4. Itineraries
4.1. Introduction
As we mentioned earlier in the chapter 1.3. What we do, we normally do not adhere to fixed programs or time schedules. In the Netherlands there is a saying: "the customer is the king" and he or she is to be treated as such and we let him or her decide what to do, what to buy, etc. however weird and crazy their decisions at times may appear to us.
Well now, if you decide to spend some time in Yemen, this is never weird or crazy we can assure you. Yemen, with all its social, political and economical problems, is still a wonderful country, however weird it may appear now and then, and you can't ever be wrong in going there. So to help you on the way we nevertheless decided to concoct some travel programs, just to give you an idea about possibilities and, maybe for you most interesting, what it will cost you in terms of money. We have put these programs together under the button download at the top of this page. They are in the well known PDF format readable with Adobe's Acrobat Reader. If you don't have it you can download the latest version from the Adobe Products Section. (It's free by the way)
Remember, these programs are just indications of possibilities, everything can be changed, from length of stay, to the number of particpants, type of lodgings, where and what to eat, where to go (or not to go), what kind of transport to take, etc. etc. even on the spot, while underway. So the prices too that are mentioned are there just to give you "some" idea of what to expect. For example staying overnight in a "Funduq" is a lot cheaper then lets say the Sheraton in Sana'a.
4.2. Factors that determine overall costs
Prices of the itineraries are mainly composed of and depending on:
- Length of stay: seems logical no?
- Number of particpants, this specifically when travelling in a 4WD. These cars are rented with a fixed price per day for driver, gasoline and the car itself. With four passengers (which is about the max for travelling with comfort) the price per passenger is then the division by four of that fixed price and the cheapest way to travel.
- Type of lodging: as said before a funduq or middle class hotel is a lot cheaper then staying in some Sheraton
- Travelling from Sana'a to Marib through the desert:
this is rather expensive.
You need a Bedouin guide to travel through their area and these (nice) "bastards" are not cheap. Asking $300 to $400 per day (depending on the route taken) is no exeception, so, here also, the more participants the cheaper its gets - Where and what to eat:
actually this is no point at all. It's cheap. 2 to 3 euros per person is about the maximum for an excellent meal. Of course, there are the more luxureous restaurants too, for example in the richer quarters of Sana'a, where one gets the most delicious (mostly unrecognizable) dishes, with an excellent service. Still, there also one rarely pays more than about 6 to 7 euros per person - Inland flights: in the past foreigners payed 4 to 5 times more than the locals. Mohamed however has now arranged with Yemenia (the national airline company), that all customers of Yamanat Tours pay the same as the locals
- One last thing: with de USD as low as it is now, we Europeans are really lucky. Because mind you: Yemen belongs to those countries where (elementary) food prices are rising fast and is one of the main causes of unrest and uprising
