Safety in Eritrea

Street crime: extremely low, and Asmara is one of the calmest cities on the continent. Walking after dark is normal and robbery is close to unheard of.

Politics: never discuss the government or criticise the system with anyone. This is a tightly controlled state, and conversations can create serious problems for the local person as much as for you.

Restricted zones: stay at least 25 kilometres from the Ethiopian and Djiboutian borders, which are militarised. Permits for those areas are not issued and attempting to travel there ends in detention.

Photography: never point a camera at military installations, government buildings, bridges or anyone in uniform. Police watch for this and will confiscate equipment or make you delete everything.

Begging: you will be approached, though rarely aggressively. Ignoring it, or asking a passer-by for help, resolves the situation.

Health: medical facilities are weak and effectively nonexistent outside the capital. Carry your own medicines, antiseptics and mosquito protection, and take insurance that covers evacuation to a neighbouring country. Read your own government's travel advisory before booking.

Eritrea is one of the world's most closed states. Tourists are very few, and a trip here works fundamentally differently from neighbouring countries.

How entry works. Visas are difficult to obtain and refusals are ordinary. On arrival, foreigners must register.

Travel permits. The key feature: leaving Asmara requires a travel permit obtained in advance from the tourism ministry. It specifies routes and dates. Without one you will be turned back at the first checkpoint.

Asmara. A capital of unique Italian modernist architecture and a UNESCO site. Street crime is extremely low and nights are calm.

Taxis. Shared taxis at low fixed fares.

Currency exchange. Compulsory exchange at the official rate on entry; the black market is illegal and dangerous. Cards do not work and cash is essential.

Travel permit. Compulsory for any journey beyond Asmara. Obtained in advance, it specifies your route, and deviating from it is not allowed.

Photography is extremely dangerous. Military installations, police, government buildings, the airport, the port, bridges and dams are categorically off limits. Beyond that, photographing people and even streets can lead to detention. Foreigners have been detained over images that would raise no questions anywhere else.

Drones. Prohibited entirely.

Politics. Criticism of the government is unacceptable. Indefinite national service is in force, and conversations about it are dangerous for the people you speak to.

Communications. The internet is extremely slow and restricted, and mobile data is essentially absent. Plan the trip without connectivity.

Drugs. The law is strict.

Religion. Only four denominations are permitted; the activity of others is prohibited.

The Ethiopian and Djiboutian borders. Restricted-access zones where mines remain.

Vaccinations. Yellow fever from endemic countries. Hepatitis A and B, typhoid, meningococcus, rabies and polio are advised.

Malaria. Risk in the lowlands: the Red Sea coast, Assab and Massawa. Asmara at 2,300 metres is malaria-free.

Altitude. Asmara sits at 2,300 metres, and arrivals from sea level feel breathless on the first day.

Heat. The Red Sea coast is among the hottest places on the planet; Massawa passes 45°C in summer at high humidity.

Water. Bottled only; water resources are scarce.

Healthcare is extremely weak. Medicines, equipment and specialists are short. Anything serious means evacuation, which is difficult to arrange from a closed country. Bring a complete medical kit.

The sea. The Dahlak archipelago has untouched reefs, but there is almost no diving infrastructure and no hyperbaric chamber.

Emergency numbers: 113 police.

Eritrea sits in the lower part of global freedom rankings, but street crime here is among the lowest in Africa. Asmara is a safe city where you can walk at night.

The nature of the risk is different. The danger comes not from criminals but from the control system: permits, checkpoints, photography and conversations.

Checkpoints. Numerous on every road out of the cities. Travel permits and documents are checked. Without a permit you will not pass.

Detention. Foreigners have been detained for photography and for deviating from their route. Consular access is not guaranteed.

Consular assistance. Diplomatic presence is minimal.

What actually matters. Eritrea is physically very safe and legally very strict. Observing your permits and not taking photographs are the two rules that determine whether the trip passes calmly.

Emergency number is 113.