Sudan: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Sudan feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 35 written places.
Legendary hospitality - strangers invite you to tea before asking your name.
✓ Considered polite
- Accept tea and coffee often - the jebena coffee ritual is friendship in pot form
- Shake hands warmly and touch your right hand to your heart afterwards
- Dress modestly - loose clothing covering shoulders and knees, and a headscarf is common for women
- Learn salaam alaykum and shukran - fragments of Arabic transform the welcome
✗ Better avoided
- Refuse hospitality outright - a sip honours the host even if you cannot stay
- Use the left hand for food or greetings
- Photograph people without asking
- Rush - tea has as many rounds as the conversation needs
Worth knowing
- It is a cash economy - foreign bank cards cannot be relied on, so bring what you need and exchange as you go
- Alcohol is not sold
- The weekend is Friday and Saturday; Friday mornings are for prayers and most things close
- Street tea ladies serve sweet spiced tea on every corner - a few coins buys the national ritual
Plugs and voltage: Wikipedia, «Mains electricity by country» (after the IEC World Plugs list), read 15 October 2026.
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.