The Jebel Marra plateau, rising to 3000 m, in Northern Darfur, is an area of outstanding scenic beauty with an enjoyable climate and it is the home of the Fur people whose terraced fields cover the hillsides. Mineral springs occur. Some areas still require a permit before one can visit . Sudan Airways serve the main cities, and air taxis can be hired. Road and rail travel are subject to weather conditions, and there are few all-weather roads. A new road now links Port Sudan and Khartoum but the Khartoum-Juba road is only passable from November to April and most of the roads are loosely classified as improved, with bridges and culverts built on the worst sections . There is an excellent bus service in the Gezira. Within the towns taxis are plentiful. Sudan drives on the right.

Steamer services run from Kosti to Juba (10-12 days upstream, 8-10 downstream) and passengers must take their own supplies. Steamers ply between Karima and Dongola, a two-day journey. Ferries run from Wadi Halfa to Aswan in Egypt through Lake Nasser, calling at Abu Simbel. 

Khartoum is a modern city, founded in 1820, and is the main tourist center with several museums, a zoo, the Republican Palace and the University of Khartoum. Across the river at Omdurman are the tomb of Mohamed Ahmed al-Mahdi and a Mahdist museum in the house of the former Khalifa. The Suq surrounds the central mosque and there is a local camel market. Dervish dancing can be seen at the Hamad el-Nil cemetery outside the town at 4.00 p.m. on Fridays. Short Nile cruises may be had. 

The sixth cataract and Jebel Aulia Dam are half a day's trip from Khartoum but it is best to allow a day for the Gezira. Shendi is the centre for the Meroe tombs and a tourist village is planned.

 Port Sudan has several hotels and visitors can cross to Suakin, the old port on a small coral island, and EI-Geif on the mainland. Plans to increase tourism include the restoration of the old coral stone houses in Suakin. Red Sea centers are Arousa where there is bungalow accommodation and Sanganeb, 2.5 hours by boat from Port Sudan, where simple diving facilities exist.

Sudan is big game country ,where large herds of giraffe, antelope and other herbivores graze the savannahs pursued by their attendant predators. Oryx and ostrich are found in the deserts and Nubian ibex and Barbary sheep in the Red Sea hills. There are crocodiles and hippopotami in the Sudd and elephants and buffalo in the forests. The Nile lechwe, Mrs. Gray's antelope, is found only in the Sudd.