English site Deutsche Seite Page Français Pagina Italiana Página en Español	Search your travel package after destination, tour, operator, hotel, restaurant or other travel services. Listings are according to alphabetical order and destination. Important travel tips and information you will find under each country link. Please contact webmaster@yemen-explorers.com for listings in Middle East Travel Exchange directory.
Djibouti	Main destinations				Activities
	Tours and operators	Travel services	Hotels	Restaurants	Airlines	Rent a car	Handicrafts and shops	Institutes
Official name	Republic of Djibouti
Head of State	Hassan Gouled Aptidon
Geography	The Republic of Djibouti is the former French Territory of the Afar and Issa; situated on the southern shore of the Bab Al-Mandab - where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden - opposite Yemen.
Area	23,310 sq km
Population	671,000 inhabitants (2000, estimated)
Capital	Djibouti (360,000 inhabitants)
Official language	Arabic, French
Currency	Djibouti franc (DF) = 100 Centimes
Exchange rate	US$1 = 177.721 DF (fixed rate since 1973)
Weights/ measures	Metric system
Time	GMT plus 3 hours
Legal system	Liberal Islamic law influenced by French Common Law
Country code	253
Voltage	220/240 V, 50 Hz
Entrance/Visa	All foreigners should possess valid visas in advance except French nationals, Visa fees ca. US$30.
Customs/Duty free
Health advice	Visitors require evidence of a yellow fever vaccination. Bilharzias (in the freshwater lakes)
Climate	Extremely hot between June and August when the dusty Khamsin blows from the desert. Between October and April it is slightly cooler with occasional light rain.
Travel season	November to April
Attractions	Part of Djibouti's appeal, though, is that it does not see many travelers. Dawn over a desolate lake full of flamingoes on the wing is unforgettable. The black lava fields, weird natural chimneys blowing steam and the burning, endless plains are deserted. Diving and snorkeling around Red Sea coral reefs is fabulous. The town of Djibouti is a boisterous blend of colonial French and modern Arabic, and what it lacks in major attractions it makes up for in buzz. The city is crowded with Arab and African cultures jostling each other's prayer mats, and travelers are often regarded as curios and treated to traditional African hospitality.
Accommodation	The bars and hotels in the Quartier Africain are the cheapest, but also the roughest. Travelers must pay per bed, and single rooms are not available. Other hotels are scattered around town, none more than one km outside of the centre. Just as all the hotels aren't what they seem, some of the bars and restaurants aren't either.
Transportation	It is recommended getting there by air: Aeroflot, Air France, Air Tanzania, Corsair, Ethiopian Airlines, Yemenia and Djibouti Airlines serve Djibouti. Travelers cannot enter or leave the country by land via Eritrea because there are no border guards and you may have trouble explaining the lack of entry stamps in your passport. Inside the country most locations should be approached by 4WD or boat.
Main destinations
Capital Djibouti	The Central Market (Le Marché Central) just south of the centre of town, is worth seeing, in particular for its fresh sprigs of qat, a mild stimulant flown in daily from Ethiopia. Visit the Aquarium Tropical de Djibouti, open daily from 4 to 6.30 pm, except during Ramadan. Walk past the presidential palace and along the causeway to L'Escale for a closer look at the boats. The best beaches near the city are Doralé and the less accessible Khor-Ambado. Leisure: take a boat and camp safely on Maskali and Moucha, two islands in the nearby Gulf of Tadjoura.
Tadjoura	Tadjoura's setting is spectacular, especially when viewed from the sea. Within 10km of town there are several peaks that rise to more than 1300m, and there are superb coral reefs accessible to snorkelers and divers close to shore. The town is about 35km north-west across the Gulf of Tadjoura from the capital, and the best way to reach it is by boat.
The Lakes	Lac Assal is 150m below sea level, and is an aquatic wilderness surrounded by dormant volcanoes and black lava fields. The lake is a one-day trip on the tarmac road west from the capital. Passing on the way Lac Goubet, a seawater loch known locally as "the pit of demons" and a stark, apocalyptic volcanic neck separating the two lakes. In the far south-west of the country on the border with Ethiopia, Lac Abbé is the dawn gathering place for flamingoes. Weird natural chimneys (or fumaroles) formed by escaping underground steam dot the foreshore. Lac Abbé can only reached by 4WD in a two day trip, need of hiring a guide. The town of Dikhil, where the sealed road runs out, is a good starting point for 4WD expeditions.
Activities
Diving/Snorkeling	Red Sea beaches and coral reefs not far from Djibouti city
4WD expeditions	visit the lakes and exploring the black lava fields or climb an extinct volcano or several peaks that rise to 1300m; camping on deserted beaches, windsurf on wheels at the eastern end of Petit Bara, a great salty plain