zampe238 / stock.adobe.comCountry Guide № 165 / 194 · Africa
Sudan
More pyramids than Egypt, and a war that has made them unreachable.
Advisory - travel not recommended · checked 26 Sept 2026
Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Foreign ministries advise against ALL travel, most embassies have suspended operations, Khartoum's airport has reopened only to limited flights and has been hit by drones, and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. There is no consular assistance inside the country. Standard scores are suspended while this alert is active.
Official advisory →Every advisory in force →“More pyramids than Egypt, and a war that has made them unreachable.”
Sudan has around 250 pyramids, more than Egypt, built by the Kushite kings of Napata and Meroë whose dynasty ruled Egypt itself for a century. The Meroë site - steep, narrow pyramids rising straight out of yellow dunes with almost nobody present - was one of the most extraordinary and least visited archaeological landscapes on earth. The Nile's Blue and White branches meet at Khartoum, and the Red Sea coast has reefs that divers rated among the world's best.
Since April 2023 the country has been at war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Khartoum has been fought over street by street, the national museum was looted, millions have been displaced, and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. Every government advises against all travel. This guide is a record of what is there, written for the point at which it becomes reachable again, not an invitation to go now.
Chapter 01
Highlights
Meroë
Around 200 steep-sided Kushite pyramids in dunes on the east bank of the Nile - the royal necropolis of a kingdom that ruled Egypt as its 25th dynasty. UNESCO-listed, and until 2023 almost entirely empty of visitors.
Jebel Barkal and Napata
The sacred mountain at Karima with the Temple of Amun at its base and pyramids at El-Kurru and Nuri nearby - the earlier Kushite capital, also UNESCO-listed.
The Nile confluence
Where the Blue Nile from Ethiopia meets the White Nile from Uganda at Khartoum, with a visible colour line between them at certain seasons.
The Red Sea reefs
Sanganeb atoll and Sha'ab Rumi, where Cousteau ran the Conshelf II underwater habitat in 1963 - among the least-dived world-class reefs anywhere.
Chapter 02
Entry requirements for Sudan
Advisory - travel not recommended · checked 26 Sept 2026
Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Foreign ministries advise against ALL travel, most embassies have suspended operations, Khartoum's airport has reopened only to limited flights and has been hit by drones, and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. There is no consular assistance inside the country. Standard scores are suspended while this alert is active.
Official advisory →Every advisory in force →Checking your passport…
up to 30 days · €130 / $140 · embassy application
30 days on arrival
Before you fly
The detail
- Maximum stay
- up to 30 days
- Process
- embassy application
- Fee
- €130 / $140
- Processing time
- Processing takes 14–60 days - apply with room to spare.
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Health
- The health system has largely collapsed, with cholera outbreaks and famine reported. Yellow fever certificate was required from endemic countries. Malaria is present in the south and along the Nile.
- Money
- The pound has collapsed and the banking system is severely disrupted. Cash only, and international sanctions have long made card use impossible. Before the war, hard currency and the parallel market were how everything worked.
The honest answer for a United States passport is that Sudan is not open to visitors, and the paperwork question is the second question rather than the first. The war that began in April 2023 has closed the country to ordinary travel: every government advises against all travel, commercial flights to Khartoum stopped, most embassies have suspended operations, there is no consular assistance inside the country, and tourist visas are not being issued in any practical sense. A Sudanese mission in your own country may not be processing applications at all, and that is the likeliest outcome of an enquiry rather than an unusual one. What the rule was, and what it will most likely be again, is recorded here because the record matters: a visa arranged in advance at a Sudanese mission, supported by a letter of invitation, with registration with the authorities required within a few days of arrival, travel permits for movement outside Khartoum and a separate photography permit. Treat the figure shown against this record as the order of the fee rather than a schedule: missions set their own charges, quote them in different currencies, distinguish single from multiple entry, and change them without announcement, and a service charge is sometimes added on top. It is normally paid in cash - United States dollars in good condition, more often than not - before the file is opened, and it is not returned if the visa is refused. Confirm the amount with the mission that will actually handle your application before you budget for the trip, and budget above it. The figure on this record is a pre-war order of magnitude for an American passport and should not be read as a current tariff, because there is no current tariff to read. Sudan asks for a yellow fever certificate from anyone arriving from a country where the disease is a risk of transmission - the International Health Regulations list, which is wider than the handful of countries people think of as endemic - and the threshold that catches travellers is not the ticket but the layover: a transit of MORE THAN TWELVE HOURS in an airport of such a country brings the requirement with it, while a shorter connection does not. The certificate counts only from ten days after the injection, so it is a fortnight’s job rather than a week’s, and one that has been reissued or replaced should travel with the original. Read your own itinerary for the length of the stop before you decide you do not need one. That is not hypothetical on this route: the connections run through Cairo, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and the Gulf, and the East African hubs are in countries where yellow fever is endemic. Everything else that was true of travelling here - the cash-only economy, the collapsed banking system, the impossibility of using a card - has got worse rather than better. None of the above is a recommendation. Foreign ministries advise against all, or all but essential, travel to Sudan, and that advisory is not a formality: ordinary travel insurance does not cover a journey to a country under one and policies that appear to are usually void on the first claim, medical evacuation cover goes with it, several carriers do not fly there, it sharply limits what any embassy can do for you once you are inside the country, and the standard scores on this guide are suspended for as long as the alert stands. The border’s answer and the advice are two different questions, and this record answers only the first - a visa being obtainable is not evidence that the advisory has eased.
Check another destination with this passport →
Entry details: Editorial synthesis - pre-2023 Sudanese consular practice retained for the record, foreign-ministry advisories and current mission status (2025–2026) · compiled 18 Sept 2026
Who needs a visa for Sudan
12 common passports| Passport | Requirement | Stay | Process |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| United Kingdom | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Germany | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| India | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| China | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Brazil | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Nigeria | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Indonesia | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Philippines | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Vietnam | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Egypt | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
| Nepal | Visa required | - | Embassy visit · €130 / $140 · 14–60 d |
Holding a passport that is not listed? The picker above answers for any of them. See where your passport takes you. Source: Passport Index, updated 14 Aug 2026.
Chapter 03
When to go
AvoidJan–Dec.
Weather is fine; the country is at war.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
Chapter 04
What it costs
A day in Sudan
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $81
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
Pre-war reference points only. No current market exists to price against.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis - pre-2023 published tariffs, retained for the record · confidence low
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Chapter 05
Regions to know
5Khartoum
The tri-city capital at the Nile confluence, the National Museum and Omdurman's souq - heavily damaged since 2023.
The Nile north
Meroë, Karima, Jebel Barkal, Old Dongola and the desert road to the Egyptian border.
The Red Sea
Port Sudan, Suakin's coral-block ruins and the Sanganeb and Sha'ab Rumi reefs offshore.
Kordofan
The Nuba Mountains and the gum arabic belt - a region with its own long history of conflict.
Darfur
The far west, Jebel Marra's volcanic highlands and a region where famine has been declared.
Chapter 06
Practical guide
Getting there
Khartoum International has been closed to commercial traffic since April 2023. Port Sudan has served as the de facto point of entry for humanitarian and government traffic. Land borders with Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad have operated intermittently, largely for displaced people.
Getting around
Not applicable under current conditions. Before the war, buses connected the main cities on good desert roads and the Nile route north to Wadi Halfa was straightforward.
Money & costs
The pound has collapsed and the banking system is severely disrupted. Cash only, and international sanctions have long made card use impossible. Before the war, hard currency and the parallel market were how everything worked.
Safety
Active armed conflict, aerial bombardment, artillery in urban areas, ethnic violence in Darfur and famine conditions in parts of the country. There is no safe route and no consular support. This is the whole of the current safety picture.
Health
The health system has largely collapsed, with cholera outbreaks and famine reported. Yellow fever certificate was required from endemic countries. Malaria is present in the south and along the Nile.
SIM & internet
Zain, MTN and Sudani. Networks have been repeatedly cut during the fighting, with nationwide blackouts lasting weeks.
Chapter 07
Driving
Not applicable while the war continues. Before 2023, the paved desert highways north from Khartoum were good and travel permits were required for movement outside the capital.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
ExplWorld VerifiedNo verified partners here yet - all 6 country seats are open.
Become ExplWorld Verified →Chapter 08
Itineraries through this country
Chapter 09
From the Journal
Chapter 10
Before you go
SudanChapter 11
Frequently asked questions
Can anyone travel to Sudan now?
No. The war that began in April 2023 has made the country inaccessible to visitors. Every government advises against all travel, most embassies have suspended operations, commercial flights to Khartoum stopped, and there is no consular assistance. Humanitarian staff enter under agency security protocols, which is a different thing entirely.
What has happened to the heritage sites?
The National Museum in Khartoum was looted and its collections damaged or removed. Reports of damage to archaeological sites elsewhere have emerged, though the Meroë and Napata sites are remote from the main fighting. A full assessment is not possible while the war continues.
Why keep the guide up at all?
Because the record matters, because Sudanese readers and the diaspora exist, and because a country under advisory does not stop being a country. Every score on this page is suspended while the alert stands, and nothing here should be read as saying the trip is available.