Rules for overlanding in Sudan
Our summary of the country advice published by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Viaggiare Sicuri) on 29 December 2025.
Which licence you need
- All vehicles — For stays of under 90 days a valid Italian licence is enough on its own. Check what applies to the licence you hold.
An International Driving Permit states the categories it covers: check yours covers what you will actually drive. A car licence does not cover a motorcycle, and a heavy camper or a truck can need a higher category.
At the wheel
- Carnet de passages — A carnet de passages en douane is required for a vehicle imported temporarily.
- Fuel is scarce — Diesel and petrol are not always to be found, not even in Khartoum, and the same goes for domestic gas. The ministry asks you to plan overland movements carefully around this and to weigh up whether a road trip is genuinely necessary.
- Roads — There are roughly 73,577 km of ordinary roads, badly damaged by the war, and no motorway network. Maintenance is poor to non-existent, so take maximum care even on asphalt.
- No night driving — Travelling after dark is advised against.
- Unreliable GPS — In urban areas the GPS signal is sometimes unreliable and can put you in the wrong place.
- Rainy season — From July to September flooding, slides and rivers bursting their banks affect which roads are usable. Some areas can become unreachable altogether.
- Car rental — Renting a car presents no particular difficulty.
What catches travellers out
- Alcohol is banned — Bringing in, holding, selling, using or drinking alcohol is prohibited, and so are narcotics. Penalties are very severe and airport checks for alcohol are especially strict.
- Cash only — Foreign credit and debit cards do not work anywhere in the country, so carry enough cash. Declare amounts over the equivalent of USD 10,000 on entry, do not try to leave with more than USD 3,000, and change money only through official channels.
- Photography permit — Do not photograph public buildings or military sites. Taking photos or filming requires a permit from the Ministry of Information, currently free, and it helps to carry a stock of passport photos for the paperwork.
- Satellite phones — A satellite phone needs prior authorisation from the Sudanese embassy, must be declared on arrival and carries a deposit, refunded when you show the device on the way out. If you leave by a different border from the one you entered, tell the customs office of entry which crossing you will use.
Before you rely on this
This is our summary of advice written by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Italian travellers, published on 29 December 2025. We summarise in good faith, but we cannot guarantee it is accurate, current or complete, and we take no responsibility for decisions made on the basis of it. Rules change without notice and are applied by officials at the border, not by websites. Always read the original source and the travel advice your own government publishes for Sudan before you travel. GuideMeet has no way of checking whether an individual guide meets any standard mentioned here — ask them directly.
Source: Viaggiare Sicuri — Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated 29 December 2025. Last checked by GuideMeet on 2026-09-20.