Somalia operates three distinct aviation and administrative zones. Mogadishu operates Aden Adde International Airport with direct flights from Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Dubai, Istanbul, and Djibouti. Turkish Airlines maintains the most consistent schedule into the capital. Hargeisa in Somaliland operates its own Egal International Airport with flights from Addis Ababa, Djiboti, and Dubai primarily on Ethiopian Airlines and Fly Dubai. Bosaso serves Puntland with more limited connections. Each zone issues separate entry documentation under different authorities. No land borders allow routine tourist crossings. The Djibouti border sees humanitarian and resident traffic but lacks formal visa-on-arrival infrastructure for short-term visitors. The Kenya border at Dhobley remains militarily contested. The Ethiopia crossings function irregularly.
The Federal Government of Somalia issues visas through embassies in Nairobi, Addis Ababa, Ankara, Beijing, and a handful of other capitals. Visa on arrival at Mogadishu airport exists in principle but approval depends on sponsorship letters from registered Somali businesses or government entities submitted before travel. Processing takes unpredictable intervals. Somaliland issues separate visas on arrival at Hargeisa airport for most nationalities at fifty United States dollars for thirty days. Puntland theoretically accepts Somali federal visas but operates autonomously in practice. No coordination exists between these systems. Entering Somaliland from Mogadishu requires exiting Somalia federally and re-entering Somaliland separately despite no international recognition of the border.
Somalia has no functional domestic banking infrastructure accessible to foreign visitors. The central banking system collapsed in 1991. Money transfer operates entirely through hawala networks—Dahabshiil and Amal Express dominate. These companies transfer funds globally and distribute cash locally but do not issue cards or maintain accounts foreigners can open. Bring United States dollars in cash. The Somali shilling exists but suffers from counterfeiting and rate instability. Most transactions above convenience-store level occur in dollars. Somaliland prints its own shilling with more reliable denominations but dollars remain preferred for hotels and vehicle hire. No ATMs function for international cards. Credit cards see zero acceptance outside one Mogadishu hotel charging significant surcharges.
The United States dollar should arrive in crisp post-2013 series notes. Torn currency, significant writing, or pre-2009 designs often face rejection. Hundred-dollar bills get better rates than smaller denominations. Change comes in local currency at variable rates. Mogadishu hotel rates start at sixty dollars for functional security-screened properties. Somaliland hotels in Hargeisa begin at thirty-five dollars. Vehicle and driver hire in Mogadishu runs one hundred fifty to three hundred dollars daily depending on armoring and security personnel. Somaliland costs half that. Meals in basic restaurants cost two to six dollars. Bottled water sells for under one dollar. Fresh camel milk costs fifty cents per liter at Hargeisa markets.
Mobile telecommunications dominate connectivity. Hormuud Telecom covers southern and central Somalia. Somtel and Telesom operate in Somaliland. SIM cards cost two to five dollars with no registration barriers. Data packages offer better value than Western countries—five gigabytes runs approximately eight dollars monthly. 4G exists in Mogadishu and Hargeisa city centers. Voice quality exceeds data reliability. Internet cafes persist in commercial districts at under one dollar hourly. Hotels above forty dollars nightly generally provide wifi though speeds drop evenings. Electricity in Mogadishu comes from private neighborhood generator systems paid monthly. Somaliland has marginally more stable grid coverage in Hargeisa. Outages occur daily. Bring portable battery banks rated 20,000 milliamp-hours minimum.
Mogadishu drinking water comes bottled exclusively. Tap infrastructure carries contamination. Brands like Zamzam and Hayat dominate at under fifty cents per liter and a half. Hargeisa municipal water runs periodically but bottles remain standard practice. Restaurants use local water for cooking. Gastrointestinal illness affects most visitors within one week. Oral rehydration salts sell in pharmacies citywide under the Oresol brand. Pharmacies stock ciprofloxacin and azithromycin without prescriptions at two to four dollars per course. Counterfeit medications circulate. The Turkish-built Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Hospital in Mogadishu maintains the highest surgical standards nationally. Somaliland's Hargeisa Group Hospital operates the equivalent in the northwest. Medical evacuation to Nairobi costs fifteen thousand dollars minimum on charter flights—ensure coverage exists before entry.