Overlanding

For all those overlanding across the middle east, when you exit Syria across a land border you will have to pay an exit tax of 550 SYP per person - has to be in SYP. Anyway else have useful tips!

Dragoman will begin to run tours into Iran after a 7 year absence. The first trips will begin to run from the 25th March. This has been forced upon them due to instability in the Caucasus which has meant re routing tours to avoid Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Overlanders may experience problems with Internet and phone communications between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia after submarine cables were severed around Malta and Egypt. The disrupted is likely to last until early next year until the underwater cables can be repaired.

It seems the fluctuating exchange rates are having an impact at Intrepid, as they may introduce a currency surcharge. On their website they are encouraging people to pay up! “Avoid any surcharge by paying in full by 30 November, 2008.”

Up to 25% have been knocked of the price of many overlanding trips by Tucan and Dragoman at the moment. Maybe the credit crunch is having an affect on passenger numbers, however if you have the money it could be a good time to snap up a deal. Overlanding Discounts. Other companies are also running discounts on new brochures, such as GAP offering 10% of new trips.

Whilst generously African Trails have offered to our readership an extra £50 off any trip cost if you mention Overlanding Community when you enquire for a 15th December trip this also includes the current Specials. ( Please check with AfricanTrails for Terms and Conditions)

The southern Iranian city of Bandar Abbas was struke by a 6.1 magintude earthquake at (1100 GMT), with reports by the Iranian TV of four people killed and injuring 26. The quake caused a power outage on Qeshm and reportedly brought down several buildings.

Check out our overlanding discounts page, we have a list of late running discounts from various overlanding companies. A whole set of new brochures will be avialable from September so you may be able to take advantage now!

The eight new natural sites added this year include:

Joggins Fossil Cliffs (Canada)
Mount Sanqingshan National Park (China)
Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems (France)
Surtsey (Iceland)
Saryarka - Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan)
Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (Mexico)
Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona (Switzerland)
Socotra Archipelago (Yemen)

With the new additions, the World Heritage List now has 878 sites (679 cultural, 174 natural and 25 mixed) in 145 countries.

Entering the UAE will become more expensive for many travellers from the 1st August. The government has introduced 16 new categories of visas together with new processing fees.
A 30-day visa to visit the UAE will cost 500 dirham (US$136) and travellers who want to stay for an extended period must obtain a visa valid for 90 days which costs 1,000 dirham (US$272). However nationalities that currently are not required to apply for a visa will not have to pay under the new system. This applies mostly to visitors from Western Europe and North America. As always check your own personal visa requiements before travelling.

We have recently been made aware of Topdeck, who are kind of an overlanding company. If anyone has been on their trips please let us know your experience, or if you can shed more light on the company!

Thanks