Money & Logistics on Socotra

Cash is the only currency that works

There are no ATMs anywhere on Socotra. No card readers in restaurants. No mobile payment systems. Everything, from your visa fee to a bottle of water in Hadibo, is paid in cash, in US dollars.

This catches first-time visitors off guard more than anything else on the island. Plan your cash before you leave home, because once you land, there is no way to get more.

What kind of bills

US dollars only. Bills must be:

• Printed after 2009. Older series notes are routinely refused, even if technically valid.
• Crisp and unmarked. No tears, no pen marks, no folds through the face, no stamps. Bills with visible wear get handed back.
• Ideally $100 denominations. Bigger bills are preferred and get a better exchange rate when spent on services. Keep some $20s and $10s for tips and small purchases.

Banks in most countries will hand you bills from circulation, which means they have been folded and handled. Ask specifically for new, sequential bills from a sealed brick. If the teller can't do this, try a different branch.

A working trick: pack bills flat between the pages of a book or a hard-cover notebook. Loose bills in a wallet wrinkle during travel; flat bills arrive presentable.

Where to exchange before you fly

The best places to get crisp USD:

• Sana'a and Aden exchange houses if you are routing through Yemen (rare).
• Abu Dhabi — exchange counters at UAE Exchange or Al Ansari branches in the city or airport consistently stock new USD bills.
• Jeddah — exchange houses in the Al Balad area and at King Abdulaziz International Airport (Terminal 1 departures) have good stock.
• Your home bank — order two to three weeks ahead, specify new series bills.

Do not rely on exchange at Abu Dhabi or Jeddah departure gates. The queues are long, the rates are poor, and the stock of clean bills is hit or miss.

How much cash to carry

For a standard 8-day tour where the package is already paid, budget roughly:

• $400 to $600 per person for on-island extras, drinks, and small purchases.
• $100 for the drone permit, if you're bringing one. Paid in cash on arrival.
• $200 to $400 for a tip pool (see below).
• $150 for the Yemeni visa, if your operator hasn't already covered it.

Total working figure: $800 to $1,200 per person in cash, on top of your pre-paid package. Bring slightly more than you need. Unspent dollars are easy to take home; running out on day four is a problem with no solution.

Tipping norms

Tipping is customary and expected. The standard is $10 to $20 per person per day for your guide and driver team, pooled at the end of the trip. For a group of four on an 8-day tour, a pool of $300 to $600 is fair.

Hand the tip to the lead guide at the end of the trip, in USD, ideally in a sealed envelope. The lead guide distributes to the rest of the team based on their internal arrangement. Tipping individually during the trip muddies the pool and sometimes causes friction.

A small extra for the cook (if separate from the guide team), around $30 to $50 per trip, is appreciated. Staff at camps and guesthouses: $5 per night is standard.

Connectivity: what works, what doesn't

Starlink is available at a handful of camps and lodges on Socotra, typically from 6pm to 8pm when the generator is running. It's enough for WhatsApp, basic email, and one or two maps downloads. It is not enough for video calls or uploading raw photo files.

Yemen Mobile and SabaFon cell networks cover Hadibo and a narrow strip around the airport. Signal drops to nothing once you leave town. Dragon blood tree forests, dune fields, coastal camps: no signal. If you need to stay reachable, your only option is Starlink in the evening or a satellite phone (rare, ask your operator).

No international roaming works reliably. A Yemeni SIM is available in Hadibo for around $5, but the coverage is the same as above — useful only in and around town.

Data speeds over Starlink when shared across a camp of 12 people: slow. Think 2010-era 3G. Don't plan to upload video.

What you cannot use on Socotra

• Credit cards. Not accepted anywhere.
• Debit cards. No ATMs and no POS terminals.
• Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay). Not usable.
• Traveler's cheques. Not accepted.
• Euros, pounds, dirhams. Theoretically exchangeable in Hadibo at poor rates, but assume only USD.

A practical packing list for money

• USD in $100 bills, flat between two books, in your carry-on.
• $150 in $20s and $10s for visa change and small purchases.
• $50 in $1s and $5s for tips and local souvenirs.
• A separate envelope with your tip pool.
• A small lock pouch or money belt for the bulk of your cash.

Carry cash in two places: a primary wallet and a backup stash. If one disappears, you still have a trip.