Would like to travel from Egypt to Jerusalem for 7 days..need advice..

Hi,

I will be travelling on my own to Greece and Egypt and was considering travelling to Jerusalem, but I wanted to ask for some advice about travelling to Jerusalem from Egypt. I have a US passport, and I am not familiar with rules/regulations for entering different countries, going from Egypt to Jerusalem.

I will be spending 3 weeks in Egypt before flying back home to the US. I am not familiar with any rules within the countries, if going from Egypt to Jerusalem is unsafe, (Ive heard theres alot of terrorism over there). My passport is from the US, so I dont know if that would create any problems/difficulties for me. I am also not sure how I would navigate to Jerusalem from Egypt and then return to Egypt, which would have to be in time for my flight in mid August. I was thinking saving the last week for a trip to Jerusalem from Egypt if I did decide to go. I was hoping someone would give me some advice/suggestions for me so that I can really organize my trip as well as stay safe.

And if you are interested in doing the travel too let me know!

Thanks so much,
Natalie

Jerusalem is far safer than the US! It's true terrorism can strike anywhere, and you don't need me to tell you that the US is hardly immune. However, despite what you see on television, it is really much safer here in Jerusalem than many big cities. I assume from your name that you are female. It is perfectly safe for a woman to walk around most of Jerusalem alone at midnight - you wouldn't actually be alone because there are so many other people doing the same thing.

There is no problem at all in crossing from Egypt into Israel. Would you be travelling around by public transport? The place to cross is from Taba in Sinai to Eilat. There is plenty of info on this forum about crossing from Taba to Eilat, and there are four buses a day from Eilat to Jerusalem (three on Fridays and none on Saturdays). The bus ride takes about four and a half hours.

You'll love Jerusalem, it's really special.

As #1 says Jerusalem & Israel is on the whole very safe, although i wouldn't really recommend a lone female walking in the arab parts of the old city. That's not a big problem as you'll most likely have no problem teaming up with someone in a hostel.

How to get to Jerusalem. I'm not sure i'd recommend overland from Egypt partly because it is a long way especially in the heat of August ( & the Sinai peninsula is actually still under a terror alert owing to Hamas' infiltration of the border area recently. Egypt has since the breakout been constantly arresting armed gangs, and made some massive finds of explosives on the Israel-Egyptian border).

Maybe fly into Tel-Aviv as Jerusalem is only an hour away from there.

I agree with Chabibi about a lone woman not walking in the Arab parts of the Old City; I did say "most" is safe and I should have specified. That's what comes of living here - as a lone woman! - and not so much seeing it from a tourist's perspective.
Also right about flying to Tel Aviv. Yes, there are buses every 15 minutes from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Correction to what I just wrote.... (I was thinking of Tel Aviv, not the airport!):
From Tel Aviv airport, which is actually between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, the easiest and most convenient way to get to wherever you are staying in Jerusalem is a shared taxi. They seat 10 and go as soon as they are full, and they fill up quickly. Depending on where in Jerusalem you are staying, you may be the first one dropped or you may get a full tour if you are the last. It costs about $13 US.

There is a direct bus between Cairo and Jerusalem; it takes (I think) 13 hours and is run by Mazada tours in Israel and Misr travel in Egypt (it's in the LP). I think it's about $50 but not sure.

If you want to go alone, then it's easy to cross between Egypt and Israel, although expect some questioning both ways. You will be issued with a one-month visa for Israel at the Eilat crossing. To return to Egypt I don't think they issue visas at the Taba crossing so you'll either need to get multiple entry when you first enter Egypt, or you can get the visa at the Egyptian consulate in Eilat.

Jerusalem is great so if you have time you should definitely go....

As for terrorism, the situation can change suddenly but at the moment Israel is fine.

I traveled from Tel Aviv to Cairo and back on the Mazada bus that was mentioned. Its a looong trip, but it works, they took care of our Egypt visas and everything for us as well. As for safety I'd be more worried about traveling in Egypt by myself then in Israel. I always feel completely safe in Jerusalem. However, when traveling Cairo with another female we found ourselves in some creepy situations involving cab drivers.

Israel is safe, and don't worry about the arab parts too much either, they are more friendlier than most west jerusalemites think (in fact, the place is crowded with foreign NGO workers living there). Just use your common sense as anywhere else.

Visa will be an issue returning to Egypt, get a multiple entry visa first time or get a new one at the consulate in Eilat or the embassy in Tel Aviv, turn up early in the morning and you'll get your passport with visa back at noon for a fee of 100 shekels or so. No visa needed for Israel.

There are direct buses Cairo<->Taba, cross the border by foot and take the bus Eilat<->Jerusalem (avoid shabbat for this). Mazada tours with "direct" connection Cairo <-> Jerusalem have got bad reviews on this forum before, but I have also seen good ones. But do you seriously want to spend 12 hours in a cramped minibus in one go? I can recommend a stay in Eilat overnight for this, there are worse places to be stuck at.

Thanks so much everyone for your advice, I really appreciate it and it really helps me alot :)

Thank you!!
Natalie