NomadMania has, over the course of its 10 years, had a number of impressive trips. In 2018, we had a pioneering trip to Timbuktu as well as island-hopping in the Pacific to obscure places such as Kanton island, Futuna and the Temotu islands. In 2019, we went to Niger including Agadez, before it opened up more massively.
Following a hiatus due to the pandemic, it is now time to explore Libya more deeply. A country which has been volatile and largely out of bounds since 2011, it is now slowly stabilising. To the best of our knowledge, no traveller has visited Eastern Libya (which has a different government) since 2014, and nobody has visited the archaeological site of Cyrene – a World Heritage Site – since 2011.
However, on March 12, a NomadMania lover who shall remain nameless made it to Eastern Libya, and subsequently also to the Fezzan area in the south. These are two of the least visited regions on NomadMania, and while they might have been more popular and doable before 2011, they have essentially been no-go zones ever since.
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Tour Program
We are very happy to propose a NomadMania trip in mid-September to include Eastern and South-western Libya. . Here is the outline of the trip which is subject to changes of course, flight availability etc. Libya is changeable so while the below is possible today, perhaps tomorrow it won’t be!
Days 1-4: After landing in Tripoli, domestic flight to Al Bayda which will be our base. During these two days, we will visit the Cyrene Archaeological city, Apollonia, drive down the coast to Derna, once held by ISIS, and then head to Tobruk to pay our respects at the cemetery before returning to Tripoli by air. We will then head to Misratah to spend the night. On day 4, we will tour this city and then return via Leptis Magna.
Days 5-7: Flight to Sabha from where we will have 2 nights in the desert. This part of the trip will include a tour to the Ubari Lakes as well as visiting Sabha itself – a town where barely any foreigners have been in the past decade and more.
We will visit Derna, largely destroyed by ISIS.
We will also visit Sabha, the largest town in Fezzan, famous for its castle
Add-ons: From Tripoli, we offer a separately priced 2-day/1-night trip to Ghadames (see below under our M@P rubric) including Sabratha,
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A few notes about this unique trip – pricing and more
EXPECTED DEPARTURE DATE
OCT 31: Spots available – 3.
Note 1: NomadMania is not an agency, we just love to travel and to propose travel! The group will possibly be accompanied by a NomadMania team member who will pay the same as everyone else. All payments and arrangements will be handled by our local partner but the trip will be organised by NomadMania, once again our NomadMania team member will be paying the same as every participant. Donations to NomadMania will be strongly encouraged.
Note 2: The price is 1850 euros for the main trip of a week (Eastern and Southwestern Libya), all inclusive in shared twin rooms except for the international flights to/from the country. The add-on will be priced separately but will certainly be affordable and depends on participation (250-350 euros). Please understand that Libya has a very specific operating environment with lots of permits needed, so pricing is not that of a traditional destination.
Note 3: Visa on arrival is no longer available. You will need to go to your embassy after receiving an authorisation from our agent in Tripoli. You will pay for the visa and get a sticker in your passport i.e. old-style visa.
The Cyrene Archeological museum has been closed since 2011 but will open for us…
If you’re a fan of Gazprom, Tripoli will not disappoint…
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How to join?
If you’re interested in this once in a. lifetime trip, contact Harry directly at harry@nomadmania.com.
You will need to be in decent physical condition and with a high level of patience and tolerance for the unexpected; we will aim to make it as comfortable as possible but attempts to have a clear timetable are futile and long flight delays are common.
