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Hi'ya, I'm off to Egypt in June and have found loads of info on internet so that i can book directly. There is one thing that you guys may be able to help me with; what is the best way to travel from Cairo to Sharm el Sheikh and roughly how long does it take?
My husband and I recently took the SuperJet bus to Sharm from Cairo. The trip was 5 hours each way, with no delays except for a couple of stops by the local authorities checking passports and ID's. The bus was comfortable enough, but the leg room is a little cramped if you are a tall person. We will take our car the next time for sure The cost each way was 55 Egyptian LE.
Have a Great Time, Sharm is wonderful, and try to get a taxi to Sharks Bay, its smaller but the beach is super and less crowded and they have this great Bedouin Tent beachfront that serves drinks and sheesha
Laura
Posts: 3291 | From: I DO believe in Karma! | Registered: Apr 2002
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When i asked about safety, i meant for a foreigner to hire a car for the journey. There are some countries where you are better off sticking to public transport/group if you know little about the country.
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i wouldn't hire a car for your first time if you've never been there or don't know the language, etc. there's not a lot of road signs in english and it might take you hours just to find your way out of cairo. car hire is quite expensive if you go alone. saw a sign for avis/at nile hilton that said one way to sharm for car with a driver was something around LE900 (trip back was about LE500). unless you've got 3 people you're sharing expenses with, that is pricey compared to a LE60 bus ticket each way.
Posts: 2182 | Registered: Oct 2002
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I agree with Expat.....driving in Egypt is not for beginners at all.
If you can't afford to fly, then take the bus. Having a car in Sharm to use later isn't worth the extra cost to rent one, if you ask me.
If by chance you do decide to make that drive, do it ONLY in daylight. Make sure you leave Cairo or Sharm early enough to make it down the peninsula in the daylight. On the Cairo side of the tunnel it is slightly less dangerous at night, but the road along the water on the peninsula side of the tunnel is HORRIBLE at night. Most trucks drive with no lights on, or there are too many to count that only have one head light working, so you are constantly trying to decide if it is a truck/car or motorcycle coming at you, and they do pass illegally and expect you to get out of their way. It just is paramont to insanity to try to drive that road at night.
If you take a bus at night, of course there is some danger, but the bus drivers KNOW what to expect, they are pretty much driving by the same rules as the truckers, and you have a huge vehicle around you if there is a mess up somewhere. I'd take the bus at night comfortably, but I don't care to drive in a car, even with experienced Egyptian drivers at night along that road.
Fly if you can afford it. It's fast, easy and uncomfortable for lots less time.
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hey, deb...you ever notice that the cars with 1 headlight working...it's almost always the headlight on the driver's side?
why is that...do they switch the working light to the driver's side when 1 gives out, or do they disconnect the 2nd light on purpose, figuring the passenger doesn't need to see the road. or is it the whole "too bright" thing?
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Oh for God's sake what do u mean all the air accidents? You make it seem like there are accidents happening constantly all the time in Egyptair. It was only one that happened a few years ago. Have a look at some more reliable web sites.
Driving in Egypt is quite an experience I agree. Renting a car is quite expensive but if you don't have money issues go ahead, the way to sharm is quite enjoyable to drive in.
If you can't try flying and don't believe those rumours.
And like the others said you can try the SuperJet Bus or any other travel company that provides the same service (East Delta I think is another one). It's the least expensive. Problem is that I've heard of many situations where these buses stall in the middle of the way and people get stranded for hours till the bus is fixed or figure some other way to go on.
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Expat- Who knows? It's awful though, isn't it? Some friends of mine are going to be sponsoring a conference in Cairo soon, all on Road Safety. Suzanne Mubarak has given them her blessing on it, and hopefully it will be a huge success. At the very least it might raise the problems to a level where someone might actually do something about it.
My idea is to set up a vehicle safety check point out on that road and make all vehicles stop and be checked. I'd have a mechanic, garage, and car parts store right there too, and make the only way to get out of a very expensive ticket, be to repair the car or replace headlights, etc. right there on the spot. Of course you have to pay the people doing the inspection enough to make it worth their while not to accept bribes from truckers that don't have time or money to make these repairs.
quote:Originally posted by ExptinCAI: hey, deb...you ever notice that the cars with 1 headlight working...it's almost always the headlight on the driver's side?
why is that...do they switch the working light to the driver's side when 1 gives out, or do they disconnect the 2nd light on purpose, figuring the passenger doesn't need to see the road. or is it the whole "too bright" thing?
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I went by car at night a couple of times, the last one being with Comte de Monte-Cristo... maybe it's his driving, maybe it was the bright full moon, or maybe it was bcs he graciously allowed me to pick all the cds... but it was quite a fun drive.
Buses scare me more, because some of those drivers look like they've had no sleep in 48 hrs and risking a car crash just to arrive 20 minutes early appears to be a reasonable goal to them.