Sudan and the granite hills of
Kassala.
Meroë has dozens of steep Kushite royal pyramids on dunes, 1.5 to 2 hours from Atbara. Give it two nights so you can see it at sunrise and sunset. Jebel Barkal, a UNESCO-listed flat-topped butte with the ruins of the Temple of Amun at its base, needs a full day plus the 20 to 30 minute sunset climb. From Port Sudan, the coral-stone ruins of
Suakin are about an hour south, and the
Sanganeb reef is roughly 1.5 hours offshore by boat. Kassala’s Taka massif and the Toteil spring deserve two or three days.
If you’re short on time in Sudan, skip Khartoum, Omdurman and everything west and south of them. War damage and ongoing fighting make these areas impractical or closed.
The National Museum and much of central Khartoum were badly damaged after the war began in 2023, and Darfur, the
Nuba Mountains and
Dinder National Park are off limits. Among the places you can reach,
Atbara works as a one-night bus stop rather than a destination, and
Dongola can be a lunch break between Karima and Wadi Halfa. With only five days, choose either the Red Sea coast or the Nile pyramids. Trying to do both burns two days on the 7 to 9 hour road between them.
Yes, our itinerary-planner does exactly that. Set your trip length in days, give your interests and travel style, optionally give start- and end location and/or some mandatory stops you would like to include and the itinerary planner creates your personalized routes for Sudan in seconds. Try it out!
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