How to move

Getting around cities

Before giving you specific recommendations depending on the means of transport, we must warn you not to panic if you do not see many traffic lights, even if the traffic is heavy. Egyptians, especially in Cairo, love to drive and profess no sympathy for traffic lights. We repeat: do not panic. People tend to drive very well and very carefully and traffic accidents are minimal.

It is not uncommon for people to cross a busy street and, with a wave of the hand, stop the traffic. In fact, it is part of road safety education in Egypt: if someone wants to cross and makes a hand gesture, cars must brake.

Now we give you all the details on how to get around Egypt by different means of transportation.

Uber

Currently, it is perhaps the best means of transportation in Egypt, it operates in all major cities and the availability of cars is high 24 hours, with a price without surprises, clean and formal.

The same App you usually use here from your smartphone in Egypt, so all you have to do is buy an Egyptian SIM card so you don’t use data from your roaming that will cost you more than the Uber ride itself. How to do it? It’s easy: when you put the card and enter the app, change your phone number associated with the user profile with the new one in Egypt. You will receive an SMS to confirm and that’s it.

Buying a local SIM card is very simple, you will find that many stores will have rechargeable cards, you can even ask your tour guide for help if you are in an organized group.

It is very important that when you order an Uber you are near a known point, such as a store, the door of a hotel or a restaurant, because drivers tend to get lost and will probably call you to find out where to pick you up.

Cabs

Before taking a cab, it is best to negotiate the price beforehand to avoid misunderstandings, even bargaining if necessary (it usually is). And it is a good option if you are traveling on your own and you arrive at Cairo Airport and have to travel to your hotel. There are also many cabs around the bazaars, street markets and tourist restaurants, where you should also agree on the price before getting in.

Another option is private cars, which can be hired at airport offices and hotel receptions. In these cases, the price is fixed in advance and there is no possibility of bargaining or negotiation: they will tell you that the trip is so much, you pay beforehand and the service is performed.

The price difference between a cab and a private car does not vary much, so the ranges are usually similar. For example, from Cairo airport to the hotel, a good price would be between 50 LE (2.80 €) and 70 LE (3.90 €). And to move between the internal points of the city, for example, from the hotel to the pyramids or from the pyramids to the city center, between 10 LE (0.60 €) and 20 LE (1.10 €).

Public transport

• Urban buses. Bus networks operate in many cities in Egypt, but we recommend you take them only in Cairo and Alexandria where directions are written in different languages and their operation is more orderly. They offer larger and more comfortable vehicles than in other cities, where they are more chaotic, the numbers and words are only in Arabic and they tend to be crowded.
  It is the cheapest option for getting around the cities but there are no orderly queues to get on, so you have to find your way through the crowds. Don’t wait for the bus to come to a complete stop before getting on or off: many times you have to do it while the vehicle is moving, very slowly, but without stopping. The bus fare is 8 LE.
• Metro. Available only in Cairo and with optimum performance, generally on time and with fast and safe trains. It is a good option for getting around the center and some suburban areas, but it is such a large city that it is obvious that the subway line cannot cover it completely. Metro tickets are cheaper than bus tickets, costing 3 LE, but their ability to travel the length and breadth of the city is considerably more limited.
• Minibuses. A faster option than buses. These are vans, generally Toyota vans with a capacity of 14 seats, without any sign that identifies them for passenger transportation and that circulate along the same routes as buses. They are picked up on the street and can be stopped at any point marked by the passenger. There are areas where foreigners cannot access this service, such as in the lower Nile Valley.

Rickshaws

They are horse-drawn carts and very common in the most touristic parts of Egypt: Luxor, Aswan or the area of the pyramids in Cairo. The price is often haggled over, but they are very expensive and are more worthwhile for a ride and relaxation than as a means of transportation from one place to another. They are also often used as part of a tourist guide: a 4-hour rickshaw ride in Luxor, for example.

Cairo to Aswan

If you want to know how to get from Cairo to Aswan, these are the most recommended options:

• Day trains. Express service leaving Cairo at 8:00 a.m. and taking 14 hours to Aswan. The views are very nice along the way.
• Night trains. There are usually five night services from Cairo to Aswan, although the seats are reclining and comfortable for sleeping, there are no sleeping cars.

In both cases, if you buy tickets online from the Egyptian National Railways website you can pay in euros. If you take it out at the counter, you can only pay in Egyptian pounds. Prices range from 15 to 25 €.

• Flights. The flight between Cairo and Aswan takes approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes and there are several companies that cover this route, so you can get different price options. It is best to buy it online where you can pay with euros without problems.

From Cairo to Alexandria or the Red Sea

In case you want to go from Cairo to Alexandria or the Red Sea, we can recommend the following:

• Trains. The best option is the Special, the fast train, which is usually direct or with only one stop and takes 2.5 hours. It has 1st class service with air conditioning. It can be withdrawn online and paid with euros. The ticket costs around 8 and 12 €.
• Buses. There is a direct bus that takes 4 hours. You have to get the ticket directly at the station and pay in Egyptian pounds, a value equivalent to 6 €.