MsLizzy

thanks CC. This may e a dumb question. Do the sleeper train compartments have their own bathroom? Since I hate cigarette smoke and haven't been a partier of the young student kind for a long, long time I think a good book will more my speed.

Read your report P_M. A few good things to know along the way.

I'm reading a few books at the moment including....Cairo, My city about the 2011 revolution and The Cairo Trilogy

Casual_Cairo

MsLizzy - No, no private bathroom compartments. Each room has it's own sink only. The toilet is at the end of the hall and is shared. My experience with this has always been good, but you will find people that did not find theirs to be clean. If I were on the Sleeping Train and the bathroom were messy or dirtier than my expectations would have been, I would go get the porter and ask him to clean it up. This might require tipping him as much as LE5 or more to do it, but if it means feeling like you can go in there or not, I would do it. Again, I have never felt the bathroom was dirty on the Sleeping Trains I've been on. Never found sticky floors or other icky things in there. But, treat your Porter well, and he will treat you well. Remember he is not paid as well as an AMTRAK Porter so considering the fee to ride on this train is a fraction of AMTRAK prices, don't expect it to be AMTRAK. But, I think it is really quite decent. If you are picky about food, bring your own. What they serve is really quite edible, but breakfast is HIGH in carbs - about 6 different types of bread with a little cheese or butter to put on it. It's not very imaginative. You will probably get a piece of fruit with your dinner - save it for breakfast and eat it with your coffee or tea... and/or go to a supermarket before leaving and purchase a baguette and cheese and some fruit for the trip.

Nani5

I prefer to fly more than stay 12 hours on the train, but you have to know domestic flight in Egypt start from 110 $ and up due to class rate, I took my flight ticket Cairo/Aswan/Luxor/Cairo with rate 120$ through Le Caire Travel www.lecairetravel.com

MsLizzy

Thanks CC. I will take your tips and apply them. I leave tomorrow evening, flying out of Montreal and I'm soooo excited to be coming to your country. Taking my netbook so will might be in touch again.

yu243229

I've done a lot of traveling but I will never take the overnight train in Egypt again. It's long, tiring and forget about sleeping. You get bounced around the whole night. The bathrooms are less than clean and the breakfast is scarey.

Casual_Cairo

yu243229 - were you on the Sleeping Train? Or the seated first class train? The seated first class train might be described as you say, but I find the Sleeping one to be significantly nicer....but that's just me. Everyone has their own experience and opinion.

sf7307

CC, not just you. We enjoyed the overnight sleeper train. Slept well, service was nice, the bathroom was passable (not that I would walk without shoes ). We loved waking up to watch the passing Nile scene.

MsLizzy

Well, I'm back from Egypt (wonderful trip)and survived the nighttrain. It was fine, clean, good service and I slept better on the return trip. I wore earplugs and that just muffled any clanging. I do suggest bringing water and your own healthy snack. Protestors up the line delayed the return trip from Luxor 4.5 hours but we arrived in Cairo only an hour or so late.

MD

We flew from one place to another in our recent Egypt trip. From Aswan to Luxor, we had a private minivan and drove. After our time in Luxor, our guide was going to take the train back to Aswan - but due to some problem (strike/ track blockage) that evening's train was cancelled. He also mentioned when he came back from Cairo the week before, the 13 hour trip ended up taking 20 hours for the same reason.

Of course, when we got to the Luxor airport, the entrance was also blocked due to a work disruption or protest; but our driver and handler took us to the military entrance, where all the travellers piled onto an internal bus and were driven to the Terminal.

Despite the hassle, our plane left on time. Air Canada should take notes.

However, due to the low volume of tourism (because of media scares) there's a lot of flights cancelled, combined, and rescheduled these days. Whatever method of travel you choose, I hope someone is tracking any last-minute changes and letting you know.

P_M

Thanks for the update MsLizzy.