How to Get to Jerusalem from Cairo???

[AlfredB1979]

Originally Posted by Chi-townChica

Well...there's no train to anywhere in Israel from Cairo. Swim huh? Maybe I could walk there and record my journey? Not!

?

Are you....




Nah, couldn't be.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Forget about what people say about "dangerous busses". If you're really a backpacker, you''ll see a lot more dangerous busses than that. Wait till you get to Bolivia.

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are only an hour apart, there will be busses every few minutes. I'm not sure, but I doubt if they have separate airports. Most Isreali's hitchhike arouind the country.

In Israel it is not dangerous to take buses around the country due to crime (only due to terrorism. The crime rate in Israel is relatively low.) Buses are the most common form of public transportation in Israel as the train service is limited. But you can virtually take a bus to any location in Israel. (More remote locations just have very limited service.) But for a woman especially a Jewish or an Israeli woman traveling solo I would not recommend taking a bus between Egypt & Israel.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by jtur88

Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are only an hour apart, there will be busses every few minutes. I'm not sure, but I doubt if they have separate airports. Most Isreali's hitchhike arouind the country.

Tel Aviv & Jerusalem are only 45 minutes apart by bus. Israel's main international airport Ben Gurion is about 20 min. ride from Tel Aviv & about 30 min. ride from Jerusalem. Tel Aviv's smaller regional airport Dov is in a northern suburb of Tel Aviv and there are charter flights to Cyprus from there. But I don't know if they have scheduled international flights from that airport. (There are scheduled domestic flights from there.) From Dov airport you could fly to Eilat in Southern Israel (or of course in the other direction!). Jerusalem had also had a regional airport - Atarot, but it was closed due to issues connected with the Palestinian situation. (Atarot is located north of Jerusalem.)

[Chi-townChica]

Wow! You're brave! I know the type of harrassment you're referring to. Everyone wants to marry you and believe all Westernern women are promiscuous. lol I dealt with this in many countries. I can deal with it. I'm going to hire a female guide from the university in Cairo to show me around.

Thank you for the tips. My co-worker from Cairo told me that the buses from Cairo to Jerusalem are dangerous because of the sharp curves. I was told that once I get to Mt.Sinai, I could easily find transportation to Tel Aviv and then a cab to Jerusalem. I really want to take the scenic route and not fly. The fare's around $300-$400 one way!

I always dreamed of visiting this Jerusalem and Cairo. I think you should go to Egypt. It can't be that bad. Check out the travel stories from women on Egypt. I like www.solotravel.org.

Originally Posted by Naomi Manischewitz

hmm i dont know if i would recommend 100% taking the buses into egypt and i have stayed in hostels around the world. i went to israel when conflict skyrocketed and many tourists had drills in their hotels and had to leave areas close to gaza.
i was planning to go from eilat to egypt just went all this happened. most israelis i met said they wouldnt recommend me going to egypt during this time (im a jewish american young woman and traveled solo). i was disappointed but glad with my decision and i am a risk taker when i travel.

i did however hitchhike around israel and had no problems. its pretty much the norm there.

personally i dont know the op's situation. as a young woman though i wouldnt go to egypt alone and there are few places i would say this about. i had constant harassment in parts of israel and some people i got friendly with (all different religions) said it would be a million times worse in egypt if i were to go solo. i am not into tours, and hate the idea of traveling with other people, but for safety reasons i definitely would go to egypt one day if i had a boyfriend who would take me.

[Chava61]

Originally Posted by Chi-townChica

Thank you for the tips. My co-worker from Cairo told me that the buses from Cairo to Jerusalem are dangerous because of the sharp curves. I was told that once I get to Mt.Sinai, I could easily find transportation to Tel Aviv and then a cab to Jerusalem. I really want to take the scenic route and not fly. The fare's around $300-$400 one way!

I always dreamed of visiting this Jerusalem and Cairo. I think you should go to Egypt. It can't be that bad. Check out the travel stories from women on Egypt. I like www.solotravel.org.

You mention taking a taxi from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Well I suggest that you take a "Sherut" taxi which is a shared cab with up to 7 passengers. The "sherut" cabs run frequently (as soon as they fill up with passengers!). A regular intercity taxi (which isn't shared!) is considered a "special" taxi & can be very expensive.
Otherwise, the buses in Israel are another good option and run very frequently between Tel Aviv & Jerusalem.