Travel and Tourism

Travel and Tourism in South Sudan

Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to South Sudan.

Practical Information

Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.

Travel Alert Status: Level 4: Do Not Travel
Time Difference: UTC+2 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Climate: hot with seasonal rainfall influenced by the annual shift of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone; rainfall is heaviest in the upland areas of the south and diminishes to the north
Ethnic Groups: Dinka, Kakwa, Bari, Azande, Shilluk, Kuku, Murle, Mandari, Didinga, Ndogo, Bviri, Lndi, Anuak, Bongo, Lango, Dungotona, Acholi
National Holiday: Independence Day, 9 July (2011)
Geographic Coordinates: 8 00 N, 30 00 E
Location: East-Central Africa; south of Sudan, north of Uganda and Kenya, west of Ethiopia
Airports: 84

Health and Safety

Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.

Medical Facilities and Care

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Persons with conditions which may require medical treatment are strongly discouraged from traveling to South Sudan. Medical facilities in Juba fall far short of western standards; outside the capital, few hospitals exist; hospitals and clinics are often poorly equipped and staffed. If you need medical treatment, you must pay cash in advance for it. Ambulance services are not available outside Juba. Not all medicines are regularly available; you should carry sufficient supplies of needed medicines in clearly-marked containers. Routine immunizations and vaccinations for diseases such as yellow fever, rabies, polio, meningitis, typhoid, and hepatitis A and B are recommended. Malaria is prevalent in all areas of South Sudan. The strain is resistant to chloroquine and can be fatal. Consult a health practitioner before traveling, obtain suitable anti-malarial drugs, and use protective measures, such as insect repellent, protective clothing, and mosquito nets. If you become ill with a fever or a flu-like illness while in South Sudan, or within a year after departure, you should promptly seek medical care and inform your physician of your travel history and the kind of anti-malarial drugs used. For additional information about malaria and anti-malarial drugs, please see the Center for Disease Control information on malaria. Polio cases have recently been reported in the country again after an absence since 2009.
Accessibility: While in South Sudan, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what you find in the United States. South Sudan does not mandate access to transportation, communications, or public buildings for persons with disabilities. It is very difficult for persons with physical disabilities of any kind to travel in South Sudan.

Disease Risk

Degree of Risk: very high
Animal-Contact Diseases: rabies
Food and Waterborne Diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever
Respiratory Diseases: meningococcal meningitis
Vectorborne Diseases: malaria, dengue fever, trypanosomiasis-Gambiense (African sleeping sickness)
Water-Contact Diseases: schistosomiasis

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