Libya open to Americans

[Sekhmet]

wow, I have so many questions for you as i've always wanted to visit libya. first of all, what does libya x 3 mean? Were you in port for 3 days?

Did you have to take a state-sponsored tour or were you free to choose on your own? You said you had a blanket visa so I assume that certain tour companies could provide this for you?

Now, on to the goodies!! What did you see Where were you allowed to go? Any places forbidden and did you get a glimpse of Ghadafi's infamous compound in Tripoli? How were the people? Were you able to interact with them? Did you ever feel unsafe? Did you go into the desert? How was the food?!!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to ask!! shelly

 

I'll try and answer your questions in order, then add anything else I think might be relevant.

Libya x3 - we stopped at three different ports - Tripoli, al Khums which is a new port, and Benghazi.

The visas were acquired by the cruise company for us, rather than an independent agency. No-one on the ship travelled independently, all were on ship excursions, and that seems to be the accepted method at the moment. Also bear in mind that the cruiseline majors in historical and cultural interest, so what you might call "mainstream" excursions like beach visits, water sports and so on are not offered anyway on an itinerary such as this one. In fact, at al Khums there was only the one excursion available - the line assumes if you've opted to visit Libya you must want to go to Leptis, and the're probably right.

 

In Tripoli we spent half the day in the city at the excellent and new National Museum, followed by a walk through streets and souks at view the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Arch, and the Gurgi mosque. We were then driven about 40 miles west to Sabratha, first for lunch in a local restaurant, then to the Unesco World Heritage Sabratha site, less well known than Leptis, but well worth seeing.

 

al Khums is a brand new port still being built, so there are docks but no terminal buildings and not much road either. However, it is just 10 minutes from Leptis Magna, so we could be driven there for a morning visit to the main site, which is just as spectacular as you would expect, then back to the ship for lunch, and a further visit to the museum, amphitheatre and hippodrome in the afternoon. Half the ship did it this way, the other half did the museum etc first, then the site. With under 600 on the ship, nowhere seemed too overcrowded - a 2000 passenger visit might be a little different.

 

Benghazi, Libya's second city, allows for a visit to Cyrene, another UNESCO site, but with more Greek influence than the other two Roman sites. Unplanned entertainment on the way back to the ship took the form of a puncture to the coach. We found a repairman still open (by now it was nighttime), and then were escorted back the remaining 60 miles to the ship by a police car with flashing lights on and siren blaring if anyone looked like getting in our way! We nearly know now what it must be like to be famous!

 

We didn't see Gadaffi's compound as far as we know, but when we bought some pyjamas with camels on them for our godson, the stall holder did give us two pictures of the Colonel (given that the lad's only just turned four, we're not entirely sure what he'll have to say??) We didn't feel anything other than comfortable anywhere we went, although of course we were in a group, but the place felt no different from any other North African country we've visited. Nor did the food either - basic but tasty - spicy soup, lamb or chicken, rice or couscous, some veggies and very sweet dessert.

 

During our enforced tyre repair stop, my wife talked with the guide quite a lot about tourism (one of her previous jobs), as they are clearly not yet geared up for it; in fact they don't seem to have made up their own minds what they want, or what compromises will have to ensue should they embrace tourism (e.g. what to do about alcohol, or western swimming costumes and so on).

 

Hope this is of some help; please ask if you have more.

[bellagirl]

Your detailed report was very interesting. I'm wondering that since you spent 3 days in 3 different spots in the country,would you have been allowed to stay overnight and be picked up by the tour company the next day. I did that in Jerusalem and it make the whole experience so that much more alive.

I'm just wondering if it would be acceptable by the Libyan authorities to do this? Would a woman on her own be safe,do you think, walking around ?

thanks again for the feedback. I'd love to hear more. Weather-wise, how was it?

Thanks, Shelly

[Sekhmet]

Your detailed report was very interesting. I'm wondering that since you spent 3 days in 3 different spots in the country,would you have been allowed to stay overnight and be picked up by the tour company the next day. I did that in Jerusalem and it make the whole experience so that much more alive.

I'm just wondering if it would be acceptable by the Libyan authorities to do this? Would a woman on her own be safe,do you think, walking around ?

thanks again for the feedback. I'd love to hear more. Weather-wise, how was it?

Thanks, Shelly

 

Hi, Shelly

 

I'm not sure whether any form of "independent" travel is allowed - we had security on board each coach, and a police prescence during travel. Even land tours sold here in the UK seem to have to be organised by authorised tour operators working with groups.

 

Even if independence is allowable, I suspect that the country doesn't yet have the infrastructure or the mindset in place to make it easy. For instance, when we were held up with our punctured tyre, there was a stall selling pots close by which we looked at, but they would not accept any currency other than Libyan, which you can't buy outside Libya, although shops near the sites and at the museums would. Not being obstructive, just not used to the idea of foreign tourists.

 

For us, the weather was fine, around 75 - 80 and sunny most of the time. I would guess that a suitably dressed woman would be safe in sensible areas, albeit probably a focus of attention. However, I have no first hand experience of this as, despite my screen name being female, I am not a woman and my DW says I am not always suitably dressed either:)

 

Hope this helps, Richard

[cruisemom42]

Your detailed report was very interesting. I'm wondering that since you spent 3 days in 3 different spots in the country,would you have been allowed to stay overnight and be picked up by the tour company the next day. I did that in Jerusalem and it make the whole experience so that much more alive.

I'm just wondering if it would be acceptable by the Libyan authorities to do this? Would a woman on her own be safe,do you think, walking around ?

thanks again for the feedback. I'd love to hear more. Weather-wise, how was it?

Thanks, Shelly

 

I'm fond of independent travel myself, but I'm not sure Libya is yet equipped to deal with that. If the ship stops in 2 or 3 ports, I believe you'll have the opportunity to see quite a bit. If you want to see more, a land tour might be a better bet, for now.

 

As a woman, I'd be more concerned about the reliability factor of going it alone than the safety factor. For example, can you find a reliable independent guide who can guarantee your arrival back to ship on time? A flat such as Sekhmet's tour experienced, on a private tour, may have meant missing the ship.

 

Here's another recent report from someone visiting Libya that emphasizes the need to "go with the flow": http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1244622&page=2 (particularly from posts 25 onward covering Blakemanny's experiences)

[bellagirl]

Thanks Richard and Cynthia for the info. This is definitely now on my bucket list of places to visit! Shelly:)

[WeBeGone]

We're not ready to spend US money in Libya yet. I know our couple hundred dollars isn't a drop in the bucket - it's just the principle.