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Eritrea

Africa's most overlooked secret. Eritrea rewards the curious traveller with Red Sea diving, art-deco Asmara streetscapes and mountain villages untouched by mass tourism.

  • Currency Nfk Eritrean Nakfa (Nfk)
  • Language Arabic, English, Tigrinya
  • Best time September – October & December – March
  • Visa Visa required in advance from an Eritrean embassy (no visa on arrival); internal travel permits also needed to leave Asmara
Why visit

Why Eritrea

Africa's most overlooked secret. Eritrea rewards the curious traveller with Red Sea diving, art-deco Asmara streetscapes and mountain villages untouched by mass tourism.

  • Asmara, a UNESCO-listed capital of 1930s Italian modernist architecture and Art Deco cafés
  • The Ottoman and Egyptian coral-stone old town of Massawa on the Red Sea
  • Diving and island-hopping the Dahlak Archipelago
  • The steam-railway descent from Asmara to Massawa down the escarpment
Read more

Eritrea is the ultimate dupe destination for travellers who want East Africa without the crowds. Its capital Asmara — a UNESCO-listed city of extraordinary Italian modernist architecture — feels like a Mediterranean fever dream transported to the Horn of Africa, all espresso bars and crumbling pastel facades.

The Red Sea Riviera around Massawa and the Dahlak Archipelago offers pristine coral reefs and wreck diving that remains largely undiscovered, while the highland escarpment invites genuine soft adventure — trekking through terraced farmland and ancient monasteries carved into cliff faces.

Travel here is not effortless, and that is precisely the point. Eritrea demands mindful, intentional travel — rewarding those willing to engage with a proud, deeply hospitable culture on its own terms, far from the well-worn tourist trail.

A pillar, not a footnote

Eat your way through Eritrea

The single reason many travellers come back — the food culture worth reshaping a trip around, and the dishes to seek out region by region.

Eritrea

Highland injera and fiery berbere stews on one plate; Italian espresso and pasta on the next — Asmara eats both.

Eritrea eats with a double identity. In the highlands the plate is injera, a wide, sour, spongy sheet of fermented teff, spread with fiery stews you scoop up by hand — zigni, beef simmered in the red-hot berbere spice blend and spiced butter; tsebhi derho, chicken and egg; shiro, chickpeas ground and stewed smooth for fasting days. It is shared cooking, everyone reaching into the same round.

Then there is the other Eritrea, left behind by Italy: proper espresso, cappuccino and pasta served in the Art Deco cafés of Asmara, taken as seriously as anywhere in Rome. Tying it all together is buna, the coffee ceremony — green beans roasted, ground and brewed in front of you over coals, poured in three rounds, unhurried. On the Massawa coast the food turns to grilled spiced fish and honeyed bread. Two culinary worlds, one small country.

Dishes to seek out
  • Injera (spongy fermented flatbread)
  • Zigni (spicy berbere beef stew)
  • Tsebhi derho (spiced chicken-and-egg stew)
  • Shiro (spiced chickpea purée)
  • Alicha (mild turmeric stew)
  • Buna (coffee ceremony)
  • Asmara Beer (state-brewed lager)
Things to do

Nature, culture & hidden gems

Editorial content coming soon

We're hand-picking the standout places, hidden gems and can't-miss activities in Eritrea. Meanwhile, the cities above are a great starting point.

Plan your trip

Curated Eritrea itineraries

Browse all Eritrea trips →
When to go

Weather & timing in Eritrea RIGHT NOW 24° mostly clear

Best Feb–Mar, Sep · Shoulder Dec–Jan, Oct

  1. Jan 6° / -4°
  2. Feb 8° / -2°
  3. Mar 12° / 2°
  4. Apr 18° / 8°
  5. May 24° / 14°
  6. Jun 28° / 18°
  7. Jul 30° / 20°
  8. Aug 28° / 18°
  9. Sep 24° / 14°
  10. Oct 18° / 8°
  11. Nov 12° / 2°
  12. Dec 8° / -2°

Best time to visit

September – October & December – March

Best for
  • Culture
  • Cuisine
  • Landscape
  • History
At a glance
Sunshine 7 hr/day (est.)
Rain days 8 days/mo (est.)
Wettest December · 60mm
Driest June · 10mm
Part of East Africa →
By season
Spring (Mar–May)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — Mar is among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds.

Summer (Jun–Aug)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 29°C with overnight lows near 19°C, and it stays largely dry.

What's best — Peak heat and the biggest crowds — many travellers prefer spring or autumn.

Autumn (Sep–Nov)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 18°C with overnight lows near 8°C.

What's best — Sep is among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds. Oct also works well.

Winter (Dec–Feb)

What to expect — Daytime highs average about 7°C with overnight lows near -3°C.

What's best — Feb is among the best time to visit — good weather with manageable crowds. Dec and Jan also work well.

A little context

A little history

To read what you're looking at — the empires and eras that shaped Eritrea's food, art and streets.

The ancient Kingdom of Aksum, centred on the Red Sea port of Adulis and Christian from the 4th century — giving a deep Orthodox tradition and the Ge'ez script still used in liturgy — ruled by Italy as Colonia Eritrea from 1890 to 1941, which left Asmara's UNESCO-listed modernist architecture and its espresso-and-pasta food culture — then British-administered and annexed by Ethiopia in 1962, sparking a 30-year war of independence — de facto free in 1991 and confirmed by referendum on 24 May 1993 — and today a tightly controlled one-party state with indefinite national service and a near-closed border, which keeps tourism scarce and photography and movement heavily restricted.
Before you book

Know before you go

The practical back-matter — safety, drones and the essentials, in one place.

Safety

Moderate — check FCDO advice FCDO advice →

Official UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office guidance is the definitive source — check it close to your travel dates.

Drone rules (sub-250g)

  • Eritrea
    A firm no for visitors: Eritrea has no drone law and no way to register, foreign-visitor flights are reported as not allowed, and in a state where even photographing a building needs a permit, a drone will almost certainly be seized at customs. Do not bring one. ⚠ The whole country is effectively sensitive — photography permits are needed even for buildings, an internal travel permit is required to leave Asmara, and the FCDO advise-against-travel zone within 25km of every land border is strictly off-limits. Rules checked: Jul 2026

National parks, protected sites and religious/heritage venues often have their own rules and permits — always check the specific site before you fly.

The essentials

Plug & voltage Type C/L · 230V
Daily budget Mid-range (permits, guides and limited services add cost and friction)
Region Eastern Africa