CAIRO TO SIWA OASIS

HOW TO GET TO SIWA

BUS - CAIRO TO SIWA

The buses to Siwa from Cairo and Alexandra are reliable, safe and take 9 hours from Alexandria and 11 hours from Cairo. The buses range from brand new to maybe 10 years old and a bit tired but fully functioning. They generally have air conditioning and a toilet on board. The seats are reclining and the same as any coach seat in the UK. You have enough room to read a book and you normally get one movie in English and one in Arabic.

Cairo to Siwa: all buses from Cairo to Siwa now leave from Turgoman Station – you might see it advertised as the Cairo Gateway station but nobody calls it this. It’s a ten minute cab ride from downtown. Get an Uber or inDrive ( cheaper). If you telephone, or your hotel checks the times, they will tell you there is one bus a day at around 19:00 direct to Siwa. This is correct, but what they don’t tell you is there is a direct bus to Marsa Matruh every hour. They start at 07:00 and leave every hour, on the hour. The cost to Marsa Matruh is around $10. Change at Marsa Matruh for a direct bus to Siwa. It’s very easy and you buy the ticket for the Siwa bus from the driver before you get on.

The cost per person from Alexandria and from Cairo are going up all the time due to inflation so no point in putting prices here. Around $10 for each trip. There are several buses a day to Siwa from each city. The buses from Cairo terminate at Marsa Matrouh but there is a simple connection there to continue on to Siwa. The timetable does change so I haven’t put the times here, but there is one around 07:00, 10:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 22:00. We can confirm all of this for you at the time of your visit. The overnight buses are popular with the locals and if you can sleep on a bus, this is a good option.

If you would like to come to Siwa by bus when staying at the Siwa Villa, please get in contact with us here at Somewhere Different, and we will arrange everything for you.

BUS - ALEXANDRA TO SIWA

I Alex is a few hours shorter bus ride but is still all day. Some Wizzair flights come into Alex and if you have time breaking up your journey from Cairo via Alex can be a fun expeirence. You need to check with us before coming down on bus times as they change all the time but it is aroun 8 hours from Alex to Siwa Oasis.

BUS - MATROUGH TO SIWA

Once you are at Marsa Matrouh, you can get another large bus to Siwa. Just go to the ticket office and say Siwa and they will tell you when the next bus is. The trip takes about 4 hours.

Alternatively there are many micro buses that do the joirney. They are quicker and smaller with less space for your bags. If you are ok with your bag on your lap and are a physiclay small person then this can be a great way to experience local travle in the Western Desert of Egypt.

PRIVATE CAR

Hiring a car in Egypt is not easy, they assume we cannot drive… but chauffeur driven cars are easy to book for us here in Siwa and the easiest way to come down to Siwa. Cairo is 800kms but don’t let this put you off. The road is good all the way with little traffic at all times of the day once you're out of Cairo. It is an easy and pleasant journey to travel. You have three options on how to get to Siwa Oasis.

Air Conditioned People Carrier
This is what most guests who come as a large group come to Siwa in. They are fast, travelling at 140kms an hour and have enough space for everyone to spread out and sleep, read a book or watch a movie.

Air Conditioned Car
If there is just two of you a car is cheaper and quicker reaching Cairo in 6 hours. A car does not have the space of a people carrier but if you don’t want to sleep is the quickest way of doing the journey.

Air Conditioned Coach
If there are 10 of you and you're coming fully loaded with bags, etc, a small coach is the best option. We can get a 22-seater coach for you. This gives most people two seats to lie down on, sleep or watch the world go by as you count the camels you see or play "Eye spy beginning with S”.

FLIGHTS TO EGYPT

There are no direct flights to Siwa ... yet. Airport opening rumours are string now and as they say " No smoke without fire".

For now, it's Cairo or Alex and bus down. Check Sky Scanner and Wizzair flights from Europe and London. If you want a week scuba diving before coming down, check out Easyjet flights to Sharm. There is a cheap flight to Alex from there.

THROUGH THE DESERT

Watch the movie " Ice Cold in Alex". They will show you the way 🙂