Nearly all long-distance bus routes in Israel are operated by the Egged company. This virtual monopoly at least has the advantage of making bus travel straightforward and simple. Except to the Dead Sea region, services are frequent. For example buses depart from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv every 15 minutes, to Haifa every 45 minutes, and to Tiberias every hour. There is rarely any need to book in advance; you can simply turn up at the city bus station and get a ticket for the next service out. The only time that you might need to book in advance is if you are travelling to Ein Gedi, Masada or Eilat, as there are only about four buses a day that head in this direction.

Given the small size of the country, journeys are never very long (the longest one is from Jerusalem to Eilat, which lasts around five hours). Egged buses are comfortable and air-conditioned, with plenty of space in the baggage holds.

There are passes for an unlimited number of journeys, which are valid for one or more weeks. These are called Israbus cards. For information on these passes and reduced fares for students, contact the bus stations or Egged Tours , which has sales offices in all major towns and cities.

The one drawback to Israeli buses is that there are no services on Shabbat (Sabbath). This means that you should not plan to travel any time from late Friday afternoon to early evening Saturday. There are no buses either on Jewish holidays. This can prove highly disruptive for any visitors caught unawares.

With the constant new developments in the administrative situation, public transport in the Palestinian territories is forever changing. In general, there are two options: Arab buses or shared taxis. Arab buses depart from two stations in East Jerusalem, one on Nablus Road (mainly for city services), the other on Suleyman Street, opposite the Old City walls. From one of these two, visitors can catch services for West Bank Palestinian towns such as Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho and Ramallah.

Arab shared taxis depart from a parking lot just outside the walls opposite Damascus Gate. They serve all the same destinations as the buses, but they are faster and depart far more frequently.

In general Arab buses do not go to Israeli towns, and vice versa. It is possible to catch an Israeli Egged bus to Bethlehem, but it drops you off on the highway outside town necessitating a 20-minute walk into the centre.

Israel’s very limited railway system comprises just two lines: one from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and a second from Tel Aviv to Nahariya. The latter runs up the northern Mediterranean coast to near the border with Lebanon. Although the line serves several important destinations, including Haifa and Acre, the drawback is that there are few services each day and on Jewish holidays trains are very crowded. Stations also tend to be some distance from the town centre, often requiring a taxi ride to reach them.

The other line, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv (following on to Haifa), was upgraded in 2005 and it passes through some particularly lovely scenery. However, the train is much slower than the bus – allow an extra 40 minutes. There are 6–10 trains per day.

There are several national bus companies in Jordan. The main one is JETT , which runs blue-and-white air-conditioned buses between Amman and Aqaba, the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge and Petra. Booking your seat in advance is advisable. The JETT bus station in Amman is on King Hussein Road. Ten minutes’ walk downhill on King Hussein is the Abdali bus station, which is where all the other Jordanian bus companies depart from for routes north and west, including services to Ajlun, Jerash and the King Hussein Bridge. All non-JETT buses to the south (including services to Kerak, Petra and Aqaba) leave from the Wahdat station, some 5 km (3 miles) south of the city centre.

The one destination that is hard to reach from Amman is the Dead Sea. There are no scheduled bus services. The only way to get here is by minibus or shared taxi.

Shared taxis are common in Jordan and far more frequent and convenient than buses. A shared taxi ride from Amman to Aqaba takes about five hours and one from Amman to Petra about three.

The only regular rail service in Jordan is the three times a week train up to Damascus. It runs on the Hejaz Railway, built at the turn of the 20th century by the Turks but more famous for being repeatedly blown up by Lawrence of Arabia and his Arab fighters. The trip takes about nine hours but you must have a visa in advance to enter Syria.

To get about in Amman there are city buses, but the destination is indicated only in Arabic. Taxi drivers tend to be honest and use the meter, making this an acceptable way of getting around. Only late in the evening or for longer journeys (such as to and from the airport) will you have to agree upon the price beforehand.

The resorts of the east coast of the Sinai peninsula are served by the buses of Egypt’s East Delta Bus Company. Services are not particularly frequent with no more than about half a dozen buses a day. All of these buses are either coming from or heading to Cairo (which is between seven and nine hours away). Only one or two of these buses pass by St Catherine’s Monastery, so you need to check timetables carefully.

A very informal shared taxi service also operates in Sinai, but it can take time for the cars to fill up and the drivers can be alarmingly reckless.

Aqaba in Jordan and Nuweiba in Sinai are linked by a ferry and a catamaran. Both of these make one sailing each way, once a day. The ferry, which also carries cars, takes three hours, while the catamaran completes the trip in around one hour. Booking in advance is not necessary unless you are travelling with a car. It is possible for passengers to obtain a Sinai Permit on board both vessels – this allows you to stay in the region for up to 14 days.