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| Egypt
Getting Around - Internal Travel |
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Air
Egypt
Air operates daily flights between:
• Cairo
• Alexandria
• Luxor
• Aswan
•
Abu Simbel
• Hurghada
For information on schedules, contact local offices or see Egypt
Air.
Air Sinai operates services
from Cairo to:
• Eilat
•
El Arish
• Hurghada
• Luxor
• Ras
El Nakab
• St Catherine
• Sharm el-Sheikh
• Taba
Sea/River
There are slow and fast ferry services linking Hurghada
with Sharm el-Sheikh in Sinai.
Slow ferries operate daily on Monday, Wednesday, Friday with a journey
time of 5 to 6 hours.
Fast ferries operate daily on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday with
a journey time of 1 hour 30 minutes.
The traditional River Nile sailing boats, feluccas,
can be hired by the hour for relaxed sailing on the Nile. Regular
Nile cruises operate between Luxor and Aswan,
and sometimes between Cairo and Aswan, usually for the following
periods: 4 nights, 5 days (the standard tour), 6 nights, 7 days
(extended tour), and 14 nights, 15 days (full Nile cruise). There
are over 160 individually owned boats of all categories operating
on the River Nile.
Rail
A comprehensive rail network run by Egyptian State Railways
(telephone number: (02) 574 9474 or 575 3555) offering a high standard
of service is operated along an east to west axis from Sallom
on the Libyan border to Alexandria and Cairo,
and along the Nile to Luxor and
Aswan. There are also rail links to Suez
and Port Said. Regular trains from Cairo
to Alexandria operate, and also many luxury air-conditioned
day and night trains with sleeping and restaurant cars from Cairo
to Luxor and Aswan for the Nile
Valley tourist trade.
Bookings for the overnight train should be made 1 week in advance
through a travel agent or through:
Abela Egypt,
Ramses Station,
Ramses Square,
Cairo
Telephone number: (2) 574 9274 or 574 9474
Fax number: (2) 574 9074
e-mail: info@sleepingtrains.com
website: www.sleepingtrains.com
On Egyptian state railways, children under 4 years travel free.
Children aged 4 to 9 years pay half fare. Holders of Youth Hostel
cards can also get reductions. For further details of other possible
reductions, contact the Tourist Office.
Road
Traffic drives on the right. Besides the Nile
Valley and Delta, which have a broad road
network, there are paved roads along the Mediterranean
and African Red Sea coasts. The road looping through
to the Western Desert oases from Asyut
to Giza is now paved.
The speed limit is usually 90 kilometres per hour
(56 miles per hour) on motorways and 100 kilometres per hour (62
miles per hour) on the desert motorway from Cairo to Alexandria
with substantial fines for speeding.
Private motoring in the desert regions is not advised without suitable
vehicles and a good guide. For further details, contact the Egyptian
Automobile Club based in Cairo.
Bus
The national bus system serves the Nile Valley
and also the coastal road.
Main routes are from Cairo to:
• St Catherine
• Sharm el-Sheikh
• Dahab
• Ras Sudr
• El-Tour
• Taba
• Rafah
•
from Suez to El-Tour and Sharm el-Sheikh
• from Sharm
el-Sheikh to Taba, Neweiba, El-Tour, Dahab and St Catherine.
Coach services operate between from Cairo
to:
• Agami,
• Marakia-Mrabila
•
Marina-Aidda Sidy Abd El Rahman
• Matrouh
•
Ma’amoura Beach and
• Hurghada
Taxi
These are available in the larger cities and are metered. Long-distance
group taxis for all destinations are quite cheap. Fares should be
agreed in advance of trip.
Car hire
This is available through Budget, Europcar, Hertz, Avis,
Thrifty and local companies. The driver must be at least
25 years of age.
Documentation
An International Driving Permit and visitor’s
own insurance are required to drive any motor vehicle. Carnet
de Passage or a suitable deposit is essential for the temporary
import of visitor’s own vehicle. All vehicles (including motorcycles)
are required to carry a fire extinguisher and a
red hazard triangle by law.
Urban Transport
The government-owned Cairo Transport Authority
operates buses and tram services in Cairo and also the cross-Nile
ferries. There is a central area flat fare price. In addition, there
are other buses and fixed-route shared taxi and minibus services
run by the private operators. Vehicles generally wait at city terminals
to obtain a full load, but there are many frequent departures. Fares
are 3 to 4 times higher than on the buses.
Cairo’s suburban railways have been upgraded and provide a
rapid transit network, including Africa’s first underground
railway. Alexandria also has buses and tramways, with first and
second class accommodation and distance-regulated fares.
The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and
minutes) from Cairo to other major cities/towns in Egypt. |
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Air |
Road |
Sea |
Alexandria |
0.30 |
3.00 |
2.30 |
Luxor |
1.00 |
12.00 |
17.00 |
Aswan |
2.00 |
16.00 |
19.00 |
*Port
Said |
0.45 |
3.00 |
3.00 |
St
Catherine |
0.30 |
4.00 |
- |
Hurghada |
1.00 |
8.00 |
- |
Sharm
el-Sh’k |
1.30 |
7.00 |
- |
Marsa
Matr’h |
1.30 |
5.00 |
9.00 |
Arish |
1.00 |
5.00 |
9.00 |
Ismailia |
- |
2.00 |
2.30 |
Suez |
- |
4.00 |
4.00 |
New
Valley |
2.00 |
12.00 |
- |
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| Note : *Overnight journey.
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