Getting around Egypt: transport and apps

Between cities

• The sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor and Aswan is the classic Egyptian journey. Private cabins, dinner and breakfast included, and you wake up in Upper Egypt having saved a hotel night.
• Ordinary trains are much cheaper and slower, and foreigners are sometimes steered towards particular services.
• Domestic flights are cheap and quick. EgyptAir flies Cairo to Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada and Sharm several times a day.
• Long-distance coaches run everywhere. Go Bus and Blue Bus are the comfortable operators.
• 12Go covers most of these, including Cairo to Luxor and Luxor to Hurghada, which is handy because Egyptian rail booking sites are awkward from abroad.
• Nile cruises between Luxor and Aswan are transport as well as a holiday, typically 3 or 4 nights.

In Cairo

• Uber and Careem work well and are cheap, and remove the fare negotiation entirely. This is the single biggest quality-of-life improvement for a visitor.
• The metro costs a few pounds and is the fastest way across the centre at rush hour. Women-only carriages are marked and are the front two.
• Street taxis need a price agreed first, and the meter in the white cabs is often "broken".
• Microbuses are for locals and are hard to use without Arabic.

Driving

• Do not drive in Cairo. Really.
• Outside the cities you need an International Driving Permit, and the FCDO advises against driving outside main cities at night.
• Road accidents are common and enforcement is limited. Coaches and lorries drive fast and overtake blind.
• Convoy requirements have applied on some desert routes. Check locally before driving in Sinai or the Western Desert.

Apps

• Uber and Careem for taxis.
• Google Maps works, and offline maps matter because coverage drops.
• Google Translate with Arabic downloaded, especially the camera mode.
• XE or similar for currency, because the pound moves and prices are quoted in three currencies.