koryandleslie

What is the best sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan?

Is there a train ride, not sleeper from Luxor to Cairo during the day?

sf7307

There is only one sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan as far as I know.

http://www.fodors.com/community/afri...s-in-egypt.cfm

P_M

If you take the train you are much better off with the sleeper train. I took the overnight train where you sit in a chair and it was beyond miserable. If they did have a daytime train that would be no better as it's such a long ride you would waste a day of your trip. Stick with the sleeper train or fly.

koryandleslie

I am told that Egypt air is out of seats for April. I think they sold them all to a tour company. What do I do now?

P_M

If flying is not an option I am told the sleeper train is not bad. I was speaking of the train where you sit in a chair, as opposed to the sleeper train where you have a room and a bed. If I ever go back to Egypt I might do the sleeper train but definitely not the train where you only have a chair.

sf7307

kory, do you mean they are out of seats on the "sitting train" or out of beds on the "sleeper train"? I agree with P_M, don't even think about taking the sitting train.

MissGreen

Kory. Who told you that? Try and book a fare or find out for sure from your travel agent. Good luck!

koryandleslie

No air. Expedia won't let me book it. Called Egypt air. Talked to Marie in sales and one other agent-can't remember name but both said that there are no seats as they are all sold to tour operators. I don't want a tour, just to do it on my own. Now what?????

P_M

Then take the sleeper train. Make sure it's the SLEEPER train, not the one I took with only chairs.

NoFlyZone

Tour operators often release unused seats 30 days before the flight. And as you cannot book the train until less than that there's nothing to do now but wait until that 30 day point and then try again. In fact, start at 40 days out and try daily to get your flights. If you don't succeed, then there's the train.

IOW, don't stress over this. It will work out one way or the other eventually.

koryandleslie

Thanks Noflyzone. I just need to take a deep breath and sigh.....but, I would like to book at night at the Eco lodge in Abu Simbel if I can fly down there. So, do I just wait on that too?

germanblonde

Why not book the domestic flights with an Egyptain travel agent? Sometimes tour operators and travel agents are the part of the same (parent) company, if so, then this may solve your problem. Search on this forum for various contacts and ask it they will book the flights you need. If so, then you can finalize your other travel plans instead of waiting.

sf7307

Germanblonde's idea is a good one - write to Amanda or Mohammed Kamel at Lady Egypt and see if they can help you. Tell them you were referred to them by Davia Love.

[email protected]

(P_M also used Lady Egypt and was very pleased, but I don't know her real name)

germanblonde

sf7307, I had sent an email to Mohammend Kamel (I got his email address from this forum), he got in touch with me, I responded and I haven't heard back from him, it's been two/three days now. Was this the same experience you had with him? Sometimes, are they slow at responding to emails? I know my trip is about 10 months away so there is nothing urgent at this time, just wondering if this is normal or if I should start contacting other companies.

sf7307

Sometimes I didn't hear from him for a couple of days, I'm not sure it ever went beyond that (I was planning a whole trip with him, not just air and train -- he arranged all of our domestic travel, drivers and guides, tour reps, entrance fees, hotels, etc.).

germanblonde

Thanks sf7303, I too would like to plan the entire trip with Lady Egypt, I will wait to hear from Mohammed. I know tomorrow is a holiday in Egypt (Friday is their holy day), so it maybe a day or two more until they respond. Failing that, I'll contact them again.

sf7307

That's right - I never heard from Mohammed on a Friday, but would often get an email over the weekend.

P_M

I was indeed very pleased with Lady Egypt and I do recommend it to anyone looking for a tour. They are very flexible with planning and I was impressed with their service.

Man_in_seat_61

See www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm.

There are both overnights sleeper trains $60 per person in a 2-berth), overnight seats trains (more like $10) and daytime seats exprestrains. However, tourist restrictions currently mean you can't take the day train, a shame as it's a scenic ride all along the Nile Valley.

Still, you see and experience a lot using the sleeper, with Nile views when you lift the blind in the morning.

No-one should be flying such short distances now global warming is such an issue.

bbb123

I was in Egypt with a small tour in September and "experienced " the overnight train from cairo to luxor. It is called the ABELA, departs aprox 8 pm and arrives at 6 am. There are two bunk beds per cabin. On our trip, the doors shut and the train started violently jerking and stopping every 2 to 3 minutes and did not stop until 5 am. I don't know the reason for this, but it was terrible. If you were unlucky, like me, to be in the top bunk, even sleeping was impossible as the jerking movement tossed us back and forth. Some in our group had taken strong sleeping pills and were able to "sleep" but as for the rest, we cursed through the night. I would hesitate to recommend the train versus a short flight to anyone after this experience.