Alexandria Travel Forum

Hello
I will be arriving at the Alexandria cruise port on Feb 22. My understnding is I should take a taxi to the train station to get to Cairo. (We are active so we have no problem walking but have no clue how to get to the train station-is it easy and can I get directions.)
Once in Cairo I assume we jump on the Metro to go to the pyramids. which line do we take and where is the metro station. I have looked it up and it appears it is across the street??
Since we will have all day in Cairo what would the recommended sites be? And how do you get there?
We are also taking a felluca sail on the nile. What time do these run and how much are they? where do we catch the boat? is there anything we should know about this.
finally, I would like to ride a camel-or at least sit on one! (I am in Canada and we only have polar bears!!! haha)

thanks in advance! sorry for so many questions!

How much time have you got ? You will need a taxi from the port in Alex to the train station. A direct train to Cairo takes approx 2.5 hours. Most trains are not direct & therefore will take longer time depending on the route. Once in Cairo, make sure you book for your return trip before you leave the station as places are not always available. There is no metro in the Pyramids area and practically you will really need a taxi to get there .. Travel in Cairo is significantly hindered by terrible traffic jams & that is why I ask how much time have you got before making expansive plans & risking missing your return train or even your ship .. Best of luck anyway

I have two days

thanks!

Once you arrive in Cairo, use a taxi to get around. The traffic is usually horrible, but if it is, you can relax. If it isn't, be prepared to hang on. Taxi's are everywhere and really cheap. You can get them to wait around for you and pay them at the end of the day and it won't cost you much at all. On one day, I took one to Giza where I got a camel to ride up close (but not right up to) the pyramids. Besides riding a camel, you get a good vantage point to take some pictures. There are also excavations and tombs that you can explore. I'm not sure you can legally go into them, but my camel guide kept slipping the guards some money and we were left to explore.

When you return the camel, take the taxi right to the pyramids for a close up visit. I then took a boat (not a felucca) for a little cruise on the Nile stopping at a little island inhabited by farmers - and their camels. We were the only passengers and the captain threw in a few cans of beer to entice us into going. From there, we took the cab back to the hotel by the Egyptian Museum. It all cost next to nothing.

I did take a felucca from Aswan to Luxor which was great. In Cairo itself, the river isn't the cleanest so I'm not sure how much fun it would be. But there's plenty to do and see in Cairo to keep you occupied. Just don't get dragged into one of the many perfume shops.

Enjoy!

your first spot in alexandria will be the port right? so i advise you to take a taxi to the train station. there are 2 train stations: 1 in sidi gaber and 1 in mahattet masr. the "mahatet masr" station is closer to the port than "sidi gaber", but "sidi gaver" is less crowded and you'll like it more there i think. anyways "sidi gaber" is only half an hour away from the port.
you should visit the "kayt bay citadel" in alex, it's close to the port. and i'm sure you'll be interested in visiting "al montaza palace", but it's on the other side of town.
there's a direct train to cairo at 2 pm (from sidi gaber), you arrive there at 4 pm. there are others, but i don't remember the schedule.
in cairo you will get to ride camels in the pyramids which you can reach by a taxi, not a metro. and there are underground metros and metros in the street (depends on the station you want to reach). you should definitely visit " Khan el Khalili" you will get to buy the best souveniers and have a great time.
a feluca in the nile is a good idea, you can also have dinner or lunch on a nile cruise (a 2 hours cruise in the nile)