Direct regular flights to Egypt (more precisely, to Cairo) are made only by two airlines – Aeroflot and EgyptAir, ticket prices vary greatly – it all depends on the season. In addition, most of the country’s tourist resorts can be easily reached with a transfer somewhere in Europe. Is it worth it? — that’s the main question. It is much more profitable to immediately purchase a tour than a separate ticket. Fortunately, hundreds of charters a week fly to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Of course, we are not talking about the period when a terrorist threat was declared in Egypt, in connection with which all flights were canceled. See Countryaah.com for other countries starting with E.
The duration of the flight to the two main resorts of the country from Moscow or St. Petersburg is about 4.5 hours. In addition, charter flights to Marsa Alam are possible.
Details on how to get to the popular region of Egypt – Alexandria.
Transport of Egypt
It is convenient to travel between the cities of Egypt by buses, trains and planes. Tourists most often choose buses, simply because they are more economical. But if you need to get from the capital to some resort in the Sinai Peninsula, it is better to use an internal flight. EgyptAir has something like a monopoly on flights within the country, so it’s better to look for tickets on the company’s website. The cost of a flight from Sharm to Luxor and back in one day (which is usually enough) is about 170 USD. The price strongly depends on the season, it is quite possible to catch a one-way flight for 35 USD.
Trains
You can also travel around the country by train (and even with some comfort), but for security reasons, you should limit yourself to only the most popular routes. In particular, along the Alexandria-Cairo-Luxor-Aswan branch and back, as well as from Cairo to Mersa Matruh. Other routes to Suez and the Libyan border are “folk”, to put it mildly, exotic. People travel lying on luggage racks or riding on the roofs of wagons and diesel locomotives.
A foreigner may not be allowed on such a train, however, it is almost impossible to understand the schedule in Arabic.
The state manages rail transportation, you can usually buy tickets the day before at the station or online on the website (simple registration is required). It is often easier to do this at the ticket office at the train station or at the office of a travel agency. There are several types of trains worth buying a ticket for (and preferably not lower than second class) – these are the so-called high-speed Spanish (Speed Spanish) with red and white cars and the blue cars of the best trains in the country Special Turbine. The fare from Cairo to Aswan on the latter will be about 240 EGP for the first class and about 140 EGP for the second. For comparison: a ticket for a “Spanish” first/second class train is 140/70 EGP.
Buses
In Egypt, there are two types of intercity buses – simple (baladis) and tourist. The latter, of course, are more comfortable and safe, although it’s a sin to complain about ordinary municipal buses traveling over long distances, especially when compared with their “colleagues” from the far corners of Russia. Their particular weakness is poor scheduling. Therefore, it is better to use special tourist transport, fortunately, the country has a considerable choice of carriers, the largest are Super Jet Buses, Upper Egypt Buses and East Delta Buses. The fare from Cairo to Sharm is about 100 EGP.
Before buying, check with the agency manager that the bus will have TV and air conditioning, and take headphones with you.
Urban transport
Urban transport in the main resorts is not particularly diverse: it is represented by the local equivalent of minibuses and taxis. Shuttle minibuses run in the central part of the resorts along the coast. The fare is about 2-3 EGP per person in one direction depending on the distance.
Taxis in the resorts can be hired for 15-30 EGP during the day and 20-40 EGP at night (in Cairo – a little cheaper). It is always necessary to agree in advance with the driver about the amount.
You should not rent a car in Egypt: most local drivers have the remotest idea of the rules of conduct on the road. This is especially true for Cairo.
- Features of car rental in Egypt
Communication and Wi-Fi
Communication in Egypt (at least over the global network) is at its best. The thing is that back in 2006, the Ministry of Tourism obliged all four- and five-star hotels to provide their guests with high-quality Internet access (however, no one said that it would be free). However, almost every cafe today in large resorts and cities is equipped with free spot Wi-Fi, so paying 30 EGP per day in some hotels when you can just cross the street and catch a free network is ridiculous.
Roaming in Egypt is not cheap, many people buy local SIM cards of Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat operators (from 20 EGP, you need a passport), so the cost of a call to Russia is reduced significantly – about 10 RUB per minute.
