Most tourists heading for Israel via northern Sinai travel directly from Cairo to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem on special buses that run straight to the Rafah border crossing , 41km past El-Arish. Alternatively, you can catch a service taxi to El Arish from Cairo (£E12) and another from El Arish to the border at Rafah (£E5). From here the #362 bus (NIS35) leaves three times daily for Tel Aviv (the last one is at 2.30pm). The border is open 24 hours, although banks and other facilities on the Israeli side close down over shabbat. Your baggage will be X-rayed by the Egyptians before you reboard the bus and trundle across a no-man's land to the Israeli checkpoint, where you'll be quizzed by security police who'll refuse entry to anyone with insufficient funds, but otherwise issue a visa free of charge to most nationalities. After everyone has been processed you board another bus and continue your journey via a highway that deliberately skirts the Gaza Strip.

 

There is a £E18 exit tax on leaving Egypt. Although no taxes are levied on entering Israel, people coming from Israel are charged a NIS105 (US$26) plus NIS3 commission exit tax and a £E7 entry tax into Egypt. You should expect delays, since all buses bound for Cairo travel in a convoy with a police escort. Don't believe any tour guide who says there's a "convoy charge" - it's just a ruse to get money from passengers. Tour operators may also ask you for US$30 or US$35 for your Israeli departure tax, when it is actually US$26.