Local transportation/Transportation between airport and city

Wikimania 2008 Alexandria :: Change the shape of wisdom
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Wikitravel Press has created the official Wikimania 2008 travel guide to Cairo and Alexandria. The guide is licensed under Creative Commons by-sa 1.0, and it's available for your reading and editing pleasure at the Wikitravel website:

Alexandria - Cairo (including the Pyramids) - Egypt reference - Egyptian Arabic phrasebook

Printed copies of the June guidebook will be distributed on site (while supplies last), but those wanting to grab a copy before the conference can buy it online (US$11.99) — new July version now available. Take a look at the Alexandria sample chapter (PDF, 6.3 MB) to see what it looks like!

Any changes made now will be integrated into the next edition. You can help make it the best guide there can be!

When you update the content below, please add all your comments on Wikitravel too!

Main Page   Transportation between airport and city   Conference site transportation   City transportation   Driving   Street addresses   To other parts of Egypt    

Transportation

Free Shuttles

Wikimania Organization team is offering free transportation from Cairo, Nozha and Borg Al-Arab airports. Please sign up to any of the following times based on your arrival date and time. Thank you for your quick input.

There will be a bus waiting in front of Terminal 1 Hall 1 in Cairo Airport. and the bus will be waiting for extra 30 minutes. The bus will be identified by Wikimania sign and a volunteer will be on board with list of people that have signed up for this one. You will have to identify yourself by your passport name and confirmation number for more security, this has not been circulated over the website anywhere.

Please leave your departure time if only on 19th or 20th of July.

Cairo International Airport (CAI)
  • 4:00 (16th of July)
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport.
    • Nikola Smolenski, Collège Saint Marc, Arriving on Cairo International Airport
    • Nevena Tarlanovic, Collège Saint Marc, Arriving on Cairo International Airport
    • Filip Maljkovic, Collège Saint Marc, Arriving on Cairo International Airport
    • Murugan Palaniappan, Renaissance Alexandria, arriving CAI July 16th BA @ 00:25; departing July 20th 08:00
    • Kamala Pal, Renaissance Alexandria, arriving CAI July 16th BA @ 00:25; departing July 20th 08:00
    • Nicolas Dumazet, Saint Marc, arriving CAI @ 02:00
    • Mohamed Ouda, Saint Marc, arriving to Cairo airport @ 03:30
    • Axel Boldt, Hotel Metropol, arriving CAI at 3:35
    • Aleksey Chalabyan (Xelgen), Hotel Delta, arriving CAI @ 23:50 Jul 15 with Aeroflot SU341
    • Mardetanha ,hotel Delta arriving CAI at 1:30 16 july with Turkish airlines.
    • Jorrit Herder, Collège Saint Marc, Arriving on Cairo International Airport @ 02:00
    • Kurt Jansson, Collège Saint Marc, arriving on CIA @ 03:35 (LH 584)
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • 8:00
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport.
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • 14:00
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport
    • Awadewit, Delta, will already be in Cairo, departing 07:35, 20 July CAI
    • Jpatokal, overnighting at Novotel at CAI
    • Tomohiro Fukuhara, Delta, arriving CAI (Terminal 2) at 13:30 from Cairo city (we will arrive CAI on July 14th by EgyptAir MS965, and stay in Cairo until 16th. We will re-arrive CAI at 13:30 on 16th from the city); departing 18:45, 20 July CAI by EGYPTAIR MS964
    • Yoshiaki Arai, Delta, arriving CAI (Terminal 2) at 13:30 from Cairo city (same as above); departing 18:45, 20 July CAI by EGYPTAIR MS964
    • Michael Delta, arriving CAI (Terminal 1) at 10:45AM
    • Vanessa Lanari, Windsor Palace, Arriving on Cairo International Airport at 11:50; departing July 20th at 20:40
    • Marina Torre, Windsor Palace, Arriving on Cairo International Airport at 11:50; departing July 20th at 20:40
    • Cspurrier & Mspurrier arriving CAI 2:35 on the 15, since there are no shuttles then, will stay overnight in Cairo and take it at this time.
    • Henna 17:12, 14 July 2008 (UTC) + Kristoff van Buggenhout, arriving 850 from Sharm el Sheik[reply]
    • Ed Bice, San Francisco Arriving Arrival (CAI): July 16, 10:35 AM EEST (morning) Delta Air Lines # 10
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • 16:00
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport
    • Vulpeto (Rut Jesus), University of Copenhagen arriving on CAI - terminal 2 - at 15:05, 16 July from Vienna with Austrian Airlines.
    • sebmol, Le Metropole, Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) to CAI, arrival at 14:15 (Lufthansa)
    • Frank Schulenburg, from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), arriving on CAI at 14:15 on July 16, 2008 (Lufthansa)
    • P. Birken, from Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), arriving on CAI at Terminal 2 at 14:15 on July 16, 2008 (Lufthansa), departing 20. July, 15:50, from terminal 2
    • GerardM, from Vienna), arriving on CAI at 15:15 on July 16, 2008 (Lufthansa), leaving 20-7 at 16:05
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • 20:00
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport.
    • Jacek Jankowski, Delta, arriving CAI (Terminal 2) at 19:30 from Cairo city; departing on 20th July at 13:00
    • Majorly, from London Heathrow (LHR). Arriving at Terminal 1 at 16:10. Staying at Collège Saint Marc. Departing from Cairo Airport, Terminal 1 at 17:00, 20 July.
    • Arria Belli. Arriving at Cairo International Airport on 16 July at 15:55 (Alitalia flight from Rome Fiumicino). Staying at Collège Saint Marc. Departing from Cairo International Airport on 28 July.
    • Charles Matthews, arriving at 16:10 from London Heathrow (LHR). Hotel Metropole. Departing from Cairo Airport, Terminal 1 at 17:00, 20 July.
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • 00:00 (17th of July)
    • Name or wiki username, Hotel, Departure time and Airport.
    • Damian Finol. Arriving at Cairo INTL July 17th, British Airways at 00:25.
    • Enric Senabre, Delta, Cairo International Airport (Terminal 2) on 22:30 from Iberia Airlines.
    • Puchku, KLM, Cairo International Airport at 02:00.
    • SHAHINOVE, RJ, Cairo International Airport at 10:30, DELTA
    • Patrick Kenel, arriving at 20:00 from Geneva on Terminal 1
    • محمد مؤنس البرادعي, Collège Saint Marc
    • Ibrahim Salah, Collège Saint Marc
    • Mustafa Ahmed, Collège Saint Marc
    • Muhammed Hussien, Collège Saint Marc
  • DO NOT ADD NAMES ANY MORE, SUBSCRIPTION CLOSED
  • Return trip only
    • Angela and Tim need transport from Alexandria to Cairo on July 20th. Prefer to reach Cairo around 8 AM.

Cairo on July 20th. Our flight leaves at 13:05.

Alexandria

If you're arriving at ALY or HBE in Alexandria, please contact Wikimania-infoATWikimedia.org for arranging transportation.

Arriving by Air in Alexandria

There are two airports in Alexandria:

Olympic Airlines
  1. El Nouzha Airport (IATA:ALY) : It has a limited choice of flights inside and quite extensive services to cities around the Middle East. The only connection to Europe, though, is from Athens on Olympic Airlines. The airport is situated 8 km (5 miles) south-east of the city.A taxi will take you about 20 minutes and should cost no more than 15 LE.
  2. Borg El Arab Airport (IATA: HBE) : It is served by Lufthansa in Frankfurt, Dubai and Emirates (soon) Turkish Istanbul. It is a little less conveniently located some 25 km (16 miles) south-west of Alexandria, which means an hour's bus ride (LE 100 or less).

In both airports you can find a taxi or a local or Superjet bus (the Superjet is from Borg el Arab airport) that will head to the Alexandria city center, or to Moharam beak Bus Station, where you can take a taxi to the city centre.

Borg El Arab Airport

  • 01:55 (16 July 2008)

Arriving by Air in Cairo

Cairo Airport

Cairo International Airport (IATA: CAI) : is well served by EgyptAir , the national carrier, and others such as British Airways , Air France , KLM , Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa. The airport has four public terminals and a fifth (would be the biggest) one under construction in addition to a private jet terminal, which may or may not open sometime in 2009. Terminal 1 (aka the "Old Airport" or "Domestic Terminal") is used by EgyptAir for all flights, domestic and international, while most but not all other airlines use Terminal 2 ("New Airport"). The two are 3 km apart and a free shuttle bus runs between the two every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. Wikimania shuttle bus service : If you're arriving from Cairo airport, the Wikimania organization team is providing free transportation to and from Cairo International Airport the 2 days before and after the conference on fixed time schedules. You can take any of these to get to the conference venue or your hotel in Alexandria.

Leaving by air from Alexandria

Borg El Arab airport

If you are leaving with plane at 20 July at 3:05 am (flight LH 677): we are arranging a shuttle. Please add yourself to the list here and also register yourself at the travel agency on the ground floor (right from the registration desk when you come down the stairs).

Depending on how many people sign up, the price per shuttle will be from 100 LE (<5 people) to 250 LE (<11 people). Approximate leaving time is midnight. We still have a spot or two left if you decide to come later.

  • Tomaž Šolc, Jure Čuhalev (Metropol)

From Cairo To Alexandria

  • Train: Frequent trains from the station Ramses are probably the best way to get to Alexandria. Choose your time from Egypt railway train scedule. Try to choose choose either an express or the pride of Egyptian Railways, the French-built Turbo which lasts only 2 hours 10 minutes for the journey . 1st/2nd class tickets THE 46/20 one way. For the return journey, trains leave the station Misr or station Sidi Gaber, a 10 minute walk south of the corniche along Nabi Daniel St, and the Sidi Gaber station. Online reservation seems to be required, IE is needed for the login. The trains are fully booked till 18 juli.
Superjet bus


  • Bus: Several bus companies offer a bus service into Alexandria at a very low price range: 20-35 LE. Buses are air conditioned and come complete with a hostess trolley service. Companies include Golden Arrow, West Delta, Super Jet and El Gouna. Operating times vary from one company to another, but there are trips between Cairo and Alexandria virtually every hour from early morning till midnight.

While the buses themselves are perfectly comfortable, the duration of your journey from Cairo to Alexandria (and vice versa) will depend on your pick-up/drop-off point. Most buses start out from the The airport and Almaza Bus Station in Heliopolis and stop by Midan Tahrir and Giza before finally setting out to Alexandria; if you join from Heliopolis expect a 4-5 hour trip rather than the average 2-3.

On Cairo International Airport, the buses (of Super Jet, West Delta, etc.) leave from a bus station near Terminal 1 (if you arrive at Terminal 2, take the free shuttle to Terminal 1). Leaving the terminal building, you have to cross a car parking area to get there.

There are a number of bus pick-up/drop-off points inside Alexandria. These are usually either at Maw'if Gadid Station ( except El Gouna which start from and arrives to Sidi Gaber station ) which is a bit far from the city of Alexandria so it shouldn't cost more than a 10 LE cab ride, 15 LE max. Don't take a taxi with anyone that approaches you right outside of the bus. Walk outside the station and catch a taxi there if you must. There is also a bus from Maw'if Gadid to Sidi Gabr, and from Sidi Gabr most parts of the city are accessible by minibus or tram if you are looking to save money. The bus fare will run you 50 piasters.

  • Car: There are two options when traveling from Cairo to Alexandria by car. The journey usually takes around 3 hours, depending on speed and surrounding traffic.
  1. The Agriculture road: It has a speed limit of 90 km/hr for private cars and has 2 lanes in each direction. This is the main road, so it can get a little crowded.
  2. The Desert road: It has a speed limit of 100 km/hr for private cars and has 3 lanes in each direction. True to the name, this crosses the desert, less crowded and faster than Agriculture road, but there are cafeterias every few kilometers ( The master and Rest house are almost the main rest centers in this road ).