Practical Information All services in Bawiti are on or just off a 0.5km stretch of the main road. Starting from the west end, you’ll find the bus station, hospital, telephone office (open 8am-midnight), police station, and gas stations. The telephone code is 10; to reach any place in town, dial 10404 and ask the operator to connect you. The tourist office, within the Bahariya village government compound, is staffed by convivial city council member Muhammad. (Officially open Sat.-Thurs. 8am-2pm.) Water in Bahariya is on from 7am until noon and 4pm until 10pm, though hotel storage tanks sometimes provide added relief.

After Kharga, Bahariya ranks as the most accessible of the oases in Egypt’s Western Desert. From Cairo, a 400km road leads past the Pyramids of Giza and southwest across the desert to Bawiti. The distance can be covered in four or five hours by private car. Two buses per day leave from Al-Azhar station in Cairo (LE10, with A/C LE12). Book one to two days in advance to secure a seat. From Bahariya, there is a daily bus to Cairo at 7am and at least one additional bus at noon or 4pm (LE10-15).

To purchase tickets and resen’e seats, head to the inconspicuous second-ston’ office above the telephone office in Bahariya (open 7-9am and roughly 9-1 lpm). Buses run from Farafra every day except Wednesday (LE7). Buses run through Farafra to Dakhla (Tues., Fri., and Sun., noon), or just to Farafra (Mon., Thurs., and Sat., 2pm). Each day a few service taxis travel between Cairo and Bahariya (ordinarily in afternoon or evening, LEI 5), leaving from the front of the Popular Restaurant. Taxis from Cairo leave from the inconspicuous Qahwa al-Wahia Cafe, on a corner of Sharia Qadry, a few blocks south of Port Said St., west of the Citadel in the Sayyida district.