Arrival And Moving On - Egypt travel vacations,tourist information

Like the other Canal cities, Suez has regular connections with Cairo by bus (hourly 6am-6.30pm; £E7) and service taxi (more frequently; £E5), from either Turgoman station or the Al Mazah Terminal in Heliopolis. Both cover the 134km in just over two hours. Don't bother with the hot and uncomfortable trains from Cairo (6 daily), which run on to Ismailiya (6-7hr). Arriving by bus or service taxi, you're bound to be dropped at Suez's Arba'in Terminal, where you can get bus connections to Sinai , Alexandria and the Delta and also service taxis to Hurghada. For buses to Hurghada , Luxor and Aswan you will need to take a minibus (50pt) to the new bus terminal near the train station, known simply as "Bus Station No. 2". There's an information kiosk at the train station where you can check times, but schedules change often, so be prepared to hang around for a connection. The train station - which you are unlikely to need - is 1.5km west of the Arba'in Terminal (50pt by minibus).

For the benefit of people arriving by ship, the tourist office (Sat-Thurs 8am-3pm, Fri 9am-2pm; tel 069/331-141) and tourist police (24hr) are way out on the edge of Port Tewfiq, on Suez Canal St; you can catch a minibus out along Sharia el-Geish as far as the Passenger Terminal. The tourist office can supply a decent map of the city, but little else in the way of useful information.

Overland connections
Suez is mainly seen by travellers as an interchange between Cairo , Sinai and Hurghada . If money is really tight, and you are heading from Cairo to Sinai (or vice versa), you can save £E10-30 by switching transport in Suez, instead of taking a direct bus all the way. Travelling overland from Hurghada, you can reach Suez rapidly and cheaply by service taxi, and then get other transport on to Sinai. In both cases you should aim to reach Suez by noon, to be sure of getting a bus to your destination - otherwise you may have to stay overnight. Arba'in bus terminal is for the Sinai , Cairo , Alex , Port Said and Ismailiya ; Bus Station No. 2 (25pt by microbus from Arba'in) for Hurghada and Upper Egypt . Note however that service taxis for all destinations still leave from outside Arbai'in terminal. For El Arish you will need to get to Ismailiya, then pick up a bus or taxi.

" Sinai Most of the buses from Suez to the Sinai start their journey in Cairo. In the past this meant you couldn't always find a seat by the time the bus arrived in Suez. However, direct Superjet buses between Cairo and Sharm el-Sheikh - that don't stop in Suez - are proving popular, lessening demand on the East Delta buses that do, so seat availability has improved. There are five buses daily from Suez to Sharm el-Sheikh (8am, 11am, 1.30pm, 3pm & 6pm; 6hr; £E25), two to Nuweiba (noon & 3pm; 5hr 30min; £E30), and one each to Dahab (12.30pm; 9hr; £E30), Taba (3pm; 6hr 30min; £E30) and St Catherine's Monastery (2pm; 6hr; £E£25). Service taxis are often quicker but will be packed with bodies and there's no A/C - expect to pay around £E35 to Dahab, £E20 to St Catherine's, £E25 to Nuweiba and £E25 to Sharm el-Sheikh.

" Ismailiya Buses run every half-hour (6am-4.30pm; 45min-1hr; £E4), and service taxis just as frequently (45min; £E5). There are also five buses daily to Port Said (7am, 9am, 11.15am, 12.15pm & 3.30pm; 2hr; £E9), a service taxi will cost £E10. There are frequent service taxis to Qantara .

" Alexandria Two buses daily (7am & 2.30pm; 6hr; £E25), which need to be booked the day before. Service taxis charge £E20.

" Cairo Buses leave every 30min (£E7) throughout the day.

" Hurghada Nine buses daily (6am-10pm; 6-8hr; £E21-26), leave from Bus Staion No. 2; most of these also stop at the nearer Red Sea resort of Ain Sukhna (1hr; £E5). Service taxis (4-5hr; £E25 per person) leave from Arba'in terminal.

" Upper Egypt Buses to Luxor (8am, 2pm & 8pm; £E29-38) and Aswan (5am, 12pm & 5pm; £E36-48) also leave from Bus Station No 2. You can also get buses from here to Assyut (7am & 7pm; £E20-22) and Qena (6am; £E26-33).

International ferries
Suez is the point of departure for passenger boats to Saudi Arabia and Sudan ; the former are used by migrant workers or pilgrims, the latter by a few determined travellers. Ferries to the Saudi port of Jeddah sail every day, and there are additional sailings during the Hadj season (six weeks either side of the Muslim month of Zoul Hagga). Boats leave around 2pm and arrive in Jeddah around 10am three days later. Prices start at £E125 for deck space and £E220 per person in a four-berth 2nd class cabin (1st class £E250-270). Providing there's not a storm, sleeping on deck represents no real hardship. Whether boats carry on to Port Sudan is hard to predict as schedules change from month to month. Optimists should enquire at Misr Travel (tel 069/223-949), El Salam Maritime Transport Co. (tel 069/326-251 or 326-252) or Menatours (tel 069/228-821), all in Port Tewfiq.

Be warned that they won't sell you a ticket unless you already have the right visa(s). The Saudi consulate in Port Tewfiq has sections for work and Hadj visas but tourist visas can be harder to obtain, so it might be a better idea to get a transit visa in Cairo, where you can also obtain a Sudanese visa - inshallah. Should you succeed, the ferry takes a week to get to Port Sudan so take enough food and drink for the journey.