Alicia and I only had one week in Egypt (because someone had to go back home to study for the LSATs, WHATEVER) and we needed to catch the ferry to Jordan at the end of the week, so instead of taking the traditional tourist route from Cairo down to Luxor and Aswan we caught a bus to Hurghada, a beach town on the Red Sea.
The beach was full of Russian tourists (language practice!), but the town itself was really nice and had a lot of delicious and cheap food.
From Hurghada we had planned to get a ferry to Sharm El Sheikh, on the tip of the Sinai Peninsula, and then get a ferry from Sharm El Sheikh to Aqaba in Jordan. However when we got to Hurghada we found out the ferries to Sharm weren’t running anymore. “But the ferry from Sharm to Aqaba will certainly be running,” they told us, so we booked cheap flights to Sharm El Sheikh instead.
Sharm El Sheikh is a bizarre beach resort town, and while the water there is beautiful, we were glad we were only staying one night.
Sharm also gave us a bit of a lesson in how Egypt runs, as not only was there no ferry to Jordan from there, but no one could tell us anything about the ferry that was running from Nuweiba.
Nuweiba is about an hour and a half away from Sharm El Sheikh, but no one seemed to know anything about the ferry, or even have a phone number we could call. We were super confused about why there seemed to be zero communication between Sharm and Nuweiba. I mean after all, didn’t lots of tourists travel from Sharm up to Jordan to see Petra?
But apparently local travel agents were just as confused by us. “What tour group are you part of? What company did you book with?” they kept asking. Then they would just stare blankly at us: “You … came here alone?!”
It turns out Sinai is still pretty dangerous for tourists to travel through (oops), and in fact when I got to Israel later I met a guy who had been kidnapped last year while traveling through Sinai with a Norwegian woman (they were eventually released, phew).
In the end we had to book a private car from Sharm El Sheikh to Nuweiba, where we eventually found the ferry we needed, which left the port at 5 pm and got into Aqaba around 8 pm. While the whole process of finding the ferry was a headache, the ride between Egypt and Saudi Arabia up to Jordan was beautiful and probably worth it!
At the ferry port we also met Alejandra, the only other backpacker we saw in Egypt. She ended up joining us for several days in Jordan and Israel, and she blogs at Lales Wanderlust, which you should totally check out!
Even more exciting though, arriving in Jordan meant reuniting with Danielle, who I had traveled for four and a half months through Asia with last fall! Pretty exciting stuff.
Can you guess what our first stop in Jordan was?
The ferry from Nuweiba to Aqaba cost $85, including the exit tax, and took about three hours. It was scheduled to leave at 2 pm, but the workers said that the real departure time always varies by several hours.
As we were traveling through a free trade zone, we didn’t have to pay the usual $60 visa fee to enter Jordan.
What to pack as a female traveler to Egypt and Jordan
These are a few of my favorites that I packed for Egypt and Jordan:
A Beautiful Weekend in Budapest – in Spring!
Stefania - the Italian Backpacker says
Sharm el Sheik is so famous for all-inclusive holidays in Italy that there must be only Italians (of the annoying kind). I’m happy that you made it safely to Jordan, but please, don’t run the risk of being kidnapped again!
Silvia says
Haha Italians and lots of Russians! And don’t worry, I’ve learned my lesson about travel through Sinai. I was supposed to fly out of Cairo after Israel, but flights from Israel were expensive and overland travel dangerous, so I changed my flight to leave from Athens instead! I mean, if I have to go to Greece for my safety…
Agness says
I am absolutely in love with your colorful photos. They bring back such amazing memories from Egypt. I went there in 2011 together with Cez and we enjoyed it a lot. Egyptians were so hospitable, but unfortunately we didn’t enjoy the food that much. It was greasy and way too spicy for me and we both ended up with diarrhea :-(, but the landscape and the locals made our stay. Have you made it to Israel? We went for a short trip there and it was unforgettable for both of us!
Silvia says
Haha yeah, I definitely got sick from the food in Egypt as well. My friend and I kept joking that it was a bit like kids food – not exactly my taste. But otherwise I loved Egypt too! And I’m actually in Israel now, and already loving it!
celyn says
this looked like such a great trip! I am dying to go to jordan!
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Silvia says
You should definitely go someday, I really loved it!
Stella says
Hey Silvia, how did you find where to get on the ferry at the end? And was the ride safe, in terms of people on board, reputation etc?
Silvia says
The ride was totally safe, and it was the only ferry in town, so we could see it from the shore! We kept thinking there was a different one because the time was wrong, but I guess there’s actually only one 🙂
Linda says
Do you know if it’s still possible to take the ferry? 🙂
Silvia says
I’m sorry, I don’t actually know. Maybe you could get in touch with a local? Good luck!
Linda Lindholm says
Okay I’ll try but thanks anyway 😀
Aaron Webb says
So would u say it safe
danielle says
Hi, you wrote Nuweiba to Aqaba cost $85, including the exit tax. I think that in Egypt is no exit tax.