Fabulous scenery, stellar ruins in charming ... Libya?

When the U.S. government last month lifted its 22-year-old ban on Americans traveling to Libya, several tour operators rushed in with itineraries.

“This has been a ‘forbidden fruit’ nation,” said Tom Stanley, president of the luxury Travcoa company in Newport Beach. “There are a lot of people who are curious.”

But visiting Moammar Kadafi’s socialist North African nation, which boasts stellar Roman ruins and striking Sahara scenery, won’t be the typical tourist jaunt, at least not yet.

The State Department on March 5 issued a sternly worded warning against going to Libya, citing safety issues. Getting a visa can be tedious because there is no Libyan embassy or consulate in the U.S.

Spending money may be problematic. That’s partly because U.S. economic sanctions against Libya forbid Americans from using U.S.-issued credit cards there. The same sanctions forbid U.S. airlines from serving Libya, so you’ll have to fly on a foreign carrier.

The country’s tourist infrastructure, from hotels to domestic air service, is not extensively developed, tour operators say, although it’s improving.

Going to Kadafi’s country may pose political and ethical dilemmas too. In lifting the travel ban, the White House praised Libya for taking “significant steps” toward disclosing and dismantling its weapons of mass destruction. But the U.S. still lists Libya as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Libya’s human rights record has been criticized in Amnesty International’s annual reports. (Libya has disputed the criticisms.) But there has been progress on that front too: Kadafi last month met with Amnesty representatives during the activist group’s first visit to Libya in 15 years.

If you go to Libya, you’ll find what some regard as the best preserved Roman ruins outside Italy. These include the sprawling ancient city of Leptis Magna and the theater at Sabratha, both not far from Tripoli. Cyrene has fine Greek ruins. The Sahara in the south, with its intriguing Tuareg culture and prehistoric rock paintings, is popular with European adventure travelers.

Those are some of Libya’s charms. Here are some of the issues:

* Safety: “It is still not safe to go there,” said Stuart Patt, spokesman for the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs. “You have to be alert. And you certainly shouldn’t be drawing attention to yourself as an American citizen.”

In its March 5 warning on Libya, the State Department cited “extremist groups” that “continue to plan terrorist attacks against U.S. interests in the region.” In an information sheet, the department noted that “crime is a growing problem in Libya.” (For the full report, visit www.travel.state.gov.)

Some tour operators disagree with this assessment.

“Libya is very, very safe,” said Janet Moore, president of Distant Horizons in Long Beach, who was in Libya this month researching her company’s upcoming itineraries there. “I feel I could walk anywhere at any time and would be quite safe.”

In any event, there is no U.S. embassy or consulate in Libya because the two nations don’t have diplomatic ties. Belgium’s embassy represents Americans’ interests there.

* Visas: The visa process for Americans going to Libya, being new, is a bit sketchy. If you’re taking a group tour, the company should be able to guide you through it.

If you’re on your own, you’ll need to deal with Libya’s consulates, known as People’s Bureaus. The nearest one is in Ottawa, Canada, (613) 230-0919, www.libya-canada.org. (At the Travel section’s deadline Tuesday, there were reports that Libya hoped to open an office in Washington, D.C., that could handle visas.)

The first step in getting a visa, said Rana Demachaie, a staff member at the People’s Bureau in Ottawa, is to contact a travel agency in Libya, which will seek authorization on your behalf from the government there.

If that is approved, the consulate can then issue the visa if you mail your passport along with $102.50 in Canadian dollars or its equivalent (about $76 U.S.) One wrinkle: You must arrange to have the first page of your passport translated into Arabic before sending it in.

* Money: “Bring lots of cash,” Distant Horizons’ Moore advised. Alternatively, sign up for an all-inclusive tour that covers your day-to-day expenses.

Here’s the problem: Shortly after terrorist attacks at European airports in December 1985, the U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Libya, which it accused of supporting terrorism. Many of these strictures remain, although modified after the ban was lifted.

Basically, these rules forbid American visitors in Libya from using credit cards issued by U.S. banks. Libya is mostly a cash economy anyway, travelers say, although this may be changing; Moore said her Tripoli hotel accepted Visa credit cards. Don’t expect to find an ATM network in Libya either.

With a tour, you avoid money hassles by paying before you enter Libya. (The rules grant more monetary freedom to travel suppliers than to individuals.)

Among companies marketing new tours to Libya:

* Mountain Travel Sobek: A 13-day trip, offered by this 35-year-old adventure specialist based in Emeryville, Calif., will include a six-day, camel-supported desert trek. From $4,150 per person, double occupancy, with round-trip Paris-Tripoli airfare. Departs April 23. (888) 687-6235, www.mtsobek.com.

* Travcoa: “Classical Libya,” offered by this 50-year-old tour operator, is a 10-day trip focusing on Greek and Roman ruins. Departs May 7. $4,995 per person, double occupancy; airfare is extra. (800) 992-2003, www.travcoa.com.

* Distant Horizons: This Long Beach-based cultural tours specialist is offering a Libya tour that includes two nights in London on the way. Oct. 2-16. $5,540 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air from New York. (800) 333-1240, www.distant-horizons.com.

Jane Engle welcomes comments but can’t respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A., CA 90012, or e-mail jane.engle@latimes.com.