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Getting There By Air:

Tripoli International Airport (TIP)
Tel: (022) 363 0030/360 5026.

The airport is situated 35km (22 miles) south of Tripoli. Currently there is only one terminal for both international and domestic flights, but work on the expansion of the airport has started.

Facilities in arrivals include car hire, bank with exchange office (not always open in the early morning), toilets and telephones. In departures there is car hire, currency exchange office, newsstand, post office, light refreshments, restaurant, toilets, telephones and shops. There is a business lounge in departures and some duty-free shopping.

No public buses serve the airport, so the only way to get into town is by taxi. The taxi rank is outside the arrivals hall.

Getting There By Water:

The ferry services between Tripoli and Europe are infrequent and unpredictable. A car ferry operated by the Libyan government shipping line, General National Maritime Transport Company (GNMTC) (tel: (021) 333 3155), usually has sailings from Tripoli to Malta and on to several Italian ports. Italian lines Grimaldi (website: www.grimaldi-ferries.com) and Grandi Navi Veloci Ferries (tel: 00 39 010 209 4591 (in Italy); website: www1.gnv.it) run services from several Italian ports to Tunis, and SNCM Ferries (tel: 00 33 891 701 801 (in France); website: www.sncm.fr) sails from Marseille to Tunis Port. From there drive to the Ras al-Jadir border, before connecting with Libya’s National Coast Road.

Getting There By Road:

Libya’s border with Niger and Algeria in the far south is sometimes open, but the crossing with Chad and Sudan is closed to non-Africans. Check before trying to cross any of these borders as the rules change frequently. Most foreigners entering Libya by road do so at the al-Burdi border crossing from Egypt, or at Ras al-Jadir coming from Tunisia. These two borders are connected by 1,822km (1,132 miles) of National Coast Road, via Tripoli and Benghazi further east. The country’s main roads are generally in a good condition, and petrol is relatively cheap. There is no emergency breakdown service.

The bus company al-Ittihad al-Afriqi, Sharia al-Ma’ari (tel: (021) 334 2532), has long distance buses to most capitals in North Africa, including Tunis, Algiers and Cairo, but they need to be booked at least two days in advance. The smaller Mutahedeen Passenger Agency, based at the Tunis Garage which can be found at the western end of Sharia ar-Rachid (tel: (021) 444 3517), has services to Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad and even Istanbul. Al-Ittihad al-Afriqi also has reliable domestic services from the same office to Ghadames, Benghazi, Sebha and al-Kufra. Timetables and operators change often so check for up-to-date information at the Tunis Garage (see above), the departure point for international services. The other option is to use shared taxis or minibuses to both domestic and international destinations, also from the Tunis Garage.

Getting There By Rail:

Libya does not have a railway service for the moment, but plans are being made for 3,170km (1,969 miles) of railway track with a line going along the Mediterranean coast from Amsaad in the east to Ras al-Jadir, and a southern line connecting Tripoli to Brak and Sebha.

Getting Around:

Public Transport
Public buses do operate in Tripoli but they are hard to use: all the signs are in Arabic and the routes change frequently. The most popular and cheapest way to travel around town is by yellow-and-white shared taxi, which can be hailed down by shouting out the destination as the driver slows down, or take one from the taxi station on Sharia al-Corniche, west of the medina.

Taxis
Tripoli has plenty of relatively cheap private black-and-white taxis, which can be flagged down in the street. There isn’t an official taxi rank, but usually there is a row of taxis waiting outside the medina gates.

Car Hire
None of the major car hire agencies have offices in Libya. The best local firms have an office at the airport and at the upmarket hotels. Al-Mehari Car Rental (tel: (021) 333 4091), based at the Al-Mehari Hotel, Sharia al-Fath and Al-Mansoura, Funduq Qasr Libya, Sharia Sidi Issa (tel: (021) 333 1180) are two options. Car hire is fairly expensive in Libya, and it is only marginally more expensive to rent a car with driver.

Bicycle Hire
Very few Libyans get around by bicycle and there are no places in town to rent one.

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