Travel
- On the way to Yambio, if you are using United/Ethiopian airlines, you fly from Chicago, Washington D.C, New
York, or Toronto (Canada) direct to Juba (South Sudan) with a brief (2-4 hours) stopover in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). One can also fly from Detroit (Delta/KLM to Nairobi/Juba via Amsterdam.) - If in case your transit takes more than eight hours at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, you may request a voucher from Ethiopian Airlines customer desk for free meals, beverages, and comfortable space for hours of rest and free Wi-Fi.
- Often, LHF or other mission personnel will ask you to take a suitcase or a package to South Sudan. You can ask them for funds to cover overweight expense. Normal overweight costs are about $200 per suitcase at 23 kgs (50lb).
- There will be an overnight stay in a hotel in Juba. Rev. Lazarus Oboti who works with Bishop Peter Abia will take care of all your needs (taxi, hotel, food, COVID-19 tests, etc.). His contact details are provided in the introduction above.
- The next day, you will fly to Yambio on MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship). Your trip must be scheduled in such a way that you get to Juba either by Monday to fly to Yambio on Tuesday or arrive in Juba on Wednesday to depart to Yambio on Thursday. If by chance you miss your connecting flight to Yambio, please notify Rev. Peter Abia for alternative arrangements with local commercial flights (Cush Airlines or others).
- MAF charges $260 for a one way ticket, and they allow the passenger only 20 kgs. More than this is considered as extra luggage and is charged at $1.5 per kg (extra 50lb suitcase would be $35 on MAF flight. If there are extra kgs, they need to be booked in advance. MAF South Sudan operates the same way as that of Uganda.
- You may also choose other options, for instance flying into Nairobi, Kenya/or Entebbe, Uganda. The ELCSS/S discourages this route due to lots of visa complications.
- For the trip from Juba to Yambio with MAF, you will need to send the following information to the Office of the Bishop in Yambio a week or two prior to your flight from the US: your body weight, all carry-on weight and the weight of each piece of luggage (estimate).
- The return flight will start at Yambio, South Sudan and then to Juba, on to Addis Ababa and ending in your US end point city. Ethiopian Air has an acceptable flight service that has met our traveling needs to and from Yambio.
- Most business in major cities of Africa accept major credit cards. You can purchase food and services as you transit through Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Entebbe, or Juba. The Panorama Hotel in Juba accepts a credit card, but South Sudan’s use of credit cards has a way to go and is nonexistent in Yambio.
- Cash is necessary. $50 and $100 bills are preferable. Bills also need to be new or close to being new with no tears or marks. CLIHM’s principal would be happy to help you in exchanging currencies in Yambio’s financial market.