Travel costs and information for Sudan - Wadi Halfa, Abri, Kerma, Dongola, Karima, Khartoum, Kassala

Note that all information in here was valid at the time (early 2009) - it may well have changed since.  It's also possible that I was ripped off, that I did some exceptional haggling, or that I accepted a price that I should have haggled over :-)  Currency indicators are £ (British pound), $ (US dollar), and SP (Sudanese pound).  At the time, the official exchange rates were roughly SP2.2=$1 and SP3.2=£1.


Sudan

• In contrast with Egypt (and Ethiopia), you are unlikely to encounter any hassle whatsoever, and in fact people will go out of their way to help you with no expectation of a reward.
• Note that Sudan has had a couple of currency changes in recent years, and prices are sometimes quoted in one of the old currencies.  This leaves ample scope for misunderstandings/scams if you don't make it clear which currency is being referred to, though - given the previous paragraph - a genuine misunderstanding is likelier than a scam.
• There are no ATMs accepting international cards, so make sure you have enough cash ($ are best) to tide you over.  If you'll be heading into Ethiopia, make sure you also have some money for there, as the only reliable ATMs are in Addis - I saw one in Gonder but it was broken.
• Sudan is dry, especially in the sense of no alcohol. 
• I had mosquitos in all my accommodation - though unlikely to be malarial, you might still want to take the usual precautions in order to avoid unsightly/irritating bites.

Wadi Halfa

Perhaps the most obvious way to get out of Wadi Halfa is to take the train through to Khartoum, but that sounded like a long and dull journey so I figured following the Nile would be more interesting.  There's also apparently a bus to Kerma, but you have to be really quick in getting off the ferry in order to catch it.
24th February 2009 See the previous post about Egypt for details of how to reach Wadi Halfa on the ferry from Aswan.  There's a free bus from the port to the customs hall.  I was able to get an exchange rate of L2.625=SP1, and SP2.15=$1, in Wadi Halfa.  The best rate I got in Sudan was SP2.30=$1 in Khartoum.  
24th February 2009 SP5 Shared boksi (pick-up) ride from the customs hall into Wadi Halfa itself.  If you can get to the police station before 3PM then you may be able to register and move on, otherwise you'll need to spend the night in Wadi Halfa (like I did) and register the next day.
24th February 2009 SP5 Nightly rate for a bed in a "dorm" in the no-frills Wadi Halfa Hotel.  (Cold) water from a tap in the courtyard.  Electricity (for the light) but no power points.  I think all accommodation in Wadi Halfa is similar.
25th February 2009 SP51 Registration - you will also need 1 passport photo, a photocopy of the information and visa pages from your passport (there is a copier next to the entrance to the police station), plus you will need to fill in a form.  Even with few other people there, it took the best part of 1 hour 15 minutes.
25th February 2009 SP25 Shared boksi from Wadi Halfa to Abri, departing from opposite the police station.  Supposed to leave at 11:30AM but left at 12:40PM.  Took 4 hours 20 minutes, including one 15 minute break.  Rather cramped and REALLY dusty, and not much tarmac, though I think now this entire stretch has been paved.


Abri
Abri has an amazing fly problem, at least at this time of the year, in particular by the river.  You can buy a net (SP2) to wear over your head.  Cafes will put some burning incense on your table to try to keep the flies away.
25th February 2009 SP8.33 (actually SP25 split between 3 of us) Nightly rate for a bed in a dorm in the El Fager Hotel.  (Cold) water from a tap in the courtyard.  Electricity only between 6PM and 1AM, and no power points.  Fan.
26th February 2009 SP30 Shared boksi from Abri to Kerma.  Supposed to leave at 9AM but left at 9:45AM.  Not as dusty as yesterday.  Stopped briefly in Wawa after ~45 minutes.  Journey took 6 hours overall, including a half hour lunch break.

Kerma

Kerma has a fly problem, at least at this time of year, that makes Abri look fly-free by comparison.  Again, it's worst nearest the river.  However a good haboob (sandstorm) seems to clear them away.
26th February 2009 SP5 Nightly rate for a bed in a dorm in the Kerma Hotel.  (Cold) water from a tap in the courtyard.  Electricity only between 7:30PM and 10:30PM, and no power points.
27th February 2009 SP20 Return trip to defuffa plus 1 hour waiting time.  It takes about 15 minutes to get to the defuffa.
27th February 2009 SP20 Entry to defuffa
27th February 2009 SP5 Entry to defuffa museum.  Compared to most museums I visited in Egypt, the labelling of the exhibits was pretty comprehensive.
28th February 2009 SP10 Shared minibus from Kerma to Dongola.  Left at 8AM and took just over 2 hours.  This includes a ferry crossing at Dongola, but I think now there is a bridge too.

Dongola 

• Foreigners need to register (for free) at the police station, which will take about 15 minutes.  They will give you a slip of paper that you then need to give to your hotel.  The police station isn't miles away from the centre of town but, in the heat, you'd probably be better off getting a tuk-tuk.  
• I couldn't get any tuk-tuk drivers to accept less than SP2 for journeys within the town.  
• Internet access is available for SP2 per hour, but I didn't use it.

28th February 2009 SP15 Nightly rate for a private ensuite room in the Lord Hotel.  Cold water only, fan, power socket with 24 hour electricity.  Also a mouse.  The owners speak good English.  A dorm bed would have been SP7.
1st March 2009 SP0.25 Ferry journey (west to east) across the river.  Foreigners need a one-use permit from the police station in order to take the ferry in this direction.  Note that this permit is NOT the same as the one you get for registration, and a photocopy of that won't do (despite what your accommodation might say).
1st March 2009 SP30 Return trip from Dongola to Kawa plus 1 hour waiting time.  I'd been told a shared boksi to Kawa should cost SP1, so I wasn't overly concerned when I was quoted SP3 for a private boksi.  Unfortunately the driver actually meant SP30, either via a misunderstanding (due to the currency changes mentioned above) or a scam, which I only discovered when we were in Kawa (about 15 minutes' drive).  Once back in Dongola, he then tried to charge an extra SP10, so my conclusion was that he was the exception to the rule of generally honest Sudanese.
1st March 2009 SP20 Entry to Kawa.  There is no ticket booth at Kawa but, as I found out later when I was waylaid by 2 policemen in Dongola, you're supposed to buy a ticket at an unmarked booth in the market on the east side of the river at Dongola.  They escorted me there but there was no-one to sell me a ticket so I wandered off.  Later that evening yet another bunch of guys accosted me - one of them was the ticket seller, so I handed over my SP20 and was given an enormous receipt.  There was hardly anything at the Kawa site, certainly not SP20's worth of stuff, so - together with the transport shenanigans - I wouldn't say that Kawa was worth a visit. 
2nd March 2009 SP15 Shared minibus from Dongola to Karima, taking just over 2 hours.

Karima

• Internet access is available for SP2 per hour.  If you have a laptop, you can connect it up.  
• While I was in Karima, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of President El-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity.  This made me a little wary of continuing on to Khartoum if anti-Western feeling was running high, but I saw nothing on the Internet to suggest there would be trouble so I went.

2nd March 2009 SP5 Nightly rate for a bed in a dorm in El-Shamalia lokonda.  (Cold) water from a tap in the courtyard, but a reasonable shower that's semi-warm if you use it in the afternoon when the sun's been shining on the tank.  Stinky loo.  Cockroaches live in the dorm.  Only a few blankets available and it's cold at night.  The manager also wanted a photocopy of my passport/visa info.
2nd March 2009 SP20 Entry to Jebel Barkal.  I later found out that the entry fee is only for the Temple of Mut (which I didn't visit), so I shouldn't have paid anything.
5th March 2009 SP30 Bus (Kabosh) from Karima to Sajana bus station in Khartoum, leaving at 7:50AM and taking about 7 hours including a 45 minute stop on the outskirts of Karima, a 20 minute lunch break, and a 45 minute stop in Omdurman in Khartoum.  A miniature lunch was included in the price.  I bought the ticket a couple of days in advance, and on the day of departure the bus company sent a guy to give me a lift the 200m from my lokonda to the departure point.

Khartoum

• I picked up a (free) photography permit here, but no-one ever asked to see it.  You have to fill in a form and provide a passport photo, then photocopy it - you keep the original.  
• Also picked up a (free) permit to visit Kassala from the Humanitarian Aid Commission building, for which you need to fill in a form then get 4 photocopies of the form, 4 photocopies of your passport visa/info pages, and 4 passport photos.  You then have to visit various offices in the building to deliver your forms.  Note that the "leaving date" on the form is the date you'll be leaving Khartoum.  I started this process at midday, and was able to pick up my permit at 5PM the same day.  When I left Khartoum to go to Kassala, someone at the bus station was supposed to stamp the permit, but he wasn't around when my bus was due to leave so this piece of admin was glossed over.
• The Post Office never seemed to be open, even during so-called opening hours.

5th March 2009 SP10 Taxi from Sajana bus station to the Salli Hotel (a couple of km, I think)
5th March 2009 SP25 Nightly rate for a private room in the Salli Hotel, with shared bathroom (cold water).  Fan, sink, power socket with 24 hour electricity.  Note that the management have a liking for turning off the water supply, so you may need to ask them to turn it on.
6th March 2009 SP20 Taxi from Salli Hotel to near the Hamed Al-Nil mosque (site of the Sufi "dancing", aka dervishes) in Omdurman 
6th March 2009 SP7 Taxi from Ozone restaurant in Khartoum 2 to Salli Hotel (though this was negotiated by an Arabic-speaking Irishman). 
9th March 2009 SP5 9 passport photos in a photo shop
10th March 2009 $20 Ethiopia visa.  You need to fill in a form (from the Information booth), then hand that in together with your passport and 2 passport photos at booth 3.  The guy will check it, give it back to you and point you to booth 4 (the cashier booth), where you hand it in with your money.  Should get the passport back in about 2 hours.
11th March 2009 SP1 Entry to National Museum
12th March 2009 SP15 Taxi from Salli Hotel to bus station
12th March 2009 SP1.5 Terminal tax at bus station
12th March 2009 SP49 Bus (Afras, perhaps?) from Khartoum to Kassala, leaving at 7:25AM and taking 7 hours 20 minutes, including a 20 minute toilet break.  Really poor legroom but snacks were served regularly and the A/C was strong.  Video showed a French film dubbed into English and subtitled in Arabic.


Kassala

• There aren't many streetlights here so a torch might be helpful for wandering around at night.  
• I was told that there was no Post Office in Kassala.

12th March 2009 SP5 Taxi from the bus station into town (I was with a local woman who also paid SP5)
12th March 2009 SP45 Nightly rate for a private room in the Hotel El-Nada with a private (but separate) bathroom (cold water).  A/C, fan, TV, power socket with 24 hour electricity.  This was the only place that would budge (albeit slightly) from SP50 or more.
15th March 2009 SP7 Taxi (on my own) from town to the bus station
15th March 2009 SP15 Bus to Gedaref, supposedly leaving at 8AM but actually left at 8:40AM and took 2 hours 20 minutes.


15th March 2009 SP5 Shared boksi across Gedaref to the (or one of several?) minibus station, taking 20 minutes
15th March 2009 SP10 Minibus to Gallabat on the border with Ethiopia, taking 2 hours 15 minutes


Gallabat
It is quite likely that you will be accosted by David and Johannes, two Ethiopian guys who speak good English and claim they will help you get through immigration - they will expect some kind of payment afterwards.  Immigration is complicated by the fact that it's split between several buildings, none of which has an English sign, but the officials in each will direct you appropriately.  Be wary of the exchange rates that David and Johannes offer you - they will say that you need to conduct the transaction quickly in case the police see, and they will try to give you a poor exchange rate in the hope that you won't notice in the heat of the moment.  They have connections with the Peace and Love Hotel, which is overpriced.