Egypt
is fabulous, and Cairo one of the
most fascinating cities in the
world. There's no need to book a
tour, it's easy to travel round
Egypt independently. Egyptian
Railways are easily the most
comfortable way to travel between
Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, Alexandria,
Port Said & Suez. The views from
the train can be wonderful,
especially on the Cairo-Luxor-Aswan
and Cairo-Alexandria routes.
Pictured below right: A street
scene in old Cairo - visit the
street called El Muiz el din Allah,
where tour groups never go, yet
where 10th century mosques are two a
penny. Climb the crumbling minarets
for a view over the roofs of old
Cairo.
To check Egyptian train
times...
Train times for key routes
are shown below. Egyptian
National Railways now have a
website,
www.egyptrail.gov.eg,
and you can also
download complete timetables
for Egyptian Railways lines
and trains at
www.egyptianrailways.com.
There is limited
train information on the
Egyptian national tourist
office website
How
to buy tickets: At the
station...
It's easy to buy tickets at the
station ticket office when you
get to Egypt, although a degree
of patience is called for...
Cairo main station has several
booking windows, one for each
class and group of destinations,
so check that you are joining
the right queue. You can pay
for train tickets in Egyptian
pounds, except for the deluxe
Abela Egypt sleeper which must
be paid in foreign currency
(dollars, euros or pounds
sterling) at the Abela Egypt
sleeper office. Alternatively,
if you don't mind paying
commission, you can use a local
travel agent to buy tickets on
your behalf. Except during busy
periods, it's normally easy to
get 1st class tickets on the day
of travel or the day before.
The deluxe overnight sleeper
train from Cairo to Luxor and
Aswan often has places available
if you book a day or two in
advance, but at peak tourist
times it can get fully-booked by
tour groups, so pre-booking from
outside Egypt is recommended if
you cannot afford to take a
chance.
The best way to book the
deluxe
sleeper train
between Cairo, Luxor &
Aswan is direct with Abela Egypt
who run these trains, by phone,
fax or email. Times & fares are
on Abela Egypt's website,
www.sleepingtrains.com.
You can in theory e-mail your
booking request to Learn Arabic
numbers...
A top tip for train travel in
Egypt is to learn Arabic
numbers. The indicator boards
at main stations use Arabic
numerals to show train numbers,
departure times and platform
numbers, not western numbers.
If you know Arabic numbers, you
can read these, making it easy
to find your train from the
departure time, even if you
can't read the destination.
Similarly, your ticket will show
your train number, date of
travel, coach number and seat or
berth number in Arabic numbers,
not western ones. Arabic
numbers are written
left-to-right, exactly like
western numbers, even though
Arabic words are written
right-to-left. To print these
Arabic numbers, right-click the
image and click 'print picture'.
Cairo - Luxor - Aswan government
tourist restrictions...
Since the terrorist attacks in
Egypt some years ago, the
Egyptian government has put
restrictions on which trains
foreigners may take between
Cairo, Luxor and Aswan,
allegedly so that the government
can assure tourists' safety.
Details are difficult to
confirm, but tourists are
definitely allowed to take (1)
the Abela Egypt overnight
sleeper trains, (2) the 07:40
air-conditioned daytime express
and (3) the 22:00 overnight
seats express, but not
(it's reported by several
travellers, much to their
annoyance) the 11:00
air-conditioned express or
any of the 2nd or 3rd
class non-air-con ordinary
trains. It's also possible that
you will be sold a 1st class
ticket but not a 2nd class one.
Insist on the specific train and
class you want, and be prepared
to argue your case if
necessary. If you want to
travel on a slow ordinary train,
one way to get round the
restrictions is to board the
train without a ticket and pay
the conductor when he comes
round. Another option if you
have any trouble at the ticket
office is to find a local
Egyptian travel agency willing
to book for you. There are no
tourist restrictions on other
routes, for example
Cairo-Alexandria, where you can
take any train you like.
