Bus services are to be found everywhere in Egypt. Deluxe buses, which run between most of the main towns and cities, are air-conditioned and fairly comfortable. The basic intercity bus service is less luxurious and is often crowded
Tickets can be bought at a bus station window, or, sometimes, on the bus. Regular ticket inspections are the norm. On longer runs, seats can be booked in advance, but for short distances those who board first will get the best seats.
Visitors should be a little wary of 'video buses' which, despite their superior speed and cleanliness, show non-stop movies at high volume, and are not for those with delicate eardrums.

The city of Cairo has its own metro system -- the only one in Egypt. It is fast, cheap and uncrowded, and has done a great deal to reduce the volume of traffic in the city centre.
Its single line of stations stretches for 43km from

::I in the south to Al-Marg near ::I. Only five stations in the centre of Cairo run underground.
Two more lines are scheduled to open at a future date, and plans for a similar system in Alexandria are in the early stages.

Roads are hazardous and local driving skills leave a great deal to be desired -- roadside heaps of post-accident scrap metal constantly bear witness to this.
Visitors are strongly advised against hiring a car themselves, although there are plenty of rental agencies in all major cities. Driving at night is particularly dangerous, as many drivers do not use headlights.

This is a popular tourist activity, and so the quality and price of organised cruises can vary.
At the top of the range, cruises can be booked through most of the major hotels; others can be obtained more cheaply through numerous Cairo travel agencies, and can cover full-day excursions through to a four-day sightseeing trip.

The most common means of transport up and down the Nile is by the ancient sailing boats known as feluccas. A felucca ride can be arranged for a few hours and is a peaceful way of seeing the Nile traffic and scenery. Sunset is the recommended time to do this.

Camels and donkeys can be hired on an hourly-basis to enable visitors to wander around many of Egypt's ancient sites. A guide will usually accompany you.

Service (pronounced ser-vees) taxis are usually Peugeot 504 vehicles which hold about six or seven people and which tend to congregate near bus and railway stations.
This is a relatively fast way to travel between cities, but the driver will not begin the journey until his vehicle is full, which can be inconvenient. The whole vehicle can be hired for an increased fare, however.

A larger version of the service taxi is the microbus, which is built to hold about 12 people and often holds twenty or more. Needless to say, it is not particularly comfortable and passengers are often charged extra for luggage. Microbus fares are roughly the same as service taxis, but there are fewer routes.
Regular taxis operate in most Egyptian cities. In Cairo these are black and white, and in Alexandria black and orange. Although most are fitted with a meter, many are non-functional and arguments between passenger and driver over the correct fare are quite common. As in all Middle Eastern countries, it is probably best to avoid this by negotiating the fare before beginning your trip.