PRACTICAL DETAILS
VISA
No visa issued at borders or at the airport!!! It is mandatory to obtain the visa in advance for Somaliland!!!
In Europe, the only place to get a visa for Somaliland is in London. Otherwise, it is very easy to get it in Addis Ababa or Djibouti. Here are some practical details. The cheapest, as per today (November 2017), is to get it in Djibouti if you do the loop Ethiopia-Djibouti-Somaliland.
IN LONDON
The address of the Somaliland mission: 234 Whitechapel Rd, Whitechapel, London E11BJ
www.somaliland-mission.com
contact@somaliland-mission.com
Do not hesitate to send them an email, I got an answer in 2 days! Unbelievable!
I could go directly there as I passed via London just before the trip, otherwise, you’ll have to send your passport.
No sign outside nor flag nor plate, nothing. And nobody in the neighborhood knows where it is. Enter 234 Whitechapel Street, there’s many offices of various companies, and the mission of Somaliland is downstairs. Just a little paper is stuck on the wall to indicate it.
As I entered the office, one of the officer immediately received me, made me fill out a form, then asked me for a photo, my passport and 30 GBP in cash. He put a sticker on my passport and I’m done!
The visa is valid for a single entry, for a period of 3 months, from the date of issue. Do not ask for the visa too long before the date of the trip otherwise, it will no longer be valid.
IN ADDIS
The Somaliland Mission is located next to the Malawi Embassy. I specify because it has changed places several times and it is not updated on maps.me for example (2 wrong places on the maps).
It is close to the airport, in a street perpendicular to Cameroon St, near the large church of St Medhanialem and the hotel Bole Ambassador. If you look for the Malawi embassy, it’s just a 100m further.
The mission is open from Monday to Friday from 9 am (knock on the door). Go there in the morning and the visa is issued from 1 pm.
You will need:
Passport valid for more than 6 months
100 USD (more expensive than in London …)
1 photo ID
a completed form
IN DJIBOUTI
Indicated on maps.me. Located next to the Ethiopian embassy, in a quiet street in the Plateau du Serpent district.
Open from Sunday to Thursday from 8h to 14h and they deliver the visa in 24 hours.
You need:
completed form
Passport valid for at least 6 months
1 photo
5600 Djiboutian francs (aprox 28eur)
CLIMATE
The best season to go to Somaliland is in winter, from November to March. It’s hot all year, very hot from May to October. Hargeisa is at 1260m altitude, it is a bit cooler than the coast.
The rainy season is in the spring from April to June and in autumn October-November.
The landscape is mainly desertic, with many acacias which are still green in November, and some fields (including corn) in the south, near the border with Ethiopia. I am surprised to see the river bed dry after the rainy season. Access to water is still a big problem in Somaliland and villagers sometimes have to walk for kilometers before they find a (subterranean) water source.
desertic countryside of Somaliland
CURRENCY AND EXCHANGE
Somaliland has its own currency: the Somaliland shilling, 1usd = 10000 Sl.Sh, the biggest note is 5000, if you change 50usd you end up with a bundle of 100 notes!!!
It is very easy to change money in Hargeisa, you will see the money changers with their stacks of notes near the market in the city center. They accept dollars and some accept euros (1eur = 11000 som).
At the border coming from Djibouti, some money changers in the street offer you the same rate. In Djibouti city, Avenue 26, on the other hand, I am offered only 8000 Sl.Sh for 1 USD.
No ATM, and no payment by credit card, all transactions are made in cash in Somaliland, the currency as the country is not recognized officially outside the country.
The dollar is also accepted, but to pay for small expenses, it is better to change.
If we give you change in dollars, check that the notes are clean and not torn, otherwise it can be a problem in other countries!
COST OF LIFE
Somaliland is a relatively cheap country. Prices examples:
tea in the street: 2000 Sl.Sh
spaguetti 10000 som in a local restaurant, 30000 in a hotel
fruit juice in a local restaurant 5000 Sl.Sh, 10000 in a hotel
fish in Barbera: 10000 Sl.Sh or 1 USD, street vendors, in a restaurant 5 USD
snacks 5000 Sl.Sh
large bottle of water: 4000 Sl.Sh
Room in Hargeisa: 10 to 20 USD. 15 USD at Oriental hotel, in the city center, clean and wifi that works well.
Room in Barbera: 7 USD with shared toilets and showers, wifi. Several hotels in the city with a different price range.
Excursion to Las Geel: 110 USD for the car, guide, and escort (to share between the number of travelers) and 25 USD for the entry fee per person.
Taxi: 3 USD or 30000 Sl.Sh within the city center
Bus Hargeisa – Berbera: 30000 Sl.Sh or 3 USD
Bus Hargeisa – Wajaale (Ethiopian border): 35000 Sl.Sh
Fruits and vegetables are quite expensive because they are imported. 1 orange = 3500 Sl.Sh approx
BORDER CROSSINGS
DJIBOUTI-HARGEISA
The border crossing at Loyada. On the Djiboutian side, there’s no village next to the immigration post, but on the Somaliland side, there are small shops and local restaurants. The vehicle from Djibouti drops you in front of the small immigration office, and once the passport is stamped, you have to walk about 500m between the two countries. The post of Somaliland is even smaller and just after you find a small square with restaurants and 4x4s. The border posts are closed at night, from 6 pm.
From Loyada, it takes 12 hours to reach Hargeisa, by a track in the desert. 4×4 make the trip every day, in the evening at 7 pm to avoid the heat. No escort is necessary for foreigners.
You can change money in Djibouti, Avenue 26, but wait to be at the border, the rate is better.
HARGEISA-JIJIGA ETHIOPIA
Border in a small town, Wajaale, a busy border town. On Somaliland side, the village seems to be bigger than in Ethiopia, with many shops and even a market. You can change money on both sides.
The bus from Hargeisa drops you at the entrance of the city, where the immigration post is located, you go back on the bus and it leaves you downtown a few km further. To get to Ethiopia, the barrier is just a few hundred meters away, where the rope is.
Once past immigration to Ethiopia, you have to take a tuk-tuk “bajaj” (10 Birr) to go to the bus station, just outside the city.
WHO AM I?
My name is Emilie, I’m a traveler and backpacker since I’m 19, when for the first time, I travel abroad from Europe to Ivory Coast on my own. Since then, I spend most of my time traveling. I’ve recently discovered cyclotourism, and I solo cycled 14.348km from Cairo, Egypt, to Cape Town, South Africa, without assistance nor sponsors. Writing this blog is for me an opportunity to share with you my adventures. Don’t hesitate to leave me a message!
