OK, but how do I GET there???

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alicatfish

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Location
Phoenix
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Hello!

Can someone please enlighten me as to how I might get from Taba boarder to Sharm? I'm happy to take a taxi, but how can I book one? My only option as I see it is to go through a tour company. But then we're paying what seems like $300 for a round-trip, 3 hour taxi ride. There must be a better way.

Can't wait to get there!!!

TIA!


:blinking:
 
There are plenty of Taxis in the border- you don't really need to book in advance. I haven't taken a Taxi for several years, so I don't know the prices today but I remember them beeing quite expensive even when sharing a full taxi (i.e. 6-7 passengers).

I doubt that you'll find so many tourists/divers to share a full taxi. In the "good days" one had to wait a few minutes and dozens of divers/tourists to chose from.

Another alternative- bus. Again, I haven't used the bus for a few years but it used to be only once a day at 07:00 and cost a fraction of the Taxi's price (something like 20 Egyptian pounds for the Bus vs several hundreds for the Taxi). I think the bus company is called "East Delta Bus" you can try check if they have a website?
If you are alone, Taxi drivers may take advantage and try to overcharge you knowing that you are desperate and don't have other alternatives. They may lie about the time of the bus, or tell you there is no bus at all, that it has departed etc. It may be true, it may be not. This is Egypt. Price asked by taxi drivers may fall dramatically when they see the bus approaching station :wink:


Hitch-hiking? I did it once with my girlfriend- took us less than 10 minutes to get a ride but we had to take a distance from the Taxi station as the taxi drivers "disencouraged" the potential drivers from taking us. However, if you are alone, I wouldn't count on this method too much and I am not sure whether it is safe or wise to hitch-hike. Myself, I wouldn't do it nowadays.
 
Barbara- We're planning for the end of May - 3 night liveaboard. Also a weekend in Taba, diving from land. Have you been to either?
 
Thanks for the info! I googled East Delta Bus and found the info. Sounds like the way to go, and maybe we'll try your trick of using the bus to get a better price on the taxi. :) I don't mind paying a fair price for what it a pretty long ride, but I don't care to be ripped off either. Should be an interesting journey either way.
 
Hi, I took that taxi ride last summer. (Someone else arranged it, so I don't have any details for you.) It was a fun ride and we had a great time diving from Sharm as well.

Two things to remember though that we learned the hard way. First, you will be going to a relatively high altitude on that drive, so don't forget your time off between flying and diving. The drive really goes through some high mountani passes. We had no problems as we didn't dive before we left Taba. However, on the drive we noticed the altitude and decided to cut our diving short at the end of the trip to make sure we had 24 hours before getting back in the taxi. Also, you may need to get a full Egyptian Visa when you cross at Taba. We only had a Sinai Visa which didn't cover leaving Sharm by boat and going into the parks. You may have no problems with this, but we were whisked off to the airport at midnight (6am departure) and spent 2 hours trying to find someone that would let us get the correct visa. After lots of dirty looks from security and the phrase "You got the wrong one in Taba, go back to Taba to fix it!" We returned to our boat without the correct visa and went diving anyway. The issue never came up again on the water, but I would get the full Egyptian visa any way.

Have a great trip!
 
according to the egyptians sinai is not really egypt, i mean when you get into sinai you get a sinai visa and not a visa to egypt:confused: (????????????) i don't know why but thats the way it is.
sharem is still in sinai, but any where south to sharem is "egypt" and requires a different visa.
there are great places to dive in, in the sinai side, but there are better south to that line, like "ras muhamed", the southern tip of the sinai peninsula, that should not be missed!!!! the "thislgorm" the famous motorcycle ship, is a couple of hours of boat ride from ras muhamed.
have a great time! and dont worry about the taxi, there are lots of'em...
as for the rest, don't forget it is sinai, and sinai has its own pace:14: ... so it is important to understand it.
i am sure it will be a great vacation, its a great place!:D
 
It is very simple- there is no need for visa only if one wishes to visit the Sinai coast from Taba all the way through Sharm, and also up to St. Catherine in the west. For this area, everyone can get a 14-days permit in the border itself.

Anywhere else- one needs a regular Egyptian tourist visa. For some nationalities it may be granted in the border itself, for many it has to go through the embassy and takes some time.

Without Visa, boat diving from Sharm is allowed only to Tiran straits. Ras Mohammed and beyond requires a tourist visa.

As for the altitude... I don't think it is an issue as far as I remember the road does not go above a few hundred meters (600 and something, though the nearby mountains peaks are in the 800s). Sinai highest peaks are somewhere around 2600 meters (Gebel Catherine and G. Um Shumar, located at different sites and quite far away from the road- it will take some effort getting to decent altitude after diving :wink: ).
 
We were in Taba overnight last weekend so I stopped by the Concierge to ask about the taxi. $100 one way, $150 r/t Taba <--> Sharm is what he told us. The bus is 31 Egyptian Pounds (~$6) each way.

BTW, the Hilton Taba - what a great value! Highly recommend it. The little Villiage is pretty impressive. We've done the day boat from Taba with Aqua Sport twice now and enjoyed both trips tremendously.

Thanks again for all the replies - very helpful as always. :)
 

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