region
Asmara area
Sleep in Asmara, treat the Red Sea coast and the escarpment as permit trips from the same bed, and arrange permits on your first working day.
Not field-verified
Rules in force · 3
- Eritrea ↗A visa must usually be arranged before travel; check with the nearest Eritrean embassy for your passport. Arrival without prior arrangements is generally not possible.
- Eritrea ↗Foreign visitors need a travel permit to leave Asmara, issued by the tourism authorities in Asmara; allow a working day or more.
- Eritrea ↗Book a travel-clinic visit several weeks ahead; ask about malaria prevention for lowland areas and whether a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required for your route.
The highlands are one base and two permit trips. Foreign visitors need a travel permit to leave Asmara, so keep the Asmara room, take a day bag, and come back to the same bed.
Where to sleep
Asmarasleep base
The capital: Harnet Avenue, modernist buildings, Medeber market.
Massawaovernight
Red Sea port, hot and humid; about 3 h by road with permit.
Kerenday trip
Market town in the highlands; permit and car needed.
Night sequences
- 4 nights
- Asmara 4, one permit day-trip
- 6 nights
- Asmara 3 + Massawa 2 + Asmara 1
- Asmara + Massawa + Keren in 4 days is mostly time in the car.
- Massawa is extremely hot roughly June–September.
Day-trips door to door
| To | From | Door-to-door p50 | Last return | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keren | Asmara | 120 min | unknown | Permit and car through your hotel or agent. |
| Massawa | Asmara | 210 min | unknown | The road drops about 2,300 m; travel by day, and expect heat on arrival. |
Bags between cities
No luggage forwarding culture: leave the big bag at the Asmara hotel and take a day pack.