Practical Information

The bus stops a little downhill from the youth hostel.Usually. Walking downhill from there, you’ll pass the tourist police, a hospital, and the bus station proper, where tickets to Cairo can be reserved (open 7am-noon). Continuing south at the bottom of the hill, you’ll come to the police station (look for the Egyptian flag). To register, follow the road from Na’ama about lkm south to the police station at the port. Opposite the bus station are some stores with cheap supplies. Nearby restaurants serve good food (chicken with rice, falafel, and pita LE5). Follow the road all the way up the hill and turn right at the top for the town’s main square and three banks, all of which exchange traveler’s checks. There’s also a post office (open Sat.-Thurs. 8am-3pm) and Pharmacy Sharm ash-Sheikh (open daily 9am-3pm and 6-1 lpm). A further up the road and all the way to the left lies the new telephone office (open 24 tars.), where you can make international calls.

Buses leave the station in Sharm ash-Sheikh for Cairo six times daily, with a big gap between the 4:30pm and 11:30pm buses (morning buses LE35, late buses LE50). You can save pounds by taking a morning bus to Suez (9 and 11:30am, LE15), then a Suez-Cairo bus (LE5). Buses also run from Sharm ash-Sheikh to St. Catherine’s (Sam, LE12), to Taba (9am, LE12), and to Dahab (5 per day, last bus 5pm, LE7-8). Taxis are easily obtained anywhere; trips to Na’ama Bay by van (LEI) or the open-sided tuf-tuf bus (LEI) are frequent. Ferries make the 5′^-hr. trip from Sharm ash-Sheikh to Hurghada every day at 10am except Friday. The Mimi Misre and Golden Sun both leave from the port. Tickets (LE70) can be obtained at any hotel and at Spring Tours (tel. 60 01 31/2) in Na’ama Bay.