How easy is it to travel around Egypt, if one wanted to travel independently, i.e. not part of a guided tour?

I am toying with the idea of flying into Cairo or Alexandria and then travel down to Luxor and possibly Hurghada before flying back to UK.

Any ideas or suggestions as to what the best way to organise this? I like the idea of a train journey instead of coach or just flying within the country.

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CrescentHomes real estate, TurkishLiving & EgyptianLiving forums.

Hi Mushtaq.We did the Sleeper train from Luxor to Cairo.It was a great experience and we got all the info from www.seat61.com It was easy to book and the Railway Guys were a great help.I would do the train again but to a different destination next time.

Ian

Actually it is possible to do indpendent travelling within Egypt. but you really have to know most of the places, plus u will need a great help from locals.

my idea is , you can fly to Alex , BA flight two nights in Alex to see the high lights. then a train or bus to cairo ( two hours ) for two more nights, then by sleeper train to Aswan, and 3 nights nile cruise sailing back to Luxor . one night only in Luxor then fly from luxor to Gatwick or Manchester. many flights but you have to book it in Advance.


need more help , let me know !!!


xxx

You would struggle to get a flight back to Gatwick or Manchester from Luxor because only the charters use those airports. Best bet would be to fly Egyptair back to Heathrow. Or fly back to Cairo and transit through there.
And only one night in Luxor??? Not enough!

I was thinking of booking a return to Alexandria (always seem to work out cheaper with a return flight), spend a day or so there and take a train to Cairo, couple of days in Cairo and then train down to Luxor.

Now after a few days, I would like to visit Hurghada, then back to Alexandria for the return journey, so what's the best route from Luxor to Hurghada?

Or would it make more sense to Fly in and out of Cairo instead of Alexandria?, as there would be lot more flights I guess...

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CrescentHomes real estate, TurkishLiving & EgyptianLiving forums.

Take the bus from Luxor to Hurghada. As a tourist you have to take the convoy which leaves at certain times of the day. Or you can take the local bus, but you need nerves of steel for that one. Having said that, I have done it myself, and its a really cheap way of getting to Hurghada.
I think there may be flights now too, but its only about 3-4 hours on the bus.

Isis , he would not really find it hard to find a seat coming back form Luxor, as there are many charter flights , and all tour operator now are selling seats only without accoomodation. sure he has more chances on Egyptair but the different of the price is too much as well.

the idea og going to Hurghada after luxor is great, and i guess i can help you going to Hurghada in one of my busses going there , three or four times a week. so wont cost you anything.


you can as well fly back from Hurghada to Uk . on a charter or flight connection on Egyptair Via cairo. if you are doing that late summer, BA will put a flight as well to/from Hurghada/Heathrew. check the BA website.


xxx

About the bus service ...about what does that cost? And, are the buses fairly comfortable?

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Cliff
When the power of love conquers the love of power then the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix

When I went to Sharm to do a diving course, I could not find a package holiday that fitted with my dates, so I booked a flight with BA and then found the hotel on the Internet and took a cab from the airport to the hotel.

Lot of larger tour operators offer hotel only and flight only now, so you can mix and match, there are also hotel booking sites too that you can book rooms only.

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CrescentHomes real estate, TurkishLiving & EgyptianLiving forums.