For those of you that are planning to follow us up the Red Sea in the coming months, we hope these notes will help you navigate safely and without stress.  We have found that many things have changed in the check-in procedures due to COVID-19 as countries have start to re-open their borders.

Using an Agent

We used Ahssan Phoenix Mohamed as our agent and sent him our documents prior to leaving Port Salalah in Oman.  Ahssan will present your documents to the Coast Guard and the Navy so that they know who you are when you show up on their AIS.  This will help ensure you are not harrassed when you enter their national waters.  Ahssan’s phone and Whatsapp number is:  +253 77 62 70 15

Where to anchor when arriving in Djibouti Port

Be sure to call Djibouti Port Authority on Channel 10 when you are within VHF range even though they may not answer.  There is a large anchorage area with good protection in the port.  We stayed to the eastern side to be close to the marina area for tying up our dinghy and also away from the where the container ships manouever into the port.

Position:  11° 36.03N,   43° 7.86E  (8 meters mud and sand)

Clearing in to Djibouti

You can NOT use an e-visa for Djibouti if you are arriving by yacht.  The e-visa is for airport arrivals only.  This is not mentioned anywhere on the government’s e-visa website but save yourself the $30/ person and skip the e-visa.  You have to apply for a Tourist Visa upon arrival.  Cost of a tourist visa is US$30 per person.

Contact Ahssan as soon as you enter the port.  He will meet you at your boat with the visa application form.  He will submit it for you after you have filled it in. He will also arrange for each person onboard to have a PCR test. 

The test results may take from 24  to 48 hours to be returned and the pcr test will cost US$60 per person. (Prices current in November 2021)  The PCR test can be done onboard your yacht if you want to pay a little extra for the guy to come out.  It was well worth it for US$20 per person to not have to tie up on the rough concrete quay where a million flies live (make that a billion). 

Keep in mind that if you do go in and tie up you are not allowed off the boat and it may take a day or two before someone will come.  Much better to stay out at anchor where there is a breeze and only 1,000 flies.  While waiting for your test results, you must remain on your boat in the harbour at anchor with your yellow quarantine flag flying.  

Once your test results are in and assuming they are negative, the agent will then take you to the immigration office, which is near the anchorage.  There he will present your passports and the filled in visa application form.  The immigration officer will then stamp the visa and your passports with the entry stamp.  You, as persons, are now cleared into the country.  You can pay the US$30 per visa directly to Immigration. 

Next, the Coast Guard will want to inspect your vessel for drugs and weapons, etc.  Ahssan will arrange for them to come out to your boat for an inspection.  The inspection of our boat was quick and efficient.  Once this inspection is done you are cleared in.  There is no need to check in with Customs.

Clearing Out

Clearing out of Djibouti is done by your agent although we tagged along to see what happens.  It turns out that the Customs Agent is where you pay your port fees and he prefers local currency.  We wanted to give him US$ because we had purposely used up all our local currency before checking out.  He checked the dates on each bill and only took ones with dates newer than 2013.  The port fees for your first three days have doubled from US$15 to US$30 since last year.  But the next three days is still US$10.  We were charged roughly (with exchange rate) US$50 for our eight day stay.  Try to give Ahssan at least 48 hours notice to allow him time to prepare the paperwork.  He will deliver your clearance documents and your passports to you onboard your yacht.

Fees and Charges

Ahssan Phoenix Mohamed charges $US 350 for his services as your agent.  This covers the following:

1. Organising the PCR test and pushing along the processing of the test.  You still pay for the test at US$60 each.
2. Filing your documents with Immigration.  You still pay for the visas at US$30 each . 
3. Arrange the Coast Guard inspection.
4. Organises a taxi for taking you and your jerry cans to get fuel and LPG at the petrol station and LPG dealer.
5. Gets your clearance documents from the Port and your passports stamped.  You pay the port fees.

You certainly can do all of this on your own and save some money.  However, even though Kay speaks French, having Ahssan’s guidance and knowledge made his fee worth it for us.
Be aware that agents will always try to find new and interesting ways to add some charges to their fee along the way.  It is just how they do business in this part of the world and nothing to get upset about.  

Fuel Availability and Costs

We found the best way to get clean diesel is to ask your agent to get a Taxi to take you and your jerry cans to the petrol station in town.  Most taxis won’t take diesel in their cars so Ahssan uses a guy with a really old taxi station wagon but he charges more for the round trip.  The diesel we purchased was US$ 1.12 per liter.  We used our own jerry cans and we paid the Taxi about US$20.00 round trip.  

SIM card Availability and Costs

We purchased a Sim card from our agent.  It was fairly expensive, about US$50 for 12 gigabytes.  I’m pretty sure we could have shopped around for a better price but we just wanted to get online.  The internet is not good in Djibouti.  It is very slow and was often not accessible.  We managed but I wouldn’t want to try and upload video content.

LPG Gas Bottles

You can buy LPG but we didn’t need any so cannot report the specifics.

Drinking Water

You can buy large 20 liter bottles of drinking water.  Not sure of the price.

Taking a Dinghy Ashore

You can usually find a place in Port du Peche, which is the fisherman’s marina on the east side of the harbour.  You may need to pay $5 for a few hours ashore.

Final note – it’s not a quick stop!

There was nothing attractive about Djibouti to us.  We are glad we stopped for fuel and provisions and we were happy to get on the internet to check in with family.  Three days would have been plenty of time for those things.  The problem is that it took four days to clear in due to the PCR test taking so long and offices being closed for holidays.  It also took a full day to clear out.  So it is very difficult to make a quick stop in Djibouti.  Maybe you could get out in a week if everything went nice and smooth.  Reminds me of Hotel California!

We hope this is helpful!

Lane and Kay Finlay
SV Maitai

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About the Authors

Lane and Kay Finley are a couple of kiwis, in their 70s, sailing an old classic cutter around the world.  They have been sailing their current boat SV Mai Tai for over 30 years.  The boat is an Annapolis 44 or sometimes referred to as a Navy 44 because they were built for the Annapolis Naval Academy in 1962-3.  SV MaiTai is one of six cutters that were built for private owners. 

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Related Links:

You can read more about Lane and Kay’s journey on their blog:  Sailing SV Mai Tai.

SV Maitai:  Updates from Port Salalah, Oman

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.