How to get to Sharm El Sheikh. Myths and truth about whether it is realistic to travel to Egypt after flights are cancelled. Independent holiday booking

Independent travel to Egypt: how to organize a trip in 2019, how to get a visa, what are the prices for hotels, food and transport? Tips and reviews from tourists, safety recommendations.

Visa to Egypt for Russians in 2019

In 2019, Russians can obtain a tourist visa to Egypt upon arrival for a month at any border crossing, except for the checkpoint with Israel, where only the Sinai stamp is affixed. Cost - $25. You need to have a foreign passport (valid for more than six months), a return ticket and a completed migration card. Payment - at the cash desk. The migration police can extend the visa for another month or turn it into a double entry visa.

The Egyptian government plans to change the visa regime: a visa on arrival will be issued only to package tourists, and independent travelers will be able to obtain an electronic visa. However, while this system is being developed, the old rules remain in force.

To visit the Sinai Peninsula, a free stamp is issued, but it limits your stay in the country: the period is 15 days, you cannot travel outside of South Sinai.

(Photo © ivabalk / pixabay.com)

How to get to Egypt on your own

When will travel to Egypt be allowed? But no one banned them. The Russian Foreign Ministry only recommended refraining from traveling due to the terrorist attacks. Currently, there are direct flights only to Cairo, and the resorts can only be reached with one or two transfers.

Tickets are expensive. The cheapest way is to fly to Egypt on your own from Moscow: direct flights to Cairo in 2019 cost from 23 thousand rubles in both directions, with a transfer - from 16 thousand. Tickets to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh cost from 19 thousand rubles round-trip (for example, from Pegasus via Istanbul).

A flight from St. Petersburg to Sharm el-Sheikh costs from 22 thousand rubles, to Hurghada - from 20 thousand, to Cairo - from 19 thousand rubles.

You can fly to Egypt inexpensively from Sochi, Krasnodar and Mineralnye Vody - from 19 thousand.

For most Russian cities, a flight to Egypt is expensive (25-35 thousand rubles), since you need to fly with transfers through cities in Europe or Turkey.

(Photo © unsplash.com / @mariamsoliman)

How to book a hotel in Egypt on your own

There are many good hotels and hostels in the country - in the range of $10-30 per night for two in the center of Cairo (for example, Kings Palace Hotel Cairo 4*). In Hurghada, prices start from $12 for two, but there are many more hotels in the range of $19-30 (for example, Triton Empire Inn 2*). In Sharm el-Sheikh you can find a room at a discount for $8, but mostly good rooms cost $16-40 (Falcon Hills Hotel 3*).

Tips on how to choose and book a hotel in Egypt on your own:

• Remember that Egyptian hotel ratings do not correspond to European ones.
• If you are offered a room that is not the one you booked, ask to change it.
• Before checking in, make sure everything in your room is in good order so you don't get charged.
• Book only hotels with good reviews - look for them on Roomguru.ru.
• Lock valuables in a safe.

If you want the comfort of home, rent a room, an apartment or a house on Airbnb - there are a lot of interesting and sometimes even exotic offers! This is especially beneficial for families or groups of friends. In Cairo, you can rent an apartment from $12 per day for two, there are many good options for $20-35 (average price - $78). In Hurghada there are apartments from $20, in Sharm el-Sheikh - from $13, but these are rare, mostly for $40 and above (average price - $59). It is usually cheaper when renting for a long period of time.

Transport

You can travel between cities by plane, bus and train. There are also minibus taxis, where when boarding you need to discuss the fare price (bargain), it’s better to write it down. But on buses, prices and schedules are usually fixed.

According to reviews, the train is the most convenient way to travel around Egypt on your own. Take first class tickets, where there is air conditioning. Buy them in advance. Remember that trains are usually not punctual. .

There is a metro in Cairo. You can travel along the Nile by boat, and there is also a ferry between Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Have you decided to rent a car? Be attentive and careful - the concepts of driving in Egypt are peculiar. The asphalt leaves much to be desired, and there are not warning signs everywhere. Look for inexpensive cars on the Skyscanner Car Hire service.

Transport prices in Egypt:

• minibuses in Hurghada - about 1 Egyptian pound;
• metro in Cairo - $0.11;
• bus from the airport to the center of Cairo - $0.22-0.34;
• 3 km taxi in Cairo - from $0.80 to $1.

Taxi drivers in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are arrogant: they don’t use the meter, and the prices are 2-3 times higher. To avoid being deceived, use trusted companies, for example.

(Photo © Mondo79 / flickr.com / Licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Food prices in Egypt in 2019

If you are planning to travel to Egypt on your own, it is important to know the prices of food. Local fruits and vegetables are cheap, imported ones are more expensive. If you love and know how to bargain well, you can buy groceries at the markets. In stores and supermarkets, food prices are reasonable: for example, a carton of milk (1 liter) costs about $1, a loaf of bread costs $0.5-0.7, a kilogram of oranges costs about $0.5 per kg.

You can eat in an inexpensive cafe for $3-5 per person, lunch in a restaurant - from $10. In cafes for locals you can find very cheap food - from 1 to 5 $ per dish (in Cairo, for example). But in Sharm el-Sheikh it is more expensive, since the city is aimed at vacationers.

(Photo © kareemelqaffass / pixabay.com)

If you are going to Egypt on your own in 2019, remember about the terrorist threat. According to reviews, you also need to be careful with Arabs - they like to deceive vacationers. Here are the most common tips and recommendations from tourists for a safe holiday in Egypt:

• Always count your change.
• Pay only after the service has been provided or the product has been received.
• Keep money with documents close to your body.
• Bargain desperately - the seller will not be at a loss.
• Place valuables in the safe (at the same time, there are reviews that the staff replaces the money in the safe with counterfeit ones).
• Keep an eye on towels and things left by the pool and on the beach - the staff may steal them (a fine will be issued for a lost towel).
• Women and children on the streets ask for "bakshish" - a donation. Don't give it.
• If a seller invites you to have a cup of tea or asks you to translate something into Russian, with a 99.99% probability he will persuade you to buy something. Don't waste your time on him, politely refuse.
• How to deal with taxi drivers: negotiate the price in advance and write it down on paper, pay in local currency. The taxi driver can put pressure on pity and beg for money, take you to the wrong place, try to deceive - in this case, threaten with the police (in especially severe cases, call). Personally, we have never had any problems with taxi drivers.
• Arabs on bikes tear bags from their shoulders. They almost snatched our bag.
• Pack before traveling. Wear a hat and sunglasses and use sunscreen.
• For safety and peace of mind, we recommend taking out insurance.
• Girls should not wear revealing clothes. We also do not recommend walking alone.

The answer to the question “why” is, in principle, obvious. In Ukraine, November is one of the nastiest months: it is constantly cloudy, damp and cold, and the snow quickly melts and turns into a swamp. A paradise for viruses and depression.

At the same time, in Sharm el-Sheikh every day it is 25-30 degrees Celsius, almost 100% sunny days, the best Red Sea in the world, luxury hotels and a level of service that we seem to never reach. And, thanks to the crisis, the price of such a vacation is equal to the conditional Berdyansk, which does not have such palm trees and such a clear sea.

Let's move on to the question "How to get to Sharm el-Sheikh?"

There are two options here.

If you are not comfortable with the Internet, then in Ukraine you just need to go to the office of any tour operator and ask for a tour to Sharm el-Sheikh, the Savoy Hotel. It’s simple, but the tour will cost several thousand hryvnia more.

If you are used to buying online, you can go to the website of the tour operator Sun International - this is the host party in Egypt. Other tour operators also sell the Savoy Hotel, but they are the sending party, intermediaries, so Sun International will have the lowest price. Right now, 7 days for two cost only 7,357 UAH:

IMPORTANT: Flights on the Sun International website must be purchased separately. If there are no air tickets there, then I recommend looking for charter flights on chartershop.com.ua, a two-way ticket per person - 6-9 thousand UAH, depending on the dates. Charter flights are not only cheaper, but also fly directly Kyiv - Sharm el-Sheikh, 3 hours 40 minutes on the way. If you look for regular flights, there will be 1-2 transfers - in Istanbul and Cairo, and the price will be higher.

A total of 7 days in paradise for two, including flights, will cost you 20-25 thousand UAH.

I’ll preempt the question: “Is this really inexpensive? They offered me 7,000 UAH with flights!”

Well, firstly, 7000 is the price for one person, for two it will be 14 thousand.
Secondly, at this price three rubles (three-star hotels) usually go, and I wouldn’t recommend anyone to buy “this” - you’ll ruin your vacation.

Judge for yourself - we calculated the price of the tour above, and the cost of the flight was 2/3. It will not be possible to reduce it much, therefore the service at the hotel will be reduced. Reduction of staff, lack of renovation, reduction in the number of dishes on the buffet, reduction in the quality of products. And all additional services are made paid - a towel for money, a sunbed on the beach for money, in some places you even have to buy water.

And don’t look at the beautiful photos on the website of an agency or hotel - that’s what the photographer is paid to do miracles.

Plus, very often they show you photographs from many years ago, when the hotel was worth its money, and the crisis did not bring it to ruin.

The initial situation for 5* and 4* hotels is much better - they always had a large margin, and during the crisis they reduced it, reduced costs a little and did not set aside money for depreciation, in the hope that the crisis would end soon. So now you can buy a good five for the price of a pre-crisis three.

For example, the 5* VIP hotel Savoy, by the pool of which I am writing this post.

The word “majestic” is suitable as an epithet for the hotel.

Because it is really huge - the hotel occupies an area the size of several football fields, and all this is occupied by rooms on 2-4 floors, swimming pools and restaurants.

Savoy has open oriental architecture. The hotel is not at all like our classic “dark corridor and doors in both directions”; here the entrance to each room is from the street.

And the rooms on the ground floor also have a terrace with access to the garden path.

By the way, all the paths are in flowers - they have almost no smell, but they bloom all year round.

On the second and third floors there are large balconies (the size of the same terrace), overlooking the sea, the pool or the garden:

The hotel has 414 rooms, from standard:

Up to the "presidential" one, the size of three regular rooms:

And the same giant balcony and bathroom.

The hotel buildings form a kind of amphitheater around the pools - there are three of them, they cascade from one to another.

First pool, not heated:

The second pool is heated, the temperature feels like 30 degrees:

Third pool, also heated:

In the evening, the pools are illuminated with beautiful lighting.

In addition to the rooms and pools, there are five restaurants on the territory of the Savoy Hotel with different cuisines - I will make a separate report about them when I have lunch in all five (it’s hard, you should have seen their portions). And as many more bars.

And the huge hall is a special delight.

In addition to the traditional reception and sofa tables for business meetings, the hall has a lake with a bridge O_o

This is so you understand the size :) The Savoy Hotel is really big and really belongs to the VIP class. It was opened in 2000, then underwent a “overhaul” in 2011, and now, although it looks “shabby” in places, the original feeling of the upper class still produces.

Savoy is also peaceful and calm. Due to the high price (relative to three rubles), there is almost no annoying “Tagil” here - no one eats and jumps screaming into the pool.

Moreover, the hotel is not in poverty, and is 60-70% full. The bulk of tourists are from Ukraine, there are a few Germans and Arabs. Before the crisis, there were 50% Russians here, many British, Ukrainians were in third place.

What is this “crisis” that I repeatedly mention here?

This is the same blown up A321 Kogalymavia plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. Let me remind you that it was blown up by terrorists who declared jihad against Russia for the barbaric bombing of Syrian cities. Of course, after this Russia banned all flights to Egypt, followed by Britain, just in case. As a result, many hotels in Sharm closed, and the remaining ones reduced prices to attract Ukrainian tourists.

Since ISIS has no claims against Ukraine, there were no attempts to blow up Ukrainian citizens, and the local Egyptians are blowing off specks of dust from them. So take advantage of the opportunity to relax in a 5* hotel for the price of 3*, and even without Russians :)

So, the post is indecently swelling. I’ll tell you more about the hotel’s beach, and we’ll leave it at that.

Savoy is located on the first line in White Knight Bay - one of the best places for diving and snorkeling.

Of course, there is a banana boat with a paraglider, windsurfing, and various boat excursions, but this comes at an additional cost.

The coral shore of the beach is covered with imported sand. The water temperature in November is 25 degrees, so there are ideal conditions for children here :)

The water is very salty, you can just lie there, moving your limbs slightly :)

It’s already deep here and you can dive with a mask and study the fish. I was shooting from above, but due to the waves I didn’t get clear photos. But the fish are gorgeous - like in an aquarium, only big.

For this I take my leave, I went to lie under a palm tree.

In the following reports: other hotels in Sharm el-Sheikh (cheaper and more expensive), nightlife, snorkeling on the reef, Bedouins, testing restaurants and much more.

Russian aircraft have been banned from flying to Egypt for two years now. Russians feel left out and are trying to find alternative routes to resorts on the beloved Red Sea. These attempts are not unsuccessful; there are several options for both independent holidays in Egypt and traditional package tours.

Is it possible to buy a trip to Egypt?

Flight ban Egypt continues to operate and there are no plans to cancel it in the near future. The most optimistic forecasts indicate the resumption of flights by mid 2018 and then not to the resort area, but to Cairo. We are not talking about tourist charters at all yet.

Immediately after the ban on the sale of tours in Russia, the most devoted fans of Egyptian beach holidays took a thorough break from the Internet and quickly found several options. This is the purchase of tours through tour operators of neighboring countries- Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and Kazakhstan. For their part, enterprising travel agencies of the former fraternal republics very quickly turned to the Russian tourist and organized a convenient online sale of trips to Egypt.

Where and how to book a tour

Of course, not everyone works with Russians. According to reviews, they offer the most convenient interaction algorithm Belarusian operators "Travelhouse", "Malibu Travel", Belarusian branch of "TEZ-Tour". Charter flights are possible not only from Minsk, but also from Mogilev, Vitebsk or Gomel, which is a little cheaper.

Travelhouse even offers a free transfer from the station to the airport in Minsk for families or organized groups of 4 people or more. All operators work approximately the same:

• the first step is selecting a tour;
• the second is the execution of the contract, which is also done via the Internet;
• next - payment;
• and the last thing is receiving documents.

At the same time, a manager works with you who takes into account your wishes for the hotel, level of relaxation and price.

To purchase a tour from Belarusian tour operators, just make an online application and pay for the tour in Russian rubles directly on the website of the selected company.

You can also transfer money through a bank using an invoice. After receiving the required amount in a couple of days, the tour operator sends you all the necessary documents. As for the cost of such a tour, today you can buy it for 500-600 dollars.

They work in a similar way. Ukrainian tour operators, also happy to serve Russians. Departure from Kyiv, Odessa or Kharkov is possible.

To the cost of the trip, add the road to Minsk (Kyiv, Odessa, Mogilev, etc.) and back and you will get the amount that a trip to Egypt will cost you (with the exception of money for personal spending on vacation). Of course, this option of getting to Egypt is more suitable for residents of the European part of Russia. For those who live beyond the Urals, this will result in a lot of money.

And this is where it comes to the rescue Kazakhstan with departure from Almaty or Astana. Tours are offered not only by local tour operators. The tour can be purchased, for example, through the Kazakhstan branch of Biblio-Globus.

When purchasing tours in neighboring countries, think about health insurance. It is not very convenient to receive reimbursement of expenses in a foreign country (Belarus or Ukraine). It is better to apply for it at home, without being too lazy to look at the nearest insurance company.

Independent holiday in Egypt

When planning an independent trip to the Red Sea, keep in mind that you won’t be able to relax there cheaply. Regular flights are more expensive, and in some cases you will also have to travel by land.

There is an option to fly to Egypt from Moscow. The flight ban affected only Russian airliners. Egyptian Airlines (Egypt Air) both flew from Cairo to Moscow and back, and still does. And now they are even thinking about changing the flight schedule to increase the number of flights. From Cairo you can reach any resort by domestic flight.

For example, a flight to Sharm el-Sheikh will cost $35; it is better to buy tickets on the website egyptair.com, here they are the cheapest.

It is possible to choose:

• in Georgia (Tbilisi);
• Turkey (Istanbul);
• Israel (Tel Aviv - Eilat).

Numerous online services for searching air tickets will help you not only choose the most convenient route, but also show you the most convenient ones using the discount calendar. cheap options.

Road through Turkey

Planes fly from Russia to Istanbul:

• Pegasus- from Samara, Omsk, Krasnodar, Mineralnye Vody, Volgograd;
• Turkish Airlines- from Moscow, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Kazan and other large cities.

There is a transfer in Istanbul (without baggage claim). Now this is the cheapest way to get to Hurghada through another country. A flight on the same route to Sharm el-Sheikh will cost more. Tickets can be searched on the carriers' websites. If the flight is not planned from Moscow, then it is better to look at routes to Istanbul and further to the desired resort separately.

Turkish Airlines offers flights Moscow-Istanbul-Sharm el-Sheikh for about $320 round trip. From other cities - the price is about 400 dollars.

To Egypt - via Israel

This is another (not the easiest) option to fly to the resorts of Egypt on your own. And the goal may not necessarily be the notorious Sharm el-Sheikh, but, for example, lively and democratic Dahab, filled with companies of surfers and freedivers.

Considering Israel as a transit point, you need to take into account that such a route to Egypt will be much more expensive than other options.

Regular flights from Moscow fly to Tel Aviv. Next you need to take a bus, which travels through the desert for 6 hours to Eilat. The second option is to transfer at the airport to a domestic flight to Eilat. This is a city bordering Egypt. Having crossed the border by land, you find yourself in Taba. Here, too, there is a sea and hotels from where you can order a transfer to the resort where you plan to vacation.

At the land border with Israel, Egypt does not issue full-fledged visas, but only puts a Sinai stamp, allowing you to stay in the country for 15 days.

It is better to come to Eilat during the day; taxi prices at this time are a third lower than in the evening or at night. You can be smart and get on the bus, which goes from the border to Sharm el-Sheikh every day at 15.00 and costs several times less.

How to get to Egypt through Georgia

Options to get to Egypt through Georgia two - buy a ready-made tour from Georgian tour operators or fly connecting flights through Tbilisi. The interaction when purchasing a tour is similar to what happens with Belarusians or Ukrainians. You can simply buy a ticket to Tbilisi and from there take Turkish or Egyptian Airlines to any resort in Egypt.

If there Schengen visa, you can fly through Europe. This is done relatively inexpensively through Germany or Italy. The Greek airline Aegean airlines is also significantly reducing prices.

There has been a ban on organizing tourist tours to Egypt for more than two years after the Sinai air disaster in November 2015. What prohibitions apply today for travelers whose intentions include visiting the country of the pyramids? Is it possible to enter Egypt legally in 2019 and what opportunities exist for this? All the important points and when it is planned to lift restrictions on visiting the state are described in this material.

Is it possible to go to Egypt now?

Any Russian can go to Egypt on vacation today. There is no ban on visiting the country as such. Such an order would contradict the fundamentals of law and order laid down in the Constitution of the Russian Federation on the freedom of movement of citizens.

The ban applies only to the sale of tours and the organization of charter flights. By booking a hotel and purchasing plane tickets yourself, you can visit any resort in the country. At the same time, the time of stay in another state is not regulated - it can be chosen based on the traveler’s capabilities.

But on December 15, 2017, the government of Egypt and the Russian Federation finally reached an agreement on the resumption of charter flights and it is expected that such flights will be allowed in February-March 2018. Because time is needed to create a tour package, book a flight and sell tours, then the first organized tourists will enter the country no earlier than April-May 2018.

Gift: 2100 rubles for housing!

When you register using the link in AirBnB, you will receive 2100 rubles to your account.

For this money you can rent a good apartment for 1 day abroad or in Russia. The bonus only works for new accounts.

What you need to visit Egypt on your own in 2019

Hotel

Hotels in Egypt continue to accept guests from Egypt. Room reservations are made through special portals such as Booking. Trivago, Topvisor or others. The choice of hotel is available according to such parameters as resort, number of stars, cost. The total price is calculated based on the number of nights.

For example, when planning a trip through Booking, a night in a Heliopolis Residence Hurghada, 3*, in the central part of Hurghada for two adults will cost 969 rubles. as of May 2017. A day at the five-star Hurghada Marriott Red Sea Resort costs 2,875 rubles.

When booking on your own, you must take into account that check-in is at 12 am or at any other time specified by the hotel or as agreed (on Booking and other sites you can select the corresponding function - “Early check-in”). Check-out of the room and handing over of the keys is usually at 12 noon.

There is also the option of renting an apartment. Such services are provided by the Airbnb portal; you can also contact real estate agencies in Egypt with Russian-speaking staff via the Internet.

Buying tickets

Air tickets can be purchased on any website online through intermediaries or on the official resources of carrier companies. It is possible to contact the offices of travel agencies or tour operators. The difference between purchasing travel tickets on your own is that the tourist must independently coordinate the date of arrival with the time of hotel booking. Flights from Russia to Egypt are carried out through a third country. The most economical option is transit through Turkey, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece and other destinations, depending on the region of departure to the Russian Federation.

Upon arrival, you can take a taxi from the airport to the hotel. You can order a car through the international systems Uber, Kiwitaxi, etc. Excursions are usually arranged at the hotel, for this you need to contact the reception.

The advantage of an independent trip to Egypt is flexible travel dates, a free holiday schedule, the ability to book not only Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, which are popular among Russians, but also hotels at premium resorts such as Makadi and Sahl Hasheesh. Guests are also given the opportunity to take an exotic tour to the city of Dahab. You can rent a room on the coast or near historical attractions.

For example, in Luxor near the ancient temples or in Cairo next to the Pyramids of Giza and 30 meters from the Sphinx. Such routes are suitable especially for those who have already made trips to Egypt more than once and are familiar with the terrain. The disadvantage of an individual tour is the long flight with a transfer and the need to purchase an additional one. Traveling on your own will cost much more than a package tour.

Precautions when traveling to Egypt

Planning a trip to Egypt is the same as to any other country. The only difference is the absence of direct regular and charter flights between the cities of Russia and Egypt.

Many countries, including Germany, Italy, Poland, and the United States, have lifted travel bans on Egypt. The restriction remains only in relation to organizing tours from Russia. In addition, in the summer of 2016, German carriers announced an increase in flights to the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to 130 per week - the level of 2010 before the revolutionary unrest in Egypt in February 2016. The situation at the resorts remains calm, there is no state of emergency.

Those flying to Egypt will need to purchase their own insurance. Buy a policy from insurance agencies online or in offices. The document will be needed in case of deterioration of health to organize an appointment in medical institutions in Egypt, in case of accidents or transportation of the body in case of death.

To travel abroad, it is not necessary to present an insurance policy; some tourists travel without insurance, but take on financial risks in connection with paying for treatment in medical institutions. Insurance policy services are much cheaper. For example, an appointment at a clinic in Egypt for a foreigner will cost 50–60 euros. The whole range of insurance services for half a year - about 3,500 rubles. The insurance period is calculated depending on the time spent abroad.

Upon arrival at the airport in Egypt, the tourist must purchase a visa. Its cost is $25, validity period is 1 month.

After this time, to extend the validity period, foreigners apply to local passport and migration control authorities or are required to leave the territory of the state. You should find out about the visa regime of third countries – transit for flights to Egypt – from tour operators selling tickets to different destinations.

When is it planned to open sales of tours to Egypt?

The officially announced reason for the termination of relations with Egypt in the field of tourism and flights is the lack of a modern security system. For two years now, their condition has been checked and negotiations are underway. The last meeting was held in December 2017. The Russian authorities have finally approved the technical equipment of airports that previously did not comply with international regulations. As a result, a protocol on cooperation was signed and a decision was made to resume regular flights between Moscow and Cairo.

There is no time to open flights in the winter season 2017-2018, but they promise to launch a Moscow-Cairo flight in February-March. Then flights to the resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are possible. This means that already in spring and summer our tourists will be able to return to their favorite and long-awaited destination.

When Egypt opens up, host hoteliers will most likely be ready to offer vacations at reduced prices - up to 35 thousand rubles. per tour when sales resume.

There is no talk of charter programs yet. First, regular flights will be launched to the capital Cairo, then to cities on the Red Sea coast, explained Sergei Zalivin, executive director of the Egyptian travel agency ALS-Tour. This is explained by the fact that with massive demand for vouchers, it will be much more difficult to debug the security mechanism. If the tours depart to Cairo, then transportation to the hotels will be extremely inconvenient, since you will have to travel to the resorts on domestic flights, which will increase the cost of the trip by $100-200. When traveling by bus, the travel time from Cairo to coastal cities will be about 6 hours.

If the forecast for the restoration of flights to Egypt has a positive trend, then we can talk about the launch of charter programs. Then the cost of the tourist package will cost approximately $480, said Sergei Zalivin.

The head of the Federal Air Transport Agency commented on the situation. He said that the shortcomings recorded during previous inspections had been eliminated by the Egyptian side.

There is no opportunity to purchase a comprehensive tour yet, but entry into Egypt in 2019 is not prohibited for Russians. If you want to go to the land of the pyramids, then you can organize your vacation yourself.

Due to the cancellation of flights from Russia to Egypt, the Internet is filled with recommendations from home-grown “experts” teaching ignorant fellow citizens how to still continue visiting the Land of the Pharaohs despite the restrictions. Many of the recommendations were reasonable, others were useless, but most were TOTAL nonsense. It reached its apogee on some travel website, which is being actively distributed on Facebook. There it is proposed to go to Egypt by train from Turkey, and this supposedly requires a Romanian (!) visa, or take a ferry from Cyprus to Sharm el-Sheikh. Most likely, the people who wrote such recommendations have not only never been to Egypt in their lives, but have not even held a world atlas in their hands. God be the judge, I had no intention of telling things that seem obvious to the average citizen, but I feel a moral duty to explain that with the cancellation of flights from Russia to Egypt, very little has changed. Getting to Egypt has not become more expensive and has not become more difficult. You just need to strain your brain a little, just a little -

Train and ferry that don't exist

So, let's immediately eliminate absurd options like the train from Turkey to Egypt. There is no such train and has never existed in nature. Built by the Turks in the early 20th century, the Hijaz Railway ran from Istanbul to Medina in Saudi Arabia, but has not been operational since 1917. And in 1948, in connection with the creation of Israel, communications between Egypt and Palestine ceased. Today Egypt does not have railway connections with any country in the world. Anyone interested in reading about the remains of this legendary road between Istanbul and Medina can read my article about how we drove in 2011, just before the war.

I also propose to discard the option of a ferry from Cyprus to Sharm el-Sheikh, which does not exist and never has existed. Moreover, even previously operating ferries between Genoa and Venice and Alexandria have now been cancelled. As for ferries from Cyprus, there are none in winter either, but in summer it’s not really a ferry, but a cruise that calls at Port Said for the day and costs more, via a flight from Moscow to South America.

So, after we decided that the only way to get to Egypt was by plane, it became easier for us. We will also cover options for traveling through Syria, where you will get to know ISIS, if you don’t mind.

Airplane

As for planes, please note that ONLY flights of Russian airlines to Egypt have been cancelled. Plus, some European airlines have canceled flights directly to Sharm el-Sheikh. At the same time, all other flights to Hurghada, Cairo, Alexandria, Marsa Alam, Luxor and so on are flying as usual. Moreover, the Egyptian airline Egyptair flies as usual, which has direct flights from Moscow to Cairo and you can also take a connecting flight to Cairo or Sharm el-Sheikh. Personally, I love the kayak.com search engine; in my opinion, it gives the best options. We are looking at options from Moscow to Cairo, say, at the beginning of December:

Turkish airlines Moscow - Istanbul - Cairo costs $323 in both directions. The same airline offers flights to Egypt from Yekaterinburg, Kazan, Rostov and other Russian cities for no more than $400 roundtrip.

Pegasus airlines Moscow - Istanbul - Sharm costs from $280 roundtrip. They fly to Hurghada.

Many other foreign airlines fly from Russia to Egypt with a transfer in one or another city in Europe. For example, the Greek Aegean airlines is actively dumping tickets from Moscow to Cairo from $250 roundtrip.

Domestic flights from Cairo to Sharm cost from $35, buy them directly from egyptair.com, as any other flights will be exactly double the price.

Options via Israel

Let me emphasize right away that transit from Russia to Egypt via Israel will not make your trip cheaper. Israel is an expensive country and despite the fact that it is not difficult to catch tickets Moscow - Tel Aviv - Moscow for some 150 dollars, you will then pay the same amount and even more to get to Egypt by land. Second caveat: Egypt does NOT issue visas at the border with Israel, they will only issue you one. In addition, when leaving Israel, a border tax of $26 is paid. Let's look at several options for arriving in Israel and continuing on to Egypt:

Let's say you arrive at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv in the first half of the day and manage to get from the airport to the bus station, from where buses go every 2 hours to Eilat, which is on the Red Sea and near the border with Egypt. The ticket will cost $20 and the journey through the desert will take about 6 hours. Website of the bus company Egged.co.il (there is a Russian version). You arrive in Eilat in the evening, which raises the question of whether to go to Dahab overnight by taxi, or spend the night in expensive Eilat, where it costs less than $50 to even find a bed in a hostel. If you arrive in Ben-Gurion after lunch, you are definitely on the money, since an overnight stay in Tel Aviv will lighten your pocket by at least $80 for the lousiest hotel with cockroaches, or $150 for something tolerable.

So, let’s say you managed to leave for Eilat on the same day and decide to cross the border immediately and drive into the night, then keep in mind that an Egyptian taxi will cost, after furious bargaining, from 350 pounds to Dahab and 500 to Sharm. Let me emphasize that during the day prices are a third lower. Moreover, at 15.00 every day an Egyptian bus departs from the border in Taba to Sharm with stops in Nuweiba and Dahab. Costs from 30 pounds in Dahab to 40 in Sharm. Let me remind you that the rate of the Egyptian pound for 1 dollar = 8. In the most ideal scenario, with this option, you will pay another 500 pounds ($63) for an Egyptian taxi from the border to Sharm, $20 for a bus Tel Aviv - Eilat, and add travel costs in Tel Aviv, border tax $26, in Eilat and to the border and so on another $20. Total - $129 plus the cost of tickets to Israel. If you fly back in the same way, then multiply everything by half.

You arrive in Tel Aviv, move from the international terminal to the local one and immediately fly to Eilat on a domestic flight with Arkia or Israir. Tickets are sold on the websites of these companies and cost from $40 one way when purchased in advance and up to $100 when purchased at the ticket office on the day of departure. They fly very often, up to 10 times a day. Further according to the scheme from the previous option with crossing the border. In total, this option will end up costing 150-160 dollars plus the cost of tickets and when traveling back in the same way - multiply by two.

What are we doing? In the most ideal scenario, a trip to Egypt through Israel with all the fees and charges will cost you at least $500 round trip, plus a headache with borders. Compare with normal flights to Egypt on foreign airlines above and make the right choice.

Conclusion

From what has been said, the moral is that getting from Russia to Egypt through Israel is NOT profitable.

Options across Europe and Israel

Residents of Lithuania, Hungary and Poland have a big advantage: from November 7, Ryanair flies from Kaunas, Krakow and Budapest to Ovda Airport in southern Israel, 60 km from Eilat. Ryanair sells tickets from 9.99(!) euros one way. No, that's not a typo, it's actually nine euros. But you have to look for such a price, and on average 25-30 euros. This is a great option for getting to Egypt! But only if you don’t mind, first go to Kaunas by train Moscow - Kaliningrad and get off in Vilnius. Also, read separately about , which, sorry, is in the devil’s ass and getting out of there can be difficult.

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