Overnight trains in Egypt

Hi RJames,
I quite enjoyed the sleeper train from Cairo to Luxor. My wife and I travelled both ways in 2006. Each cabin has a double bunk which folds down and is prepared prior to sleeping by the attendant, who also brings the meals. We found the beds quite comfortable. The meals are nothing special but are adequate. There is a small wash basin with tap and mirror in each room so you can wash your face and clean your teeth. There is a toilet at the end of the corridor. I believe the sleeper trains are operated by a French company. I had no concerns with security.
Hope that helps.
steve

sd_kifaru, thanks for your feedback.

I have one more question, is there a lock on the door, since I am travelling by myself I'll need to leave my luggage unattended when I go to washroom, for a walk on the train, etc.

Thanks in advance.

We took the sleeper train to Aswan last summer, and also really enjoyed the experience. However, I wouldn't do it if I were a single. The rooms are for two, so unless you're willing to pay for two tickets (in which case you may as well fly?), you'll be sharing the room (which I wouldn't personally do with a stranger).

The toilet rooms can get a little grungy by morning, but not awful. The bed was actually really comfortable. We thought the food was less than adequate, but we had been warned, so we brought out own.

And no, I do not think you can lock the door from the outside (while you use the restroom), but I wasn't the slightest bit concerned about security. I guess if I weren't with a friend or relative, I would take my purse/backpack with me, but I wouldn't be concerned about my luggage.

I agree with sf7307 about security on the train. The only thing different is that you can get a single cabin for only about 50% mnore, not double if you want. But, no, you can't lock the door from the outside.

I have traveled on the train solo, but I've never paid for a single cabin - I'm kind of cheap that way. I have found that about 50% of the time I end up in a single anyway, they don't find me a roommate, and the other times I've had a roommate that is traveling alone too. They always match you up with a person of the same sex as you, and my roommates have always been perfectly nice people - maybe the luck of the draw, but it was fine. Of course your luggage is at risk if you leave your cabin to go to the bar car or to the toilet, but the risk factor is low. Keep your cash and passport on your body and you should be fine. Do understand that it won't be Egyptians that are the theives if you have a problem - it will be other tourists, so just watch your cabinmate and others in the same car and make a judgement call about how secure you feel if you leave your cabin. I've ALWAYS found it to be fine, but I suppose there is a risk involved.

I guess it should be said that your Porter has a key that he can use to lock up your cabin if you go as far as the bar car for some time. He can unlock it when you return.

Remember to tip your Porter at the end of the journey. He deserves it.

Thanks for all the feedback.

we loved it, but we love train travel. The food was not great, and the bathrooms were dirty by the morning, but it was an experience not to be missed.

Momliz' advice to me was one of the reasons we decided to take the train. Thanks again!

I'll chime in with another "yes" vote for the train. We, too, enjoyed the experience. Some in our group actually thought the food was pretty good, but I didn't care for it. The compartments were clean and the bed reasonably comfortable. One of the tall men in our group commented it was a little short for him. Regarding the bathrooms, it depends on what you're used to. I thought it was surprisingly clean and felt comfortable with it. One of the other women thought it was awful (but then, she didn't use the one in the station!). The bad part for us was that the train broke down in the middle of the night and we were delayed by about 5 hours, meaning we missed a good part of the day in Aswan.
I don't remember the doors locking from the outside either. I think all the comments you've gotten here are spot on. Good luck!

sf7307 - that's so cool! I am glad I could help, and I'm really glad you had a good time!

Reservations can be hard to get. We used http://www.seat61.com/Egypt.htm for info, but we were trying to book very far ahead of time. We finally had the travel agent we were using in Cairo book for us. Apparently, folks don't usually book very far in advance. And, yes, tip the porter - ours was absolutely charming, and a great help.

Travel for us is the overall experience, so the transportation from point A to point B is as much a part of it as the final destination.

an interesting point (and completely off topic): the seat 61 website suggests learning to read Arabic numbers, and I totally agree. It helps with the currency, train arrival/departure times, and so much more. That site has a chart with translations, but translations can be found everywhere.

here's a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjQLQT4jz8w

Gross out alert for anyone who is eating:

Be sure to wear your shoes when going into the bathroom, and sandals won't do. When I used the bathroom there was a considerable amount of liquid sloshing around on the floor, and I don't think it was spilled lemonade.

By chance were you on the Egyptian locals Sleeper train? I don't know how you would have gotten on it, but you might have if you were here in a very busy time.

They do have separate trains for Egyptians than for tourists - generally. The Egyptians may wash up for prayer which tends to get everything wet from floor to ceiling and is fairly annoying to the people that have to follow in after them.

P_M, I remember reading a trip report about a year ago, where a fodorite describes the "lemonade" on the washroom floor, I enjoyed the trip report and unfortunately I don't remember who wrote the report. Was it you? I am checking your old thread hoping to find the excellent trip report this will take me a while since you have alot of posts.

Many travel books about European trains recommend that if you travel by train especially sleeper train that you carry a small cable lock and lock your luggage to your bed frame or luggage rack in the compartment even while you are in the compartment to prevent theives from taking. You might also use the small plastic self locking cable ties on your luggage zippers (and keep nail clippers in your backpack or pocket to open them when you return) if only to keep opportunists out of your things (I use them when I have to check luggage on flights, not fool proof as anyone can cut them but at least you would know.)

good idea, laurie_ann - I would think that would be handy for any solo traveler anywhere, if only for peace of mind.

RJames, I'm very impressed you remembered that. And thanks for bringing my report to the top, I need to get Katie to tag it as a trip report so it will appear on my profile page.

P_M, I just started reading the report you topped, and you weren't even on the sleeper train...you were in a first class seat. I presume there's a big difference, because there are so few people in a sleeper car, that the bathroom must just not get as gross. I think there are a total of 10 "rooms" in one sleeper car, so that's only 20 people max.

You are right, I was in a seat. It was called a first class seat which is a joke compared to first class in our part of the world, but that was a lesson I learned too late. I had the option to upgrade to a sleeper car and I regret not doing it. That's why I only commented on the bathroom and not the sleeper car.

You might have a point about the bathroom being cleaner with fewer people using it. So maybe it won't be so bad--but just to be on the safe side please wear good shoes when you go.

umm, our bathroom floor was not in great shape by the morning, and we were in a first class sleeper.

P_M, the reason why I remembered your trip report is because I enjoyed reading it, I found it to be very entertaining and informative. I'm glad you posted on this thread, it's the lemonade comment that made me thing, hey, maybe it was P_M's trip report, it took me a while to find it, but I'm glad I did, I have reread it and I find it very helpful for planning a trip to this part of the world - thank you.

RJames, thank you for your kind words, you have made my day.