Getting There By Air:Cairo International Airport (CAI) Tel: (02) 265 2222 (New Terminal)
or (02) 265 5000 (Old Terminal).
Automated flight information tel: 0900 77777 (premium rate).
Website:
www.cairo-airport.com Cairo International Airport is located 22km (14 miles) northeast of central Cairo and is the main international gateway to Egypt. It has two sections, confusingly called Terminals 1 and 2. The Old Terminal (Terminal 1) has four terminal buildings within it, three used mainly by the
national carrier,
EgyptAir, for both domestic and international flights, while the fourth deals with private planes. The New Terminal (Terminal 2) has two terminal buildings and a third due for completion by the end of 2007, and is used by other international airlines. The airports are roughly 3km (2 miles) apart and are linked by a free 24-hour EgyptAir shuttle bus, running roughly every 30 minutes.
Major airlines: EgyptAir is the national airline (tel: 0900 70000; website:
www.egyptair.com). It has several offices in Cairo including the New Terminal (tel: (02) 267 2400), Old Terminal (tel: (02) 267 4500) and downtown at Karnak Office, 12 Kasrel Nil Street (tel: (02) 575 0600/0868). Other major carriers include
Air Canada, Air France, Air India, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Czech Airlines, Cyprus Airways, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Gulf Air, Iberia, Japan Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Olympic, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss, Thai Air, Turkish Airlines and
United Airlines. Approximate flight times to Cairo: From London is 5 hours; from New York is 11 hours; from Los Angeles is 15 hours; from Toronto is 13 hours 20 minutes and from Sydney is 21 hours.
Airport facilities: These include 24-hour foreign exchange, a tourist information counter, snack bars, duty-free shops, a restaurant and shopping malls.
Transport to the city: The Cairo Airport Shuttle Bus (tel: (02) 265 3937/8) runs to locations throughout the city. There are also public buses. A far easier option is to take an official taxi from outside the terminals, which should cost approximately E£50. Visitors should avoid bargaining with taxi touts inside. There is also an official ‘limousine taxi’ service, with fixed fares of E£70. Even more convenient, and more expensive, are the limousine transfers offered by luxury hotels, which cost from around E£100 (to hotels in nearby Heliopolis) to around £E200 (city center). The taxi ride to/from the center takes 30 minutes to one hour depending on traffic.
Getting There By Road:To drive in Egypt, foreign drivers must be at least 25 years old and be in possession of an International Driving Permit, however, driving in Egypt is not really recommended. There are strict traffic laws (including wearing a seatbelt and not using a mobile phone) but they are rarely adhered to or enforced and are used more as a revenue-raising exercise. Off the main highways, roads are mostly of very poor quality, with numerous bumps and potholes to avoid. Egyptian drivers overtake all the time and visitors should beware cars coming towards them in their own lane. Flashing headlights means ‘get out of the way’. Night driving is particularly dangerous as headlights sometimes appear to be optional.
Emergency breakdown service(s): No national provider; car hire operators may have local arrangements.
Routes to the city: Main routes from Cairo are Highway 1 (Delta Highway) northwest to Alexandria; Highway 11 (Desert Highway) also northwest towards Alexandria and the northwest coast; Highway 2 south alongside the Nile towards Luxor; Highway 3 northeast towards Port Said; and Highway 33 east to Suez.
Driving times to the city: From Alexandria – 3 hours; Port Said – 3 hours; Luxor – 10 hours; Aswan – 16 hours.
Coach services: Cairo is linked by comfortable, regular and inexpensive coach services to the other main Egyptian cities. Many coaches are air conditioned but there are also older coaches in operation, which can be uncomfortable. Generally, the ticket price reflects the level of comfort to be expected. There are five long-distance coach stations and tickets can only be bought at the coach station itself but can be booked in advance in person. Services are run by several operators serving the different regions of Egypt from the different coach stations. These include the
East Delta Bus Company (tel: (02) 576 2293),
Superjet (tel: (02) 266 0212), the
Upper Egypt Bus Company (tel: (02) 260 9304), and the
West Delta Bus Company (tel: (02) 576 5582). Coach terminals are chaotic but agreeable enough, with ticket offices and refreshment stands.
The
Abdel Mouneem Riyad Terminal (tel: (02) 762 293) is often also called the Ramses Hilton Terminal, as it is close to that hotel on Sharia Gala. From here, there are frequent services to Alexandria, as well as services to Hurghada, Aswan and Luxor (overnight). Behind here is the
Ahmed Helmi Terminal, with several overnight services to Luxor and Aswan, and other daily services to Hurghada and to Middle Egypt. The
Sinai Bus Terminal (officially the Abbassiyya Station, near Midan Abbassiyya) has several services per day to Sinai towns, such as Sharm el-Sheikh and Nuweiba, with one per day going via St Catherine’s Monastery. The
Koulali Bus Terminal (tel: (02) 574 3814) at Midal Ulali near Midan Ramses serves the Canal Zone and towns in the Nile Delta, while the
Al-Azhar Terminal, 45 Sharia al-Azhar, operates services into the Western Desert. There are also direct buses between the airport and Alexandria.
Getting There By Rail:Egypt’s railway provider is the
Egyptian State Railway (tel: (02) 575 3555). Reservations can only be made at the station. The network is limited but efficient and reasonably comfortable in first class or second class superior. All trains stop at Cairo’s main station, the
Ramses Station, Midan Ramses (metro: Mubarak Station). There is a tourist office, post office and left-luggage facilities at the station.
Rail services: Cairo is connected to the other major Egyptian cities, such as Alexandria (journey time – 2 hours 20 minutes), Luxor (11-12 hours) and Aswan (14 hours). If traveling south from Cairo down the Nile Valley, tourists must use the guarded ‘tourist trains’ for security reasons. Tickets can be reserved up to seven days in advance at Ramses Station.
Abela Egypt (tel: (02) 574 9274; website:
www.sleepingtrains.com) run first-class sleeping trains, primarily to Luxor and Aswan. It is possible to book these through their website or the Egyptian State Railway number, or the Central Reservation Office outside the station, but it is easiest to use a travel desk at a major hotel or at local travel agencies for a small commission. Foreign students are entitled to a 50% discount with a valid student card.
Getting Around:Public TransportUsing public transport is not recommended in Cairo with the exception of the clean, cheap and efficient
metro system.
Buses are usually overcrowded and visitors will have to fight their way on like the Cairenes, who try to make sure they get on-board by leaping at the bus before it has even stopped. It is a real experience of Cairo life, however, and tickets should be purchased on-board from the conductor who fights his way through the throng. The fare depends on the journey length but for a few stops is usually 75 piastres.
There are also
microbuses, which are private enterprises and a cross between a taxi and a public bus. The destination is not marked on them, so visitors should shout out where they wish to go as one passes and if it is going in the right direction and has room on-board, it will stop. The fare is slightly more than the public buses.
The
metro is one of Cairo’s delights. The system is clean, quick, cool, safe and cheap, operating 0600-2400 (to 0100 May-Sep); it can get extremely crowded during Ramadan. There are two lines. One runs along the east bank of the Nile from Helwan in the north to al-Marg in the south, via Tahrir. The other, newer line goes from Shubra in the north to Giza in the west, also via Tahrir where the two lines intersect. More metro extensions are planned.
A flat fare of 75 piastres will take you up to nine stops, with a sliding scale beyond that. Smoking is not permitted in the stations or on the trains. The first two carriages on most trains are reserved for women only, although women can travel in any carriage without much risk of harassment.
TaxisWhile Cairo does have its share of rogue taxis drivers, there are also many drivers who will become your guide, protector and even a good friend while you are visiting the city. Taking a taxi directly from a hotel is more expensive than hailing one in the street, but you will have the car to yourself. Taxis are black and white and are shared, so if one is driving by with other passengers, it is possible to call out one’s destination and if it is going that way, it will stop.
The protocol in Cairo is different from that in many other cities. Passengers are expected to know the fare rather than negotiate it in advance or go by the meter. This can obviously be difficult for the new arrival. A guideline is E£10 per kilometer for a hotel taxi and half that for one hailed in the street. A hotel taxi to the airport costs about E£100 (again half that for a street taxi). It is also possible to negotiate hire by the hour or by the day, for a personal tour; expect to pay about E£15 per hour or E£140 for 9 hours. The round-trip taxi fare to Saqqara is around E£120.
Driving in the CityDriving is not recommended in Cairo as it is not for those of a nervous disposition and taxis are far safer. Visitors who are contemplating driving should spend a day or two observing the locals before going ahead – as few road rules are followed. There is no such thing as rush hour – it lasts all day and most of the evening too. Road markings are ignored, as are most of the traffic lights. Horns are used incessantly. At night, few drivers use lights, except for flashing lights, which are to tell oncoming traffic to get out of the way, rather than to indicate giving way as in many countries.
Car HireThe minimum age for hiring a car in Egypt is 25 years and an International Driving Permit is required. Most of the major hotels will have agents for the leading car hire companies but the main offices are:
Avis, 11 Kamal El Din Street, Simon Boulivar Square, Garden City (tel: (02) 368 9400) or International Airport (tel: (02) 265 2429) (website:
www.avis.com);
Budget, 22 El Mathaf El Zeraee Street, Dokki (tel: (02) 762 0158) or New Airport (tel: (02) 265 2395) (website:
www.budget.com);
Hertz, 195 Sharia 26th July Street, Agouza (tel: (02) 347 4172) or International Airport (tel: (02) 0265 2430) (website:
www.hertz.com); and
Sixt, 41 Road 270 (tel: (02) 703101) or International Airport (tel: (02) 703101) (website:
www.e-sixt.com). Rates begin at about E£185 per day for unlimited mileage.
Bicycle HireAlthough many Egyptians cycle, it would be madness for any visitor not used to Cairo traffic to consider doing the same.
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