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| Which Way to the Solar Eclipse? |
In this article, “Tourists make rare visit to Libya for eclipse,” it says that Egypt, Morroco, and Tunisia have more than 6 million tourists annually, while Libya has less than half a million. Given that Libya is opening up to the West, it seems like it could be a much better experience from the hassles of Cairo or Marrakech.
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| This song is for you Moammar |
Rumor has it that former United States President Bill Clinton will visit Libya for the solar eclipse on March 29. This could add a much needed boost to Libya’s image (and tourism) as the average American thinks Libya is comparable to the infamous axis of evil or the Mujahedeen. After Bill Clinton’s visit, this might show people that Libya, like many countries of the world, is a great place to travel despite what we have read in the news.
However, the situation with American visas has not yet been resolved. The Libyan government has exceptionally granted visas to US citizens only for the eclipse on March 29, but we are told the situation will be resolved by this fall.
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Read more about the Libya and Egypt tours.
Libya is said to have some of the best preserved Roman ruins outside of Italy. These aren’t run of the mill Roman ruins like those scattered all over Europe. These are the best of the best, without a doubt. These
Libya pictures have some great pictures of preserved ruins. There is the Roman Theatre in the old city of Sabratha. And finally the grand Leptis Magna, the biggest, best preserved Roman City in the world. It is said, you can truly feel what it was like to live in this wonderful city.
Whenever you talk with people (not travelers) about traveling to Libya, everybody thinks you are downright stupid for traveling to this North African country. Libya = safe haven for terrorism from many naive people’s perspectives. Naturally, if they haven’t traveled much outside the US, and think the US media has an accurate depiction of this country, anyone would assume this to be true. I would. However, just like most places in the world, these assumptions are downright false.
Probably over since the Cold War, the past days of secret police following foreigners is over. Libya is probably one of the safest North African countries where you can travel hassle free. It’s untouched. There are no terrorists hunting down Westerners. Given the amount of hassles in Morocco, Egypt and Tunisa, Libya is comparatively hassle-free country with warm locals who are wanting connections to the outside world.
All the travelers that we have come in contact with say that Libya is a wonderful country with open arms, hoping to develop their tourism and build their economy.
Why not go?
If you are an American or Canadian applying for a visa to travel to Libya, you must contact the Libyan Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. This is the only embassy that can process visas for Americans. As of March 2006, there is no diplomatic embassy in the United States.
Here is the website for the Libya Embassy in Ottawa. You can find all the details and documents for traveling to the country. The phone number is 613-216-0136. If you get a voice mail, it will start in Arabic and eventually will give you options for English.
There are a host of European and Libyan national airlines that have flight service to Libya. Most of the flights tend to originate out of Italy or parts of the Middle East. The best ones to search for airlines tickets are the following: Alitalia, Point Afrique, British Airways, Egypt Air, Emirates, Royal Jordanian and Tunis Air.
Most of these airlines fly into Tripoli, the capital of Libya, but a few have been known to also have seasonal flights to some of the tourists towns in the Sahara.
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Most, if not all, of the eclipse tours are completely sold out. Some tour companies are saying that it’s still impossible to get a visa. How can some Libya tour companies offer an eclispe tours, but regular travelers can’t go into the country? We don’t know.
What makes the Libya Eclipse tours even more unique is this could be a chance for Libya to shine and welcome travelers with open arms, or they can back away, put up more restrictions and rules, and make it even more of a difficult place to travel.
Two year after Libya was opened to outsiders, it looks like the door is closed – at least part way. The San Fransisco chronicle about the problem with getting Libya visas. Apparently, the government is changing the entry requirments and, for the time being, nobody is getting a visa – even though countless people have paid for tours. This will
Read the Libya Tourism Article
This is a great story, published in LA Weekly, about Michael Totten’s travels through Libya. He paints a depressing, but interesting perspective on Libyan tourism. Maybe it’s not so much as Libya tourism, but more or less the state of the country. I can’t say that it really helps me, or inspires me, to want to visit Libya. But nevertheless, down in the Saharan desert, there are thousands of miles of desert waiting to be explored.