Train from Alexandria to Cairo...Easy?

I am going on a cruise to the Mediterranean in February. We are trying to do the Walmart Cruise (AKA: CHEAP)Has anyone used the train from Alexandria to Cairo and then picked up a tour in Cairo for the Pyramids? We are traveling with a 12 and 15 yr old, 2 older gentlemen, my husband and myself. Any suggestions?

:)having done Pt Said to Alexandria Nov 07 with 90 cruise critic friends with a private company...I would never consider doing it as you have mentioned with 6 people on my own on a train..even though the ports are different I would not want that responsiblility..what dates and cruise ship are you sailing..you might want to check the roll call here and hook up with others using a private co. instead of the ship excursion to save $...Doing what you mentioned in for example Rome, Athens, Barcelona, Cannes or other ports sounds o.k. ..we all love to save a dollar but dont make that your #1 priority when visiting foreign countries

Westerners are allowed on only two daily trains (each way) between Alexandria and Cairo. I can't remember the times, but before you plan this, make sure the times work for you. It is a bit of haul from the Cairo train station to Giza. the traffic is, um, er, "interesting" at times.

Of course, if you take a tour from the port (ship's tour or one you arrange yourself), you are forced to go in a convey so everyone arrives at Giza at the same time. Lovely (NOT).

The conveys were put into operation after several bloody attacks on Western tourists. Of course, more people have died due to high speed, closely packed convey traffic than the terrorists killed.

We took the train from Cairo to Alexandria on a tour. I would not recommend doing this alone. We had first class seats and the train was filthy. If you have taken trains in Europe, this does not compare to anything there. I felt a little uneasy at the Cairo train station too. We were with Grand Circle Travel so we had about 50 of us and 3 guides plus an armed guard with us at all times. It was a nice ride, but when that train pulled in to Cairo and I saw people hanging off of the train and I asked what they were doing, the answer I got from our guide was "that is 3rd class". She wasn't kidding either.

We took our buses back to Cairo that evening and had an armed convoy escort us. Again, a little uneasy with the trip.

So, I would take a ships tour to the pyramids. You know you will be safe, have good buses, escorts, get back to the ship on time, etc. etc. The pyramids are a site to behold, so do not miss them. We spent 2 weeks in Egypt in January and loved it.

Cheryl

I am going on a cruise to the Mediterranean in February. We are trying to do the Walmart Cruise (AKA: CHEAP)Has anyone used the train from Alexandria to Cairo and then picked up a tour in Cairo for the Pyramids? We are traveling with a 12 and 15 yr old, 2 older gentlemen, my husband and myself. Any suggestions?

Don't try it. The distance is great, no one speaks English, and schedules are just a suggestion. Go with a tour company. BTW, there is no such thing as a WalMart cruise. Cheap and cruise are two words that do not go together. :D

Hi, Yes I have been seeing that cruise and cheap do not go together..lol..However, we are doing this trip as sort of a bucket list wish for my father in law. He has prostate cancer and recently was given 2 years. We wanted him to go out with a bang and so this is a bit of a stretch for us. But we will make it one great trip.:o)

you can do the Pyramids from Alexander less expensively by using any reputable private tour company(not ship tour) in fact it will be a third to one half what the cruise company charges. But they will drive you on a bus or mini van. This is frugal not cheap self doing it on the train is cheap and foolish and won't save you that much money. The only thing I suggest is to remember to tip the guide and the driver they are paid next to nothing and rely on tips. The reason they stop in shops is the shop owner kicks back up to 40% of what you pay(it works for both the shop and the guide). If you don't want to stop at the perfume place, the papyrus place etc tell the guide and driver and by all means tip extra accordingly! IMO...

I am going on a cruise to the Mediterranean in February. We are trying to do the Walmart Cruise (AKA: CHEAP)Has anyone used the train from Alexandria to Cairo and then picked up a tour in Cairo for the Pyramids? We are traveling with a 12 and 15 yr old, 2 older gentlemen, my husband and myself. Any suggestions?

Don't do it! Especially not 6 of you, with teenagers and elderly people.

The trains (even the so-called first class ones for westerners) are filthy. The toilets are indescribable, the stations chaotic and the crowds huge. Trains almost inevitably run late, so you would have to consider the risk of not returning to your ship in time.

Traffic in Cairo is chaotic and the Egyptians' use of road markings and traffic lights is creative! They happily slip without warning from lane to lane and even create 5 traffic streams out of 3 lanes. They only seem to stop for red lights if they feel like it.

Cairo has two railway stations. If you want to do the pyramids, you will need the Giza station. Unless you arrange it beforehand, there will not be anyone waiting at the Giza station to take you on a tour to the pyramids.

We made two train journeys in Egypt, and they were with a guided tour. Even then, the experience was far from enjoyable.

Egypt will be a complete change from anything you have experienced before and the culture shock you experience will be huge. If you were a young couple on your own, you might manage what you are proposing, but with teenagers and elderly people - no.

The European cities on your cruise will be much easier to see "on your own" than Cairo will. The pyramids are a must-see, but do them either with the ship's tour or organise a tour before you leave home. Other people on this board have mentioned some Egyptian tour agencies who have apparently proved satisfactory.

Thank so much for the info. I was a little taken aback by the foolish remark. This is why I asked the question. Being that I have never been to Egypt, I was trying to not be foolish by asking. I appreciate those of you with such great info. Thank you.

Thank so much for the info. I was a little taken aback by the foolish remark. This is why I asked the question. Being that I have never been to Egypt, I was trying to not be foolish by asking. I appreciate those of you with such great info. Thank you.

Brigitte,

I do hope you manage to get your father in law his wish to see the Pyramids.

However you get there, a day tour from Alexandria to the Pyramids is going to be one long day. If you go with an organised tour (ship or private), the elderly members of your party will at least be able to get some measure of rest on the vehicles to and from Cairo.

Do make sure that you start off with sufficient water and buy some along the way. Take your own tissues or be prepared to pay for toilet paper at rest stops. Hand wipes are a good idea too.

Best wishes,

Celle

Celle,

Thanks so much for the info. I think we will either go with Decastro tours or another egyptologist that I saw on the boards. i really appreciate the thoughtful advice.

Thanks so much,

Brigitte:)

We did our private tour with De Castro and were very happy, especially with our guide Dahlia who I can recommend strongly.

Four of us just returned from doing this trip on December 7th of this year. We had a great experience and would say it is possible but you will need to be prepared.

First you want to catch the 8:00 train at the main station as that will get you into Cairo at about 10:30. This seemed pretty easy at first as we were off the boat promptly at 7:00.

The first decision is which taxi to take. The tourist taxi (blue which are parked right by the boat) or the Yellow and Black across the overpass in town. Both will get you to train station in plenty of time. The tourist taxi will probably cost you $20 USD as they are all there wanting to take you around Alexandria or into Cairo for over $100. They will give you every excuse on why they need to drive you and how the train will be sold out. We were there on a holiday and everyone said the trains would be full. It was all baloney. There were plenty of tickets available. If you walk across the bridge into town itself their will be taxis with drivers who don't speak english that will be happy to take you for $3 USD. On December 7 a couple from San Diego traveling with a 10 year old girl beat everyone to the train station doing it this way.

Once inside the train station get at least 500 to a 1,000 egyptian pounds as that is all the ticket sellers will accept. ATM is just inside on the left. The ticket office is to the left of platform #1 midway down the platform. About 25 people from the cruise ship were all assembled there in line by 7:30 to buy tickets. We all thought we were being very clever as things were looking good. Beware if things are going well in Egypt it is time to start getting nervous. There are 8 ticket windows but no one wanted to sell tickets and they kept sending us to the far right counter where one agent was painstakingly handwriting a ticket for a young Egyptian teenager. Finally at about 10 minutes to eight they asked what train we wanted. We all said the 8:00 and they said it was to late we wouldn't make it. We insisted we wanted the 8:00 and they finally relented. Once they started selling the line went quickly but now very little time till the train was scheduled to leave. We all had to run (I think we were their entertainment) back down platform 1 over to platform 4 or 5 and then the entire length of the train to the first class cars. We made it with just a couple of minutes to spare. I would guess only half of the people made it on the 8:00 train even though they were all in line by 7:30. The 8:00 train makes only one stop at the other Alexandria station before going direct to Cairo.

I agree with the fact that traveling around in Cairo with kids and using public transportation would be incredibly risky. It is a completely different culture than what you are used to in the U.S. We met Debbie Senters of Casual Cairo Detours. Cost for her and a driver and a/c van was $240 US. for 8 hours and $16 for each additional hour. She met us at 10:30 and was our personal guardian angel till 8:00 when she took us back to train station for the 8:10 train back to Alexandria.

We were able to see the Citadel we made it before the tour buses arrived, we then picked up an Egyptian fast food lunch to picnic at the observation point of the Pyramids. We took our time everywhere as we took nearly 1,000 photos during the day. We skipped the camel rides but did enter one of the 6 smaller pyramids. She knew the police at the site and was wonderful in greasing their palms to allow us into the pyramid and had the police guarding the site come down with us and take photos. Something your kids might enjoy and you will enjoy not having to pay 200 egyptian pounds each to go into the big pyramid. We walked all the way around the large pyramids. Again taking pictures several layers up on the pyramid themselves. Next we were off the the Sphinx and WC stop at the local KFC/Pizza Hut. We then went to the Nile to join the locals with a trip over to Gold island to see how they still farm without tractors and other modern day equipment. We had to politely decline two invitations for tea with the very friendly local population. By now the sun was setting so it was off to the Bazaar. The wife had specific items they were looking for and Debbie knew shop owners that gave us excellent prices with no haggling. She would ask for best price and they would give it. Most shop owners would throw in free gifts as well. After all shopping was done it was back to train and back to our paid for lodging at the ship and a late night dinner.

Overall this was the fastest and cheapest way into Cairo. We liked Debbie because she allowed us to see what we wanted to see. Not sure how much fun the National museum will be for teenagers. We didn't want our time spent there I know. You could also stay the night in Cairo and head back in the morning. It depends on whether the light and sound show is something you want to see or not.

Sorry for the long post but it was a long but very fun day.

Not sure how much fun the National museum will be for teenagers. We didn't want our time spent there I know. You could also stay the night in Cairo and head back in the morning. It depends on whether the light and sound show is something you want to see or not.

 

Sorry for the long post but it was a long but very fun day.

Great post, by the way. I may have to try the train on my next visit to Egypt. I did have to giggle at your last couple of sentences though. My parents swore that I would never forgive them for going off to Egypt without me when I was 11 or 12. I would've loooooved the museum then (I love it now). But it definitely does depend on the kid/teen.

I just returned from Alexandria/Cairo the day before Thanksgiving. We took the train from Alexandria to Cairo. We were fortunate to have an Arabic speaking person to assist us in getting on the right train. It would have been difficult for us to know which train to board. The train we were on was nice and clean. The bathroom could have been cleaner, but overall wasn't all that bad. While we waited there were several different trains that came and went. However, having spent 2 weeks in Alexandria and doing both the drive to Cairo and the train, I have to say the train was a much nicer experience. The drive is a long one and at times scary, with drivers speeding and not using lights at night. Plus taking the train in the daytime allows a much better view of the countryside.

Getting around and communication without someone who speaks Arabic would be challenging. If you change your mind and choose to take the train, I would still find a tour guide who would accompany you in order to translate to the taxi drivers and to ensure that you get on the appropriate train. There are two different trains the fast one and the slow one. We took the fast one and made it to Cairo in about 2 1/2 hours. The drive took us about 3 1/2 hours. Enjoy your trip, Alexandria is really unique and is the coast is beautiful. Be prepared for crazy driving with no real driving rules being followed.

Just a side note, we went to the Light and Sound show and to be honest were not all that thrilled. It was a little on the cheesy side. The Sphinx talks/narrates the show. The lights were pretty and the pyramids looked nice lit up. We also were able to see the Pyramids during the day and enjoyed that much more.

Also, do not sit on the Camels at the Pyramids unless you have pre-negotiated the price. If you haven't agreed on a price they will try to get more money out of you before they let you down off of them...

My family did the February cruise on the NCL Jade in the Mediterranean AlohaJoe23's (post #13; Dec. 2008) description helped us a lot - I printed it up to bring along.

Let me just state that when AlohaJoe mentions that 'Beware if things are going well in Egypt it is time to start getting nervous.' He is absolutely right! And the mention that (I think we were their entertainment) hit the nail right on the head!

We found the ATM right where Joe said it was. Immediately an 8-year-old or so boy came up and put his hand on my husband's rolling suitcase; my husband pulled it away. The child was then eyeing the slot where the money came out of the ATM. My husband moved in closely to the machine to avoid his money getting snatched.

We went to the first set of windows, before the tracks, (I had forgot about AlohaJoe's description of where to go) and were told to 'go over there' to get tickets with a wave of an arm. Of course 'over there' did not exactly describe where to go. A kindly man who ran a newspaper stand could tell we were confused and he directed past the Station Master sign to the Sleeper train area to the left of platform #1. My husband thanked him later by buying some items from him later. After being sent to a couple different windows, second class was full. After being sent to another couple different windows, we found the first class window (#6). We "were their entertainment". After printing the tickets on a hand press machine and also handwriting other information on tiny piece of cardboard (you have to keep these as souvenirs); we ran for the 10:00am train. A man at the end of platform # 3 asked us if we were going to Cairo, he helped us run to the front of the train and then asked my husband for 'backshish'. Luckily, I had just read that that mean 'tip'. I relayed that to my husband. Another porter on the train helped us to our seats. We were in with mostly businessmen. Train was OK, not real modern. There was a drink/snack cart that came through. The train from Cairo back to Alexandria was awful, but at least it was more 'express'. The train to Alexandria made several stops and traveled at a very slow speed in some parts.

After my husband told me not to use the toilet on the train, I decided to wait until we got to the Cairo train station. Upon arriving and paying to use the small women's restroom, I soon discovered that it consisted of just a hole in the floor. I'm no prude, I am a camper; so I was not real surprised. Luckily, I had tissue in my purse. At least there were separate stalls. Apparently, I took a little too long because women started banging on the door for me to hurry up. My husband stated later 'gee, that's funny, the men's room had full toilets'! I replied that that must be because men are considered first class citizens and women do not deserve such luxury.

We were constantly bothered by taxi drivers in Alexandria and Cairo. One in Alexandria parked his cab on the side of the road and followed my husband on foot for 5 blocks trying to get him to use his taxi. That tactic must work with some people, but not us. We picked a taxi driver in Cairo to take us to Giza for 50EL. He was very nice and described the area to us. Driving in Cairo is hysterical, with the no lanes adheared to, no crosswalks and people trying to cross the highway with little children in tow. Also, at night, headlights are optional.

This is where AlohaJoes statment of 'Beware if things are going well in Egypt it is time to start getting nervous.' rings so true. Once arriving in Giza, the taxi driver started driving down some seedy back alleys. 'Uh, oh', I thought. He then stopped and introduced us to another man who was going to 'take us to the pyramids'. All a scam, but my husband thought that he would hear the guy out. We were ushered into a nice cafe and given the pitch (a simple wooden, that's right, wooden map with 3 pyramids and a syphix stuck to it was used to describe where we would go). We talked the guy down from 180EL to 120EL which is basically about $60/each to ride camels and horses to the site. The taxi driver waited for us. Then a woman tried to sell my some perfume by putting samples on my wrist. Since I am not a perfume person I told her that I did not care for any of them. She was nice and did not press me to buy anything.

We must say, that it ended up being a nice little tour. The guide spoke good English. My husband and son rode the camels while my daughter and I rode the horses. We went in a back way to the site, went right up the pyramids but only near the syphix. We had told them that we only wanted the 'short tour'. Afterwards, my husband was ushered into a papyrus museum and asked for a tip. My husband said that he already paid the other guy and he was not a rich man. He gave them man 50EL and he looked very disappointed. I was told later by a fellow cruiser that you could give them 1000 and they would still act disappointed!

On the way back to Cairo, the taxi driver asked us how much we paid. My husband only said 'he wanted 180'. The driver then fell silent the rest of the ride. He must have been told that we paid 120 and he was upset that he didn't get his full cut.

Missed the 5:00pm train and got the 6:00pm. Arrived back in Alexandria about 8:00pm. Took a taxi - without headlight use - back to the port. We were never so happy to see the ship! We all took showers to get the sand out our hair and ended up reminiscing and chuckling about our experience.

All in all, it was an interesting experience and our teenagers now appreciate their easy life! Yet, next time - we are splurging for the shore excursion. I hope this helps people with future trips. I know I appreciated any reviews I found before going.

evanvalk, thanks for adding your experience. I'm a veteran DIY type but I'm not sure, after reading these stories, whether I'd want to try this on a limited schedule (as on a cruise).....especially on a sailaway day!

I found toilets to be pretty primitive at a lot of stops in Egypt on our land tour. But I was kind of expecting that. Now you tell me the men have better facilities....!!!! Not fair. :D

.... We met Debbie Senters of Casual Cairo Detours. Cost for her and a driver and a/c van was $240 US. for 8 hours and $16 for each additional hour. She met us at 10:30 and was our personal guardian angel till 8:00 when she took us back to train station for the 8:10 train back to Alexandria.

 

....

Her driver's name is Tariq...nice guy...he won't ride a camel....

Hi Evanvalk,

Loved your posting.....I laughed out loud at some point!

I am also going on the NCL Jade cruise of the Med and would like some pointers.

- Did your cruise have an overnight in Alexandria and you decided not to stay in Cairo for the night?

- What did you do for the second day?

- Was one day enough for Cairo?

Thanks for your help.

Anyone out there going on the NCL Jade cruise April 9 and want to share info?

C.

Hi YVR Traveller,

I'm glad you enjoyed the post! The cruise was an overnighter in Alexandria. We intended on possibly staying overnight in Cairo, but once the kids saw the place, they said 'no way'. I was under the impression that there were hotels right by Giza, but I didn't see any. I thought it would be a bit more modern, but realized after seeing the sewage canal down the middle of the main road to Giza, that it wasn't.

We rushed our trip in Cairo because we wanted to make sure we got back in time. We didn't if the ship closed up at a certain time of night or not.

We took the 10:00am train out of Alexandria, the 8:00am one may be better if you want to see more. We missed the 5:00pm train back, but caught the 6:00pm. We arrived back in Alexandria about 8:30p.

But, really, I can't stress enough; you really should do one of their shore excursion - unless you really want our sort of 'adventure'!

It depends on what you have on your own lists of 'must sees'. We just wanted to see the pyramids. I'm sure the museums would have been wonderful. But, otherwise, I would say that one day in Cairo is enough.

We were so disallusioned on the second day that my husband refused to venture out of the port, we stayed on the ship. And, mind you, my husband is not a scardey cat sort of man. He just did not want to deal with it all again - especially the taxi drivers. And since there wasn't anything that we felt we really had to see in Alexandria (I would have liked to see the library), we stayed on board. There are many vendors right in the dock area for shopping. We liked that because we felt we had ventured out. Beware of man offering to mail your postcards on the dock. We still have not received ours. At one point it was so windy, he allowed many to blow away in the wind! We used him because we were told that if we mailed them from the ship, they wouldn't be mailed until we got to Barcelona. How stupid. I complained later.

All in all, we had enjoyed the cruise. We did Rome in 3 hours - wasn't too hard. I'm talking the main attractions (Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps). They are all quite close together. We didn't do the Vatican. The train was late when going back, then very crowded at 5:00pm. Then it stopped for about 20 minutes at the Vatican station, which really got screwed up our time. Had to run back to the ship which was docked far away from the front of the port.

The park in Athens that houses the The Temple of Hephaestus and the museum closed at 2:30pm! Luckily, we had already see the Acropolis Hill, but we never made it through the rest of the park. They started blowing whistles and ushering everyone out. We docked at 11:00am, took the Metro into Athens. It wasn't as if we wasted any time. So, you may want to speed up your 'walk through' of the area. The metro was very nice and easy. The stops were spoken in Greek and in English, which helped. There is a sign on the metro of the stops, we counted the stops to where we needed to get off. There are a couple bazaars right in the area to shop at. We ended up walking to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch, since the kids would not experiment with any ethnic food. It was the quietest Hard Rock we had ever been in, very nice.

Not too much to see in Izmir. The bazaar is all Western wear. I could have bought anything there at Walmart. Found a little shop in a square set off from the bazaar where there was a W/C, and found more Turkish gifts there. Then the next day, they sell a lot of Turkish items on the ship. It is kind of mad free for all, but you can pick up more gifts that way.

Malta was wonderful. Walked to the main shopping streets, but there were also some right at the dock.

We loved Malta and Barcelona the best.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you need any more info. I always have more!

there are hotels by Giza like the Meriden and the Mena house really nice high end hotels with pools....see http://www.youtube.com/smeyer418 day room at mena house

Hi, Yes I have been seeing that cruise and cheap do not go together..lol..However, we are doing this trip as sort of a bucket list wish for my father in law. He has prostate cancer and recently was given 2 years. We wanted him to go out with a bang and so this is a bit of a stretch for us. But we will make it one great trip.:o)

God bless you for making this happen for your father-in-law. It will be a memory of a lifetime for your children, spending this much time with their granddad. We managed a Europe trip when my husband was being treated for cancer. He subsequently died, and my now adult kids talk about that trip all the time. It's a great memory. Good luck!