Middle East - Anthony Ham [173]
There’s also a slow ferry (US$60/50 per adult/child including US$10 port tax, 2½ hours) leaving at 2pm daily, though the more comfortable fast ferry is worth every cent of the extra US$10.
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JUST ACROSS THE BORDER: WADI RUM & PETRA, JORDAN
If you’re in the Sinai region of Egypt, it would be criminal not to hop across the border to Jordan and check out the beautiful desert valley of Wadi Rum (Click here) or the breathtaking spectacle that is the lost city of Petra (Click here). For those with limited time, both of these can be visited easily over a few days from Sinai.
To get to Jordan, catch one of the early buses from your home base in either Sharm el-Sheikh (Click here) or Dahab (Click here) to Nuweiba to connect with the daily 3.30pm ferry (Click here) to Aqaba, Jordan. Free Jordanian visas are organised on the boat for most nationalities.
From the ferry terminal, grab a taxi into Aqaba – if you’re heading directly to Wadi Rum you’ll have to charter a taxi for the one-hour trip (Click here). If you want to head out by public transport, you’ll need to spend the night in Aqaba (for hotels Click here) and catch one of two public buses the next morning (Click here).
If you plan on making a beeline for Petra instead, you can charter a taxi on your day of arrival in Aqaba to Wadi Mousa (for Petra, two hours, Click here), or overnight it in Aqaba and catch morning public transport (Click here). Rest up in Wadi Mousa for the night (Click here), because you have some serious sightseeing action ahead of you over the next few days.
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No student discounts are available on these ferry services. Note that boats are always full during the hajj, and you’ll need to purchase your ticket through a travel agency a long way in advance.
Free Jordanian visas can be obtained on the ferry if you have an EU, US, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand passport. Fill out a green form on board, give it and your passport to the immigration officers and – hey presto – your passport and visa are collected when you pass through Jordanian immigration at Aqaba. Other nationalities will need to organise a visa in advance.
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GETTING AROUND
Air
EgyptAir ( 0900 70000; 8am-8pm) is the main domestic carrier. Iffy as their safety record might be, flights can be dirt cheap at certain times of the year, though fares will sky-rocket and planes get booked up during the October to April high season. Prices quoted in this book reflect average mid-season prices.
Bus
Buses service just about every city, town and village in Egypt. Deluxe buses travel between some of the main towns such as Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor, as well as around Sinai. These buses are reasonably comfortable, with decent seats, air-con and loud Arabic videos. The best of the deluxe bus companies is Superjet – try to travel with it whenever possible. The bulk of buses servicing other routes are horribly uncomfortable, dirty and noisy. Arabic pop or Quranic dirges are played at ear-splittingly loud levels – it’s a good idea to take earplugs.
Often the prices of tickets for buses on the same route will vary slightly according to whether or not they have air-con and video, how old the bus is and how long it takes to make the journey – the more you pay, the greater comfort you travel in and the quicker you get there.
Tickets can be bought at the bus stations or often on the bus. Hang on to your ticket until you get off, as inspectors almost always board the bus to check fares. There are no student discounts on bus fares.
Car & Motorcycle
Driving in Cairo seems like sheer madness to the uninitiated, but in other parts of the country, at least in daylight, it isn’t so bad. You should avoid intercity driving at night. Driving is on the right-hand side and you’ll need an International Driving Permit. When travelling out of Cairo, remember