How to Get Around Yemen

Mainland Yemen is effectively closed to ordinary visitors, and has been for years. Airports have been damaged or closed, front lines divide the country, and movement between areas held by different authorities is restricted for everyone including Yemenis.

Socotra is the exception and is reached on a limited flight schedule, generally from Abu Dhabi and sometimes Cairo, operated on a weekly or less frequent basis. Seats are booked through the tour operator, and schedules change and are cancelled routinely — build slack into any onward plans.

On Socotra, transport is a four-wheel-drive with a driver, included in the tour. Roads are limited and much of the island is reached on rough tracks or on foot. There is no public transport and no vehicle hire.

Permits are required and are arranged by the operator in advance; this is not something to attempt independently.

Assume no reliable onward connection, and do not book a tight international connection.