How to Travel to Mainland Yemen from Oman
Currently, it is only possible to travel into southern Yemen via the border with Oman. Two highway border crossings are open, one on the southern coastal road called Sarfait, and the other in the Empty Quarter desert between the Yemeni village of Shehn and the Omani town of Al Mazyunah. The former border is generally used as an entry and exit point, whereas the desert crossing may only be used reliably as an exit crossing from Yemen to Oman (it is not possible to enter Yemen from the Shehn crossing, but it’s easy to exit Yemen there).
The Yemen-Oman border regions-- Al Mahrah and Dhofar-- are culturally and geographically very similar. The people are South Arabian, many of whom still speak Mehri and Dhofari, the land is dry yet receive a Khareef (in August and September) of rain and greenery that follows, and are defined by sandy coastlines, good fishing resources, rocky mountains and vast deserts the further north you get.
The border crossing at Surfait is not particularly fussy, provided you have the correct paperwork in hand and your Yemeni guide is with you. From Salalah, the drive takes about two hours to the border on a well maintained, paved winding mountain road. Travelling unescorted in Yemen is not recommended and may not even be possible, as there are numerous military checkpoints and multi-national interests in this part of Yemen, many of which will meticulously investigate and promptly deport an unaccompanied foreigner.
Yemeni visas are issued on the border (for a $100 stamping fee), provided you’ve already received an approval letter from the Ministry of Tourism. Your local agent can get this for you with a scan of your passport a couple of weeks in advance.
To leave Yemen, you essentially have a few options-- exit back in Surfait to Oman, exit from the desert highway in Shehn to Oman, or take one of the 5 weekly flights from Seiyun Airport to Cairo, Egypt. As Seiyun is largely controlled by the Saudi military, there are restrictions with flying into Seiyun-- meaning it’s not possible as far as I understand to fly from Cairo to Seiyun and actually exit the airport in Seiyun (you can continue onto Socotra on Wednesdays from Cairo though). However, it is not a problem to fly out of Yemen from Seiyun (to either Cairo or Socotra Island).
Flights may be purchased directly from any Yemenia ticket-issuing office in advance in cash (Cairo and Kuwait City are easiest) but in order for your seat to actually be issued, you’ll need to supply the Yemenia office or your agent with a copy of your passport and your Yemeni visa in advance of your travel date (ideally two weeks in advance).
Another option altogether is to fly from Cairo to Socotra Island. Yemenia flight IY607 departs from Cairo Terminal 1 at 02:00am on Wednesday, arriving in Socotra around 11am with a passenger change stop in Seiyun. The return flight departs Socotra at 11:30am, makes a brief passenger change stop in Seiyun again, and continues back to Cairo, arriving around 4:45pm. Socotra also has its own immigration department and they issue their own visas (needed before arrival, issued on an external document). This is a good option if you’d like to visit Socotra, but skip out on Mainland Yemen, so I’ll discuss this more in another article, as this piece is dedicated more to Mainland Yemen travel in 2020.
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