Egypt

Travel by Aircraft

There are airports at all of the major cities and if you plan to tour the country it will be necessary to travel by plane. For UK travellers, Air Egypt runs services from Heathrow to Cairo, Luxor (not Sundays) and Sharm el Sheik. It also runs the internal flights.

Travel by Car

If you plan to travel by car, be very careful! All roads, even dual carriageways are shared by big trucks, cars, donkey carts and pedestrians. There appear to be very few rules except to give way to the person who uses the horn most often.

Travel by Train

A railway runs parallel with the Nile and provides an altenative to aircraft travel for the adventurous holidaymaker.

Travel by Boat

By far the best way to travel in Egypt is by boat, either the large Nile Cruisers, or the lovely sailing craft the felucca.

Travel by Taxi

Taxis are clearly marked by their colour, and are often very old. There's no need to hail one - they hail you. Negotiate the price in advance and be prepared for a hair-raising journey.

An alternative to a taxi travel is one of the colourful horse-drawn carriages. These can be expensive but fun.

Travel on Foot

Walking may seem to be the simplest form of transport, but Egyptian taxi and carriage drivers will hassle you as they find it impossible to believe that someone as rich as you (all westerners are richer than them) would choose to walk. Also, be prepared to be accosted by friendly locals who chat for a while then invite you to see their, or their friend's, shop. This takes some getting used to, but a polite "no thank you" [pronounced "la shukran" in Arabic - see our language page] and a smile usually does the trick.

More basic information about Egypt

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