Travel to Tripoli
Flying to Tripoli
There are no direct flights to Tripoli from the UK or the USA. You can fly to Istanbul, from where Afriqiyah Airways flies to Tripoli or fly to Tunis and catch a connecting flight with Libyan Arab Airlines
Flight times
From London - 7 to 11 hours (including stopovers); New York - 15 hours (including stopover); Los Angeles - 20 hours (including stopovers); Toronto - 17 hours 30 minutes (including stopovers); Sydney - 28 hours (including stopovers).
Travel by road
The country's main roads are generally in a good condition, and petrol is relatively cheap.
Routes
Libya's border with Niger and Algeria in the far south is sometimes open, but the crossing with Chad and Sudan is closed to non-Africans. Check before trying to cross any of these borders as the rules change frequently. Most foreigners entering Libya by road do so at the al-Burdi border crossing from Egypt, or at Ras al-Jadir coming from Tunisia. These two borders are connected by 1,822km (1,132 miles) of National Coast Road, via Tripoli and Benghazi further east.
Coaches
The bus company al-Ittihad al-Afriqi, Sharia al-Ma'ari (tel: +218 21 334 2532), has long-distance buses to most capitals in North Africa, including Tunis, Algiers and Cairo, but they need to be booked at least two days in advance.
The smaller Mutahedeen Passenger Agency, based at the Tunis Garage which can be found at the western end of Sharia ar-Rachid (tel: +281 21 444 3517), has services to Beirut,Damascus, Baghdad and even Istanbul. Al-Ittihad al-Afriqi also has reliable domestic services from the same office to Ghadames, Benghazi, Sebha and al-Kufra.
Timetables and operators change often so check for up-to-date information at the Tunis Garage (see above), the departure point for international services. The other option is to use shared taxis or minibuses to both domestic and international destinations, also from the Tunis Garage.
Travel by Rail
Services
Libya does not have a railway service for the moment, but plans are being made for 3,170km (1,969 miles) of railway track with a line going along the Mediterranean coast from Amsaad in the east to Ras al-Jadir, and a southern line connecting Tripoli to Brak and Sebha.
Travel by boat
Ferry services between Tripoli and Europe are infrequent and unpredictable.
Ferry operators
Italian lines Grimaldi (www.grimaldi-ferries.com) and Grandi Navi Veloci Ferries (tel: +39 010 209 4591, in Italy; www.gnv.it) run services from several Italian ports to Tunis, and SNCM Ferries (tel: +33 825 888 088, in France; www.sncm.fr) sails from Marseille to Tunis Port. From there drive to the Ras al-Jadir border, before connecting with Libya's National Coast Road.
