If you are flying in to Asmara, you will need a permit from the Tourist Bureau on Liberation Avenue if you consider travelling outside Asmara’s city limits. This permit needs to be applied for several days before travel. There are few places other than Asmara, Keren and Massawa/Dahlak Islands that foreigners can travel to as of September 2017 (other than those on a designated mission working with the Eritrean government) depending on the time of the year (therefore the conditions of the roads) and mostly, the decisions of the government. If you are coming by land (or ferry/private boat to Massawa), you can get a travel permit at the locality of your arrival, to transit the country, given you have a valid entry visa to Eritrea. As long as you notify and consult with the Eritrean mission issuing your entry visa about your point of entry and travel plans well ahead of time, getting the travel permit is no problem.

The most common form of intercity transportation in Eritrea is bus and/or minibus. The most frequent services, consisting of several buses/minibuses a day run between Asmara and Keren, Asmara and Massawa as well as between Asmara and the towns of the southern highlands such as Debarwa, Mendefera, Adi Quala as well as Dekemhare, Segeneiti, Adi Qeyh and Senafe reaching the Ethiopian border. It is not possible for foreign nationals to approach the Ethiopian border and travel beyond the towns of Senafe and Adi Quala as it is a heavily militarized war zone. There are also daily bus services on the road between Teseney (on the Sudanese border close to Kassala) and Asmara traversing Barentu, Agordat and Keren as well as an alternative route traversing Barentu and Mendefera. Once a day, buses/minibuses also run between Asmara and some of the villages of the southern highlands as well. Buses to the north of the country (Nakfa) are less frequent and travel between once weekly to a couple of times weekly between Asmara and Nakfa traversing Keren and Afabet. The buses to the southern coast (Assab) from Asmara are equally infrequent, once weekly only, traversing Massawa. Tickets are bought on the bus and a first-come-first-served rule applies. Some state-run bus lines travelling to remote frontier areas do allow for tickets to be bought in advance at the Asmara bus station, where you can also inquire about the bus-schedule. There will always be some people who speak English and are more than willing to help translate.

Nasair connects Asmara with remote Assab twice weekly, and it flies between Asmara and Massawa twice weekly. However the latter flight route may not be a necessary option since the distance between the latter two cities is only 120 km (75 mi) along one of Eritrea’s best and most scenic roads. There are also buses several times a day running between the two cities, which cost a fraction of the flight and take little more than two hours while making time for refreshing stops in the mountains.

The only rail line in Eritrea runs between Asmara and Massawa, and it is only served by a museum railway (steam engine and all) with no regular service except for freight. It only caters to chartered tour groups, and it takes a daunting 5 hours to complete just the one way journey.

EAT:

Eritrean cuisine in the highlands (around Asmara) consists largely of spicy dishes and is very similar to Ethiopian food. The staple is a flat, spongy crepe or bread called injera, made from a batter of fermented grains. Spicy stews with meat and vegetables are served on top of it and eaten with the hands. This cuisine is generally found in many restaurants in the country.

Middle Eastern dishes such as shahan-ful (bean stew) served with pitas are also readily available everywhere but more commonly eaten for breakfast or brunch in modest establishments.

Lowland cuisine is not readily available in many restaurants, but in the old town (outermost island) of Massawa, adjacent to the freeport area, there are some simple restaurants that serve cuisine typical to the Red Sea area such as grilled spicy fish and “khobzen” (pitas drenched in goats butter and honey).

Owing to its colonial history, Italian food is abundant, albeit not too varied all across Eritrea. You will always find a restaurant that serves good pasta, lasagna, steak, grilled fish, etc.

In Asmara, there are also several Chinese restaurants, a Sudanese restaurant, and an Indian restaurant (Rooftop).

DRINK:

The most common beverage in Eritrea by far is beer. There is only one (state-owned) brand in the country so there is not much choice, but it is quite good. Beer is consumed cold in Eritrea. Beer’s popularity is closely followed by various soft drinks, and the most common flavours are as elsewhere in the world: orange, lemon/lime and cola, produced by one of the most recognizable brands in the world. The same company that holds the beer monopoly also holds the monopoly on producing the local form of Sambouca, colloquially called “Araqi”, as well as Vermouth and other spirits. International brands of the same spirits, as well as others, are readily available at most bars for a cheap price. Sophisticated cocktails are not known in Eritrea (as of yet) outside of the Intercontinental Hotel which charges a steep price. On a side note, there is an Irish bar in that hotel.

Traditionally Eritreans also drink the local form of mead called “suwa”, which consists of old bread fermented in water with honey, as well as a sweet honeywine called “mies”.

Tap water should not be drunk by foreigners. There is plenty of bottled mineral water, both carbonated and non-carbonated in Eritrea costing around 20 to 30 nakfa.

Cafes in some towns offer fresh fruit juices, very common and cheap is seytun = guava, others like orange juice or mango juice are more expensive. To avoid food poisoning unpeeled fruits can be eaten or squeezed fresh by you. Avoid ice creams and all types of salads. Stick to bottled drinks and cooked foods.

There are hotels at all prices and standard ranges in Asmara, from cheap pensions for 100 nakfa to the modest ones for 200 nakfa, and the overpriced Intercontinental Hotel Asmara, the only international hotel in the country (a little over US$150 per night). Some hotels have one price for foreigners and another for locals.

In most smaller towns, the lodging is quite modest and priced accordingly. The only expensive hotels outside of Asmara would be the two hotels on the sea in Massawa, neither of which exceeds US$65 per night as of 2007. Modest in Eritrean terms usually means shared bathroom with several other guests, no room-service, a common room TV, no air-conditioning and no change of sheets or cleaning throughout occupancy unless asked for (and then you might be charged extra just as if you had your clothes washed and ironed, which is also readily available for an additional price).

The middle-range hotels will have all these missing amenities (private bathroom, TV, air-conditioning, etc.) but no room-service nor inclusive laundering of sheets or clothes during occupancy. Restaurants and/or cafes are available at most mid-range hotels are regular hangout places for non-guests. In a hot place like Massawa, it is very highly recommended to stay at least at a middle-range hotel where air-conditioning is available. The only hotel that accepts credit cards in Eritrea is the Intercontinental (for a fee) and it is also the only hotel in the entire country with a swimming pool (both indoor and outdoor), gym and other common amenities in a modern standard hotel.

Most, if not all, hotels beyond the towns of Asmara, Massawa, Keren and Assab are of the modest category. There are reported to be mid-range hotels in Nakfa, Barentu and Tesseney as well as resorts in Gel’alo and Dahlak (on the South coast and east of Massawa, respectively).

The best Eritrean souvenirs are traditional handicrafts made from leather, olivewood, clay and straw. These can be found in most souvenir shops in Asmara along with traditional home-spun cotton garments. Posters and postcards are also readily available at most press-kiosks even at the airport. Leopard and zebra skin as well as ivory items can be found in the souvenir markets, but you will be stopped from leaving Eritrea with these. Then, you will probably be stopped and fined at your home destination, because international trade in such materials is banned. Eritrea however has several souvenirs made from goatskin. Gold, pearl, and silver jewellery is also available in the markets in Asmara along with frankincense and myrrh. Beware buying textiles such as home-spun cotton garments, animal skins with fur and mats; they could be infested with parasites. Make sure it has been washed, treated and dried before returning home.