TRAVEL INFORMATION

Direct flights to Egypt are regularly available from most European capitals. Both British Airways and EgyptAir fly daily from Heathrow (with a flight time of approximately 5 hours) while Air France flies daily from Paris (4.5 hours). Other daily flights include CSA from Prague, KLM from Amsterdam, Lufthansa from Frankfurt, Malev from Budapest, Olympic from Athens, TAROM from Bucharest and Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. Charter flights are available to both domestic and international destinations.

EgyptAir flies daily direct to Cairo from New York’s JFK airport. The flight time is approximately 12 hours. Delta flies direct to and from New York four times a week. There are no direct flights to Egypt from Canada.

Travellers from Australia and New Zealand usually get to Egypt via London, or add on Cairo as part of a Round the World Ticket. However, Singapore Airlines offers three flights a week from Singapore to Cairo (with a flight time of approximately 10 hours), while EgyptAir flies to Bangkok daily (about 9 hours). Fares vary according to the time of year.

Cairo International Airport is 20 km (12 miles) to the northeast of the city and has three terminals. Terminal 3 serves all domestic and international EgyptAir flights, and all international flights from fellow Star Alliance airlines, such as Lufthansa. Terminal 2 (undergoing renovation during 2009–10) serves non-Star Alliance airlines, such as British Airways, and also Saudi and Gulf state airlines. All other international flights land at Terminal 1.

All terminals are connected to the city centre by bus and minibus, but the fastest and most comfortable transfer is by taxi.

There is no difficulty in finding a taxi at the airport, as drivers descend on new arrivals the minute they have cleared Customs. The time of day, number, gender and appearance of the passengers, amount of luggage, volume of traffic and bargaining skills all factor into the fare. A trip from the airport to downtown Cairo typically costs between LE 40 and 80 per car load, not per person. New arrivals may also be offered a “limousine” service – the fixed rate for the trip in a decent saloon is around LE 60 to 80.

The airport in Alexandria is 5 km (3 miles) south of the city and is served by buses and minibuses. A taxi to the centre of town costs approximately LE 20 to 40. Most visitors arriving at Luxor are met at the airport by representatives from their hotels or cruise boats. If not, a taxi into town costs around LE 10 to 15. Similarly, most visitors to Sharm el-Sheikh are met by hotel transportation. Taxis from the airport, located north of Naama Bay, test the skills of the best bargainers. Expect to pay around LE 30 to 50 per trip. The situation at Hurghada airport is similar, but a taxi into town should cost only LE 25 to 40.

Buses run daily from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to Egypt, crossing at Rafah or Taba. Taba is the gateway to the Sinai coast while Rafah is more convenient for getting to Cairo. The journey between Jerusalem and Cairo takes 12–14 hours, depending on how long it takes to cross the border. In recent years the process has been streamlined slightly at the Taba crossing, which serves both the Israeli resort of Eilat and Egyptian resorts on the Gulf of Aqaba and the rest of the Sinai.

It is also possible to enter Egypt by land from Jordan through Israel. The journey involves a 5-km (3-mile) taxi or “service” taxi from Aqaba to the border, followed by a short walk to the Israeli side. From there, visitors can take a taxi into Eilat. Buses and taxis run from the centre of Eilat to the border with Egypt at Taba. Departure taxes must be paid when leaving Jordan and Israel, even if one is just passing through the latter.

Bear in mind that having Israeli stamps in your passport may preclude you from visiting other Arab countries.

Although Egypt is served by several ports on both its Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, the advent of cheap air fares and package holidays has inevitably seen the decline of passenger ferries bringing travellers to the country. There is one exception to this – the crossing from Aqaba, in Jordan, to Nuweiba, in the Sinai. This route is served by both a ferry, which takes 3–5 hours, depending on the weather, and a high-speed catamaran service that does the trip in an hour.

There are no longer any direct ferries from Greece or Cyprus, but two cruise ships sail from Limassol to Port Said, taking passengers on a two-day group visa to Egypt.

Otherwise the only other arrivals by sea are passengers from the cruise ships in the surrounding waters, who come ashore on day trips to visit some of the sights.