Africa > 🇸🇩 Sudan
The city by city Car or no Car advice for Sudan can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Sudan; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Sudan?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Sudan?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.
🏙️ Main Cities in Sudan
| CITY | IATA | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Atbara | ATB | 9 |
| Kassala | KSL | 8 |
| Khartoum | KRT | 6 |
🚫 Current situation and why it matters
Sudan remains heavily affected by conflict, especially around Khartoum, Omdurman, and Darfur. Movement is unpredictable, checkpoints are common, and the situation changes quickly. As a result, many normal travel services — including car rental desks, intercity buses, and even domestic flights — operate with serious disruptions.
👉 This immediately pushes the answer toward no, even before considering logistics.
🚗 Car rental practicalities (in theory)
Before the conflict, you could rent cars in Khartoum, usually with a driver. Independent self-drive rental was rare, and insurance conditions were strict. Now, even this limited system has collapsed. Most reliable agencies no longer operate normally, and cross-country travel is discouraged.
Even if you could rent a car:
-
Fuel supply varies from region to region
-
Road conditions shift after seasonal floods
-
Direction signs are sparse
-
Many roads pass through military or paramilitary-controlled zones
👉 A self-drive car in Sudan adds risk, not freedom.
🚌 Alternatives: how travellers actually get around
In normal times, tourists visited Sudan using:
-
Private guides with 4×4 vehicles
-
Small group adventure tours
-
Organised trips to Meroë, Karima, Dongola, and the Nubian Desert
These arranged trips handled permits, checkpoints, fuel, meals, and security information. Until stability returns, these organised options remain the only realistic method of seeing the country safely.
🏜️ The sites: what is still theoretically accessible?
Sudan has astonishing archaeological treasures, although accessibility currently varies:
-
Meroë Pyramids — one of Africa’s most impressive ancient sites
-
Naga and Musawwarat — beautiful desert temples
-
Karima & Jebel Barkal — UNESCO-listed Nubian history
-
Kassala — striking granite peaks (but security restrictions apply)
👉 These areas normally required long desert drives in sturdy 4x4s. At present, visitors should only attempt them through specialist operators, not independently.
✈️ Domestic travel
Although Sudan used to have domestic flights (e.g., to Port Sudan), the aviation network is now unstable. Timetables change, and operational safety cannot be guaranteed.
⭐ Verdict — Should You Rent a Car in Sudan?
❌ No — do NOT rent a car in Sudan.
This is one of the clearest “no” answers in the entire Car or No Car series.
Even in peaceful periods, self-drive was difficult. Under current conditions, it is unsafe, impractical, and largely impossible.
👉 Instead:
-
Use experienced local operators if travel becomes feasible again.
-
Consider group expeditions that manage logistics, fuel, permissions, and checkpoints.
-
Wait for major political and security improvements before planning a trip.
