Egypt Transportation Tips by midnight_mike

Traveling around Egypt with El Gouna bus company

If you are traveling through Italy or Germany by bus, a first class ticket may not seem worth the extra money. In Egypt, however, it is. We took an El Gouna bus from Sharm to Cairo. The El Gouna bus was leaving two hours later than we had planned to stay. But we had a bad experience on an East Delta bus coming in from Nuweiba. On that bus, the guy in front of me was smoking and there was no air conditioning. The windows were also so dirty that it was hard to see outside.

First class buses in Egypt travel faster and are more tourist friendly than the other buses. Plus, the difference in price between first and second class is not that much. The bus from Sharm to Cairo left at 7:30 p.m. and cost 75 Egyptian pounds. It should be noted that El Gouna leaves from a different bus station than East Delta.

Mode: TO

Type: Bus

Arrival at the Cairo airport

After landing in Cairo, you will go through customs. If you already have a visa, you can proceed to the inspection line. If you don't have one, you can buy a single entry visa at the cashier window on your left side just before inspection. Once through, you can pick up your bags and get on your way.

If you plan to visit other countries and return to Egypt on the same trip, be sure to get a multiple-entry visa before you leave.

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Type: Airplane

Crossing into Israel

Upon arrival at the Egyptian border with Israel, you will have to pay an exit tax of a couple dollars. Once that is done and you clear Egyptian customs, you will have to walk about 100 meters to get to the Israeli border. Depending on where you are from and what type of visa stamps you already have in your passport, there is the possibility that you may be questioned. I was detained for questioning for about 30 minutes because I had visited Syria the previous year. If this is how they treat Americans, I cannot expect them to be any nicer to other nationalities.

As far as traffic, the Taba/Eilat border crossing should not be crowded. There are not many Egyptians traveling to Israel and Israeli traffic into Egypt is light.

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Type: Bus

Crossing the border into Israel via Taba

After getting off the bus at the Taba bus station, you will likely have to walk the three blocks (about 400 meters) to get to the border. It can actually be a pleasant walk. If there is a taxi--Taba taxis are pretty beat up--do not pay more than $2 or $3. That is a pretty generous amount as it is such a short ride, but they will expect foreigners to pay more. If you are lucky, you might be able to hitch a ride to the border. I mentioned this because it happened to me.

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Type: Bus