Getting Around

Daily buses run from the Al-Azhar bus station in Cairo to Bahariya, Kharga, Dakhla, and’Farafra. A special air-conditioned bus runs from Ataba Sq. in Cairo to Kharga and Dakhla even’ morning. Inexpensive buses also run from the town of Assyut, halfway down the Nik, to Kharga and Dakhla. Between the various oases, bus travel is even more chaotic than in the rest of Egypt. Published schedules are the roughest of guesstimates, and bus officials, townies, and passers-by ail peddle wildly contradic tory and inaccurate departure times.

Ask as many people as possible, follow the con sensus, arrive early, and be prepared to wait. Kharga is also served by airplane from Cairo Aerodrome (every Sun. and Wed., LE300). Service taxis travel to Bahariya from Cairo, and to Kharga from Assyut. (See the individual chapters on the oases, Cairo, and Assyut for detailed transportation information.) Some people hitchhike from one oasis to the next, but they often have to wait a day or so for a ride, especially between Farafra and Dakhla. The military checkpoints outside each oasis are the most ideal hitching spots. In the heat and isolation, hitchers run a real risk-Let’s Go doesn’t recommend it.