Cairo: Getting there & around

There are many good options for getting to Egypt, and there are easy connections between Cairo and many European cities. The national airline is EgyptAir, and Air Sinai also has many domestic connections. Cairo is most travellers' first stop, although people are increasingly disembarking in other major cities and later making their way to the capital. First-class train services connect Cairo with Alexandria, Luxor and Aswan, but other domestic services are badly in need of an upgrade. Combined bus and ferry deals will land you safely at Aqaba in Jordan. A bus service is also available to and from Libya.

Cairo's Metro system is startlingly efficient, and the stations are startlingly clean. It's also extremely inexpensive and, outside rush hours, not too crowded.

Increasingly, Cairenes are using private microbuses to get around. Destinations are not marked on microbus routes, so they are tricky to use unless you are familiar with their routes. Overcrowded buses and minibuses are still the most common form of transport for the masses, but for anyone who prefers breathing while travelling, taxis are the only option. By Western standards, taxis are very cheap and there's never one far away. The only time when they aren't the best bet is for long hauls, in which case they can become a little expensive. A new addition to the ubiquitous black and white taxis is the proliferation of limsousines, some luxurious Mercedes, others reasonably new saloons, all with air-conditioning and usually with functioning front and back seatbelts. Ordered by phone, they aren't much use for a quick jaunt but are excellent for longer journeys or daily hire.

Don't believe anyone who tells you that there is no bus to the city centre from the airport - there are two, plus a minibus.

Driving in Cairo is not for the faint-hearted. It's like the chariot race in Ben Hur only with Fiats. The river bus terminal is at Maspero, on the Corniche in front of the big round TV building. Boats depart frequently for University, a landing over on the Giza side of the river, just north of the University Bridge. Every second boat continues south to Manial, Rhoda, Giza and Masr al-Qadima (Old Cairo). The last stop is convenient for Coptic Cairo. Most of Cairo's trams (known to Cairenes, confusingly, as 'metros') have been phased out. One of the few surviving tram lines visitors might use is the one connecting central Cairo to Heliopolis.