Luxor

EgyptAir (w egyptair.com.eg), British Airways, (w ba.com) have scheduled flights to Cairo from London Heathrow (5hr). EgyptAir also has weekly direct flights to Luxor and twice weekly to Sharm el-Sheikh. EasyJet (w easyjet.com) flies from Manchester, Luton and Gatwick to Sharm el-Sheikh, and from Gatwick to Hurghada and Luxor. Flying indirectly, most airlines serve Cairo only, but Royal Jordanian (w rj.com) and Saudi Arabian Airlines (w saudiairlines.com) also fly from Heathrow to Alexandria and Sharm el-Sheikh, and Austrian Airlines (w austrian.com) fly from Heathrow via Vienna to Sharm el-Sheikh and Hurghada, while BA, KLM (w klm.com), Air France (w airfrance.com) and Lufthansa (w lufthansa.com) all offer indirect flights to Cairo from a number of British and Irish airports. Flights can cost as little as £275 return in low season, depending on the airline.

From the UK, there are also flights with low-cost charter airlines such as Thomsonfly (w flights.thomson.co.uk), First Choice Airways (w flights.firstchoice.co.uk) and Thomas Cook (w book.flythomascook.com), who fly from the UK to Luxor and the main resorts – Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada and sometimes Marsa Alam and Taba. These may operate only once or twice a week, and prices are generally similar to those on scheduled services, though you may occasionally turn up a bargain out of season. Most flights depart from London Gatwick or Manchester, but a few – particularly to Sharm el-Sheikh – use other UK airports too. Dive companies such as Planet (w planetdiveholidays.com), Regal (w regal-diving.co.uk) and Crusader (w crusadertravel.com) occasionally have cheap flight-only deals to the Red Sea resorts, but these are not usually advertised, so you’d need to approach the company direct. You may even find it cheaper to take a package tour than just a flight; there are some amazing bargains to be had among the basic Luxor-plus-Cairo or Luxor-only packages, and many smaller independent operators feature felucca trips on the Nile, diving holidays on the Red Sea or camel trekking in Sinai.

From the US, EgyptAir (w egyptair.com.eg) fly direct to Cairo from New York (10hr), and several European and Middle Eastern airlines offer indirect flights from a range of departure points, though New York still offers the biggest choice. West Coast flights are routed via the airlines’ hub cities, so check that you won’t have to wait overnight for your onward connection. You should be able to pick up a round-trip ticket for as little as $805 out of New York in low season, $1000 in high season. Flying from the West Coast, expect to pay $975 in low season, $1330 in high.

From Canada, Air Canada (w aircanada.com) offer through tickets from most Canadian airports in combination with Lufthansa (w lufthansa.com) or EgyptAir. Otherwise BA (w ba.com) and Air France (w airfrance.com) fly via London or Paris from Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver, or you could fly to New York to pick up EgyptAir’s daily flight from there. Low/high-season fares start at around Can$1300/1800 from Montreal or Toronto, Can$1450/1950 from Vancouver.

A number of European, Middle Eastern and Asian carriers offer indirect flights to Egypt from Australia and New Zealand, changing planes at their hub airports. Cairo fares start at around Aus$2050 in low season, or Aus$2180 in high season from Australia, around NZ$3100 year-round from New Zealand. Emirates (w emirates.com) and Etihad (w etihadairways.com) are usually the cheapest and most convenient airlines; if flying into Dubai with Emirates, you might want to investigate low-cost flights on Air Arabia (w airarabia.com) from nearby Sharjah to Alexandria, Assyut or Luxor.

From South Africa, there are direct Cairo flights from Johannesburg (8hr) with EgyptAir (w egyptair.com.eg); SAA (w flysaa.com) codeshare this flight, offering through tickets from most South African airports. Otherwise, you can take an indirect flight with an East African airline such as Kenya Airways (w kenya-airways.com) or Ethiopian Airlines (w ethiopianairlines.com), or a Middle Eastern Airline such as Emirates (w emirates.com) or Etihad (w etihadairways.com). Most serve only Johannesburg, but Emirates flies from Cape Town as well. Fares start at around R5,800 in low season (winter), R6,900 in high season (summer).

At the time of writing, the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt was closed, and all traffic between Israel and Egypt was using the crossing at Taba near Eilat (open 24/7 except Eid al-Adha and Yom Kippur). Entering Egypt via Taba, you’re subject to an Israeli departure tax of NIS96 ($25.50), plus a NIS5 handling fee ($1.30) and an Egyptian entry tax of £E75 ($12.50).

Mazada Tours (141 Rehov Ibn Gvirol, Tel Aviv t 03 544 4454; 6 Yanai St, West Jerusalem t 02 623 5777; w mazada.co.il) used to run buses from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to Cairo, but this service has been suspended since the revolution, though it may be reinstated in the future. Their office in Tel Aviv is just around the corner from the Egyptian embassy.

Taba makes a fine jumping-off point for the Sinai coast resorts, St Catherine’s Monastery or Cairo. From Eilat, a taxi or a #15 bus (which doesn’t run on Shabbat) will get you to the Israeli checkpoint at Taba for an exit stamp; you then walk over to the Egyptian side, where Sinai-only visas can be obtained on the spot. It usually takes a good hour to cross the border, longer at holiday times. A few banks in Sharm el-Sheikh and one or two banks and foreign exchange bureaux in Cairo are the only places in Egypt where you can legally exchange Israeli shekels. You are not allowed to drive rented cars across the Israeli–Egyptian border. The Israel Airports Authority keep some current information about the Taba border crossing on their website at w iaa.gov.il/Rashat/en-US/Borders/Taba.