Entry requirements | Organizing your trip | Visiting | Eating | Paying | Speaking |

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service

Documents and formalities necessary to obtain a visa

Diplomatic representations

Embassies of Libya and Embassies in Libya

For more information

Embassy of Libya in Tunisia
Sfax Av Alexandre Dumas
Sfax 3000-Sfax
Phone: 74 22 33 32 - 74 22 33 38
Fax: 74 29 80 45

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation

There are taxis but they do not all have meters. You should negotiate the fare beforehand. In general, a journey in town does not cost more than 4 LYD, between cities not more than 10 LYD and a set price for a day 100 LYD.

Maps of urban networks

Map of Libya
Maporama

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation

The railway network is nonexistent. To travel within the country, Libyans use national airline companies, vehicles or private buses.

Rail companies

Flight from Tunisia

Distance between capital cities in km: 528
Flight duration between capital cities: 1h

Airlines offering direct flights from/to Tunisia

Airline	Low-cost solution	From	To
http://www.libyanarabairline.com/destinations.htm		Tunis	Tripoli
http://www.tunisair.com/publish/home.asp		Tunis, Tozeur, Tabarka, Monastir, Sfax, Djerba	Benghazi, Tripoli
http://www.sevenair.com.tn/destination.htm		Sfax	Tripoli

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

The road network is of good overall quality but you should be careful as the highway code is not always observed. Moreover, it is inadvisable to drive at night. In the desert, you should use suitable equipment (4x4), and be permanently accompanied by at least one other vehicle. In these regions it is essential to take a driver or a local guide. You are also advised not to take private minibuses.

Libyan airline companies do not appear on the European list of companies prohibited in the European Union.

To travel around by car, there are taxis, but they do not all have meters. You should therefore remember to negotiate the price of the journey beforehand. Generally, a journey in town does not exceed 4 LYD, a journey between towns does not exceed 10 LYD, and the fixed rate for a day does not exceed 100 LYD. You can also hire a car. This comes to 80 LYD a day. You must have an international driving licence and drive on the right hand side of the road.

Road maps

Road maps of Libya

Find an itinerary

Google maps

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

Libya contains the remains of several Greek and Roman cities, some of which are classified by UNESCO. They are:
- the Greco-Roman site of Leptis Magna in Tripoli.
- the Sabratha amphitheatre,
- the ruins of Shabbat
- the Fezzan rock paintings

Cultural

Cultural tourism in Libya can be symbolized by the Tripoli Museum which, on four levels, covers the history of Libya, from its first prehistoric inhabitants up to the Qadhafi years. The most remarkable collections are those of Roman mosaics, statues from the great cities of Antiquity, the Fezzan rock paintings, the traditional culture of the Bedouins and Tuaregs, and objects from the medieval period.

Nature

The Libyan deserts are very impressive. You absolutely should visit them. You can see two main deserts, the Akakus and the Fezzan. The Desert of Akakus, on the Algerian border, has been a UNESCO Heritage Site since 1985. There are thousands of rock paintings in very different styles, and the most ancient of them date from about 12 000 years BC. The most recent ones date from the first century.

You can also see the Desert of Fezzan which is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. There is a salt-water lake, or Lake Mavo, known for being a lake which changes color. In the South, the region is scattered with oases.

Religious

Libyan mosques are very interesting to visit. They have characteristic roofs with domes, first found in Libya almost a thousand years ago. They are on all buildings, from the most ancient to the mosques of the nineteenth century.

Thermal

Nonexistent.

Beach

Libya has many sandy and rocky beaches on the Mediterranean coast.

Winter sports

Nonexistent.

Outdoor activities

Trekking in the desert.

Shopping

It is worthwhile bringing home craft items from the souks.

Tourism organizations

Tourism Board of Libya

Eating

Food specialties

In Libya there are many vegetable or hummus based hors-d'oeuvres. (Hummus is a chick pea purée.) The Libyan main course is accompanied by a salad or a traditional soup, chorba. The most common dishes are grilled chicken, lamb kebabs, lamb chops and escalopes. You can also find couscous.

Desserts are very sweet and use honey, dates and walnuts.

Drinks

There is no alcohol in Libya. On the other hand, there are various fizzy drinks and fruit juices. Fresh mint tea is very common. Coffee is served Turkish-style or in larger quantities and weaker.

Paying

Domestic currency

Lybian Dinar

ISO Code

LYD

To obtain domestic currency

The Libyan currency is the Libyan Dinar (LYD). The rate of exchange is established using a basket of SDR currencies with a fluctuation margin of 25%.

Possible means of payment

Most credit cards are only taken in large hotels. Traveler's cheques are difficult to cash, even with a passport. The best thing is to take a reserve of American dollars or euros in cash.

Exchange rate on

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

To find out the locations of ATMs in in Libya, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Speaking

Official language

Arabic

Other languages spoken

English, Italian.

Business language

English

Getting some knowledge

Some notions of Arabic here.

Free translation tools

Arjeeb - English-Arabic-English translation of text and web pages
Actaco - Free dictionary Arabic-English-Arabic

We can translate your foreign-language documents.

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Last updates: May 2012