www.timesonline.co.uk Move along Madrid. Roll aside Rome. Paris — been there, done that. The big new weekend break destination - Libya - is a little off the usual tourist track.
Tour operators say that long-weekend trips to Tripoli, the capital of Libya (just a three-and-a-half-hour flight away), are taking off on the back of relaxed new visa requirements, and an enormous pent-up curiosity about the country’s Roman archaeological sites, Berber remains, medinas and desert scenery.
In the past, tourists were required to have passport details translated into Arabic before copies were sent to Libya to be stamped and approved by a ground agent, and then faxed back.
But now tourists must simply make photocopies of the picture page of their passport, which tour operators will forward to ground agents who will allow people to pick up visas (which cost Ă‚ÂŁ45) on arrival in Tripoli.
The changes were phased in last year, but it is only now that the new system is beginning to attract tourists in serious numbers — many of whom are opting for fortnight breaks, although many others are going for the weekend.
Yes, ‘I’m going to Libya for the weekend’ does sound a little different, doesn’t it?” said Mark Stacey, of Cox & Kings, which offers four-night B&B breaks in Tripoli from £995.
“Most people seem to want to go just because it’s been out of bounds for so long. They’re keen to see the untouched ruins, without hordes of tourists clambering about. The scenery is wonderful: deserts as well as wide-open green landscapes. It’s our most popular destination in the Middle East after Jordan.”
Cox & Kings’s weekend breaks — which are proving to be a sell-out — take in Sabratha (with its giant Roman theatre that would have seated 5,000 spectators) and Leptis Magna (a World Heritage site 80 miles, 129km,east of Tripoli, considered one of the finest Roman city remains in the world). Guests stay at the Corinthia Bab Africa hotel in Tripoli — “the only internationally recognised five-star hotel in Libya”, according to Stacey.
Several other companies, including Explore and Abercrombie & Kent, have also begun weekend breaks, with four-night trips with Explore beginning at £565. Both are also offering trips that cover the solar eclipse on March 29 — Libya is said to be one of the best countries for seeing the eclipse. Derek Moore, a director at Explore, said: “If you’d said five years ago that we’d be going to Libya now, I’d have probably agreed that a few people might go on adventure trips. If you’d then said that we would be offering weekend breaks, I’d have replied: ‘Are you kidding?’ ” He added: “The visa situation has definitely improved — and that has helped. There is still room for improvement, and that’s putting things diplomatically, but it’s much better now.”
Most companies require people to book trips six weeks in advance to help process visas, although this can be speeded up in some instances.
Independent travel to Libya is difficult as visa applications must be stamped by ground agents in Libya. Companies such as the Visa Service offer two-day processing from about Ă‚ÂŁ100, but require an endorsed application.
Tourism first began to pick up in Libya after the extradition in January 2000 of the two Lockerbie suspects, accused of bombing Pan-Am Flight 103. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says the country is safe to visit.
Berlitz Publishing, which released its first Pocket Guide to Libya this week, said that the supply of hotels is “lagging behind demand”, but that “Libya’s international re-emergence has created an exciting new Mediterranean destination of world-class sites”.
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