Cairo 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. That said, driving in Egypt is not recommended. There are strict traffic laws (including wearing a seat belt and not using a mobile phone) but they are rarely adhered to or enforced and are used more as a revenue-raising exercise. The speed limit is 100kph (62mph) on highways but that doesn't stop people speeding.

Off the main highways, roads are mostly of very poor quality, with numerous bumps and potholes to avoid. Egyptian drivers overtake on all sides - including turning right from the left lane. Traffic nominally drives on the right but visitors should watch out for 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 and there are numerous police checkpoints that appear out of nowhere. In addition, in Upper Egypt the obligation to drive in convoy defeats the purpose of hiring a car and in the Western Desert, police escorts insist on accompanying you between the southernmost oases. Some car hire firms even insist on providing the driver.

Emergency breakdown service
No national provider; car hire operators may have local arrangements.

Routes to the city
Main routes into Cairo are Highway 1 (Delta Highway) from Alexandria; Highway 11 (Desert Highway) also from Alexandria and the northwest coast; Highway 2 alongside the Nile from Luxor and the south; Highway 3 from Port Said and the northeast; and Highway 33 east from Suez and the Sinai Peninsula.

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, less comfortable coaches in operation.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 different regions of Egypt from different coach stations. These include the East Delta Travel  Company (tel: (02) 262 3128; www.eastdeltatravel.com), Superjet (tel: (02) 266 0212) the Upper Egypt Bus Company (tel: (02) 260 9298), and the West & Mid Delta Bus Company (tel: (03) 427 1071).

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 (tel: (02) 390 8635) on 45 Sharia al-Azhar, operates services into the Western Desert. There are also direct buses between the airport and Alexandria.