Getting Around Egypt

Egypt is long and thin and almost everybody lives along one river, which makes getting around simpler than the map suggests. The country has been moving people up and down the same corridor for a very long time and it is good at it.

Trains

Egyptian National Railways runs the spine from Alexandria through Cairo to Luxor and Aswan, and the overnight sleeper between Cairo and Upper Egypt is a genuinely good way to travel: you save a hotel night and a day of transit at once.

Day trains are cheap, busy and a real cross section of the country. Book ahead for the sleeper, which fills. Fares and classes are published by the railway rather than here.

In Cairo

The Cairo metro is fast, cheap and the only reliable way to cross the city at rush hour, which in Cairo is most of the day. Signage is bilingual. There are carriages reserved for women, which many women travelers use and which are clearly marked.

Above ground, ride hailing apps work well and remove the fare negotiation that makes street taxis tiring. Traffic is heavy, assertive and largely indifferent to lane markings. Crossing a road on foot is a skill acquired by watching locals do it.

The river

A Nile cruise between Luxor and Aswan is the classic route and is genuinely the sensible way to see the temples along it, most of which sit within sight of the water. Feluccas, the lateen sailed boats, run short trips and river crossings.

The Nile is working infrastructure rather than scenery, which is worth remembering when you are on it: it irrigates, it carries freight, and people live along it.

Flying, and driving

Domestic flights connect Cairo with Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Red Sea and save a lot of time on a short trip. Abu Simbel in particular is usually flown or done as a long organized road convoy from Aswan.

Self driving is not recommended for most visitors. Road accidents are common because of variable road conditions, dangerous driving and weak enforcement, and driving at night outside the main cities is specifically discouraged. Seatbelts are mandatory. A driver is inexpensive and is the better answer.