Palestine/Israel to Egypt: the practical travel tips you've been looking for

I've had some trouble finding info on that trip - especially the bus timings - so that's my Public Service Announcement. :)

- Don’t take a tourist bus from Jerusalem to Cairo (with that Mazada company, etc). It’s a rip-off. Twice as expensive, plus they don't wait for you at the border if you have a slight delay! Check the bus timings - Egged website for the first leg, and photos below for the second - to see when the regular and cheaper (and totally comfy) buses are. Oh, and in Taba, don’t trust the Bedouins with their minibuses. They are godless thieves and will triple-charge you. And the minibuses are extremely uncomfortable for such a long ride (5 or 6 hours).

Taba to Cairo

Cairo to Taba: daily at 6:45, 10:15, 10:45, 11:15 am (from Almaza station)

- Don’t arrive to Eilat on Friday or Saturday: there are no buses from there to anywhere, and I mean anywhere!! Apparently, God vetoed the transportation schedules in Israel. :) I had to share a *very* expensive taxi with a couple of people out of there...

And don’t arrive to Taba after 6 pm or before 10 am. No buses to Cairo from there either. No act of God involved there, as far as I know.

- If you are Egyptian, well, your government essentially doesn’t want you to go! (to Palestine nor to Israel: same country, as far as the police is concerned). If you insist, you need to request an authorisation from Mogamma El Tahrir, first floor, window 56. You can reach the officers in charge at 02-29627100. The application form costs 30 piastres (piastres, not pounds - so, yeah, 6 cents). You need to submit documents proving the reason you're going (which is work, for most requests). And start working your connections, because you’re more likely to see it snow in Cairo than to get the permit the ‘normal way’. Then you wait - depending on how efficient your connections are, it can take you anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. So hone your connections!