Port Sudan December Tour

Tuesday 15th December – Port Sudan, Sudan – Arous Beach – Port Sudan

Morning

• Meet your YPT guide at the boarding gate of Ethiopian Airlines flight ET348 departing Addis Abba at 9:30am and arriving into Port Sudan International Airport at 10:45am. This flight connects well with our South Sudan tour, though an overnight layover in Addis.
• Meet our local guide after passing through immigration and baggage claim.
• You’ll receive a welcome briefing and an introduction to Sudanese customs, current conditions, and the region’s fascinating history.
• Depart the airport and head toward Port Sudan City. This drive offers a first look at the city’s layout and Red Sea coastline, passing port infrastructure, markets, and mid-century architecture.
• Stop for a traditional Sudanese lunch en route, featuring popular Sudanese dishes such as grilled lamb or chicken, okra stew, lentils, fresh bread, and local drinks like hibiscus tea (karkadé) or baobab juice (tabaldi).

Afternoon

• Leave the city behind and begin the two-hour drive through the Red Sea desert landscape to reach Arous Beach, a remote coastal outpost known for its coral reefs and secretive past.
• Arrive at the former Red Sea Diving Resort – the now-infamous location used in the 1980s by the Israeli Mossad as a cover for a covert humanitarian mission. Disguised as a leisure facility, the site played a crucial role in secretly evacuating thousands of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan. Though the operation remained unknown to most for decades, the site has since become a place of intrigue and historical significance.
• Explore the abandoned structures, walk along the pristine beach, and learn more about the operation that took place here through guide-led storytelling.
• We’ll then drive back to Port Sudan city.
• Enjoy dinner at one of the local restaurants in Port Sudan City, featuring grilled seafood, flatbreads, seasonal vegetables, and fresh juices.
• Overnight at our hotel in Port Sudan. Rooms include air conditioning.

Wednesday 16th December – Port Sudan – Suakin Island – Port Sudan

Morning

• After breakfast, we’ll begin our guided tour of Port Sudan city including visits to the Ports Museum and the Red Sea Museum. These institutions house important exhibits on Sudanese maritime heritage, coral reef conservation, and the ethnic diversity of the Red Sea region. See ancient navigation tools, pearl diving equipment, and local artifacts from the Beja people and other groups.
• Continue with a stroll along the city’s Corniche, a scenic stretch of promenade where locals gather to socialize, fish, and enjoy the sea breeze. It’s an ideal spot to experience Port Sudan’s daily rhythm and photograph the Red Sea coast.
• Drive approximately 1.5 hours south along the coast to reach Suakin Island, a haunting and atmospheric site that was once a vital Ottoman port and Islamic pilgrimage hub.
• Walk among the ruins of coral-stone buildings, mosques, and merchant houses, learning how Suakin once hosted ships bound for Mecca and served as a major point in Red Sea trade routes. Though abandoned and partially crumbled, the island’s architecture and ambiance offer a moving connection to the past.
• We’ll then visit Suakin Museum, also known as Abu Haddab Folklore centre. While it functions much as a museum today, it is technically just an abandoned ghost town of deteriorating Ottoman-era coral and stone ruins.
• After exploring the Red Sea style buildings, we’ll drive towards Tokar, a smaller town along the coast.

Afternoon

• At arrival, we’ll head towards Haydob beach for lunch. On today’s menu you’ll find fresh seafood, enjoyed by the beach.
• We might even meet Rashaida tribe men here. The Rashaida are a traditionally nomadic Arab tribe who moved to Sudan from the Arabian Peninsula in the 19th century and are known for keeping their own traditions and way of life. Today many still live across eastern Sudan, particularly along the Red Sea coast.
• After spending some time relaxing at the beach, we’ll return to Port Sudan and enjoy our last dinner at a local restaurant.
  Overnight at our hotel in Port Sudan.

Thursday 17th December – Port Sudan

Morning

• Breakfast at our hotel, before we head out to explore Port Sudan further with a guided walking and driving tour of the city. Along the way we’ll see some of the city’s main sights and learn more about how Port Sudan became Sudan’s most important port city on the Red Sea.
• We’ll stop for lunch at Marina Hotel, which in the old days was known as the Port Sudan Hilton, and remains one of the city’s best-known buildings.
• After lunch, visit the busy Port Sudan Market. This is a great place to see local life in action while shopping for last-minute souvenirs.
• Later we’ll transfer to Port Sudan Airport with our guide, who will assist with check-in and departure procedures before the tour comes to an end.
• Depart at 6:00pm on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET349 to Addis Ababa arriving at 9:15pm