Practical information Djibouti

8880  sq.mi

The flight duration is 11 hrs. London is 3,644 mi from Djibouti.

793000 hab.

The airport of Ambouli, 4 miles from the town centre (10 mn drive), has a foreign exchange office and a car rental agency (without drivers). Minibuses and taxis go back and forth to the city (a taxi should cost 1 500 DJF, and 30 DJF for a bus).

The capital and the provinces are decently safe. However you should stay cautious and not adventure to the inland tracks without a good knowledge of the country. Drive in a 4 x 4 with petrol jerry-cans, a change of tyres and a great amount of water. For any trip outside Djibouti and past Weah, it is recommended to inform the French military post of your itinerary and dates and time of departure and return. Due to the presence of land-mines resulting from the civil war in the nineties, it is recommended to stay on the main tracks that are regularly used. You should obtain information on the states of other tracks if you wish to use them.
In Djibouti city's market, beware of pickpockets.
It is better to avoid the beaches of Dorale and Khor Ambado in the evenings after 4pm.
For navigators, beware of piracy :
an endemic problem in the southern parts of the Red sea and the Gulf of Aden. During the second semester of 2002, 13 acts of piracy were recorded against yachts, cargo boats and oil-tankers.
You should be particularly careful in the Red sea between Hodeida and the Bab el Mandeb strait, in front of the South coasts of Yemen and along the Somalian coast.

French and Arabic are the official languages. Afar and Somali are the two inland dialects.

A visa is mandatory to enter Djibouti. You must travel within the three months following the date of issue of your visa. You are allowed to stay on the territory for 90 days.

Your passport must be valid for six months after your return date and your return ticket will be requested.

Sunni Muslims (94%), Christians (6%).

The currency is the Djibouti Franc (DJF). £1 Sterling = 268 DJF. Credit cards (Visa and MasterCard) and travellers cheques are accepted in large hotels, for car rental payments and in travel agencies in Djibouti city, but not further out in the country. There are no ATM machines but you can withdraw money at banks using a Visa card. Banks are open in the morning from 7.00am to 11.30am and close in the afternoon and on Fridays and Saturdays. The bureaux de change offices on Place du 27 Juin in the city centre are open all day. It is nevertheless a good idea to bring plenty of cash with you when you travel.

In the capital : the city of Djibouti has plenty of taxis, that can be used at a reasonable price and without too much negotiation. For buses, the price is 30 DJF. They follow a route but will stop wherever you want, all you have to do is shout stop to the driver. Shared taxis will take you to inland cities.
Trains : the capital is the terminus for the line that goes to Addis-Abeba, in Ethiopia, via Ali-Sabieh, Dire Dawa and Nazareth. The trains are mainly merchandise trains with only one or two passenger wagons. They look old and the comfort is minimal. The journey to Addis-Abeba (280 miles) lasts 3 days, but is an experience that most travellers will enjoy.
Boats : from the port of Djibouti, various maritime companies, including Ethiopian Shipping Lines, will get you to most ports on the Red sea. Some travel agencies or private individuals can organise boat or Dhow trips along the coasts, as well as on the Red sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Cars : 161 miles of roads and 510 miles of tracks. The main asphalt roads go to Tadjoura (107 miles away from Djibouti), Ali-Sabieh (59 miles away) and Dikhil (73 miles away). The road from Tadjoura to Obock (37 miles) is not made of tar. Most of the tracks are in a bad state, even disastrous, which imposes the use of 4 x 4. You can rent one at the airport and in the city, but they are quite expensive.
Air : Air Djibouti, the National company, has regular flights to Abu Dhabi, Addis-Abeba, Cairo, Dire Dawa (Ethiopia), Hargeisa (Somalia), Djedda, Khartoum, Nairobi, Rome, Sanaa and Paris. Air Djibouti also has daily interior flights from the capital to Obock and Tadjoura. Ethiopian Airlines ; Air France, Yemen Airways, Air Madagascar and Air Tanzania all fly to Djibouti.

Thefollowingvaccines are not mandatory but recommended: yellow fever, tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, typhoid, hepatitises A and B.

Antimalaria measures: the country is listed in zone 3. Risk of malaria all year long and areas resistant to Nivaquine. Plan to take a Mefloquine preventive treatment. Protect yourself against mosquitoes, very voracious, especially at night.

Be careful inthe sun: bring sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen. Avoid tap waterand raw vegetables. Finally,AIDSis raging. 70% of prostitutes in Djibouti are HIV-positive.
Useful numbers:
Police: 17
Fire brigade: 18
Hospital Centre of the Army: 35.13.51. extension 4081.
Emergency services: Extension 3015.
Night doctor: Extension 3095.
Emergency services: 35.24.35.
Ambulance services: 35.13.51. extension 3190.
Embassy: 35.09.63.

220 V.

not known.

Taxes and services are included in the rates, and leaving a tip is not common practice in Djibouti.

To call Djibouti from the UK: dial 00 + 253 + correspondent's number.
To call the UK from Djibouti : 00 + 44+ correspondent's number without the initial 0.