Useful country information

Cairo to Khartoum by train + ferry...

A weekly Nile steamer links Aswan in Egypt with Wadi Halfa in the Sudan, and weekly train connects Wadi Halfa with Khartoum. This page explains how to make that journey, and what it's like.

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Cairo to Khartoum by train+ferry

Travellers' reports

On other pages...

Train travel in Egypt.  Getting to Egypt overland from Europe.

Cairo, Aswan ► Wadi Halfa ► Khartoum

• For trains from Cairo to Aswan, see the Egypt page.

• A weekly Nile steamer, run by Nile Valley River Transport, sails every Monday at 12:00 from Aswan High Dam (El Sadd el Ali) to Wadi Halfa in Sudan, arriving on Tuesday.  The 1st class fare (with cabin) costs about £E 131, meal included, the 2nd class fares (deck place) is around £E 78.  Call (202) 578 9256 for information & reservations.  You'll need to spend the night in Wadi Halfa.

• A weekly train connects with the Nile steamer, leaving Wadi Halfa at 20:45 every Thursday (earlier reports have said Wednesday, please check locally), arriving Atbara at 02:00 on Saturday morning and Khartoum (Bahri station in the north) at 12:30 on Saturday.  It has 1st class sleepers, 1st 2nd & 3rd class seats.  The train is slow, old and basic, but should get you there give or take the odd breakdown...  It's not air-con, so bring plenty of water as it can get very hot as the train crosses the desert.  The Wadi Halfa-Khartoum 1st class fare is reportedly around $40 or £26.

• IMPORTANT UPDATE ON CURRENT SITUATION:  An email from someone resident in Khartoum reports that the Wadi Halfa to Khartoum train was suspended in August 2010, while they fix the track.  It's not known how long the train will be out of action, probably months, indeed it did not resume in 2011 and may not resume in 2012.  The only train is now a twice-weekly one between Atbara & Khartoum, with first class sleepers, see www.sudanrailways.gov.sd.  Buses link Wadi Halfa with Atbara and Khartoum, over new roads.  If you have any more info, please email me!

• Feedback would be welcome, as information on both the ferry and Sudanese train is not consistent!  Note that the train from Wadi Halfa is (at least at the time I write this) not shown on the new Sudan Railways website, www.sudanrailways.gov.sd.

Aswan:  Loading the Nile steamer at Aswan High Dam.  Photo courtesy of Leonie Purvis		Wadi Halfa.  Photo courtesy of Leonie Purvis

Above:  The Wadi Halfa to Khartoum train.  Photo courtesy of Leonie Purvis

Khartoum ► Wadi Halfa ► Aswan, Cairo

• Travel from Khartoum to Wadi Halfa by train.  The weekly train leaves Khartoum Bahri station at 08:40 on Mondays, Atbara 19:00 on Mondays, arriving Wadi Halfa at 22:45 on Tuesdays. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE ON CURRENT SITUATION:  An email from someone resident in Khartoum reports that the Wadi Halfa to Khartoum train was suspended in August 2010, while they fix the track.  It's not known how long the train will be out of action, probably months, indeed it did not resume in 2011 and may not resume in 2012.  The only train is now a twice-weekly one between Atbara & Khartoum, with first class sleepers, see www.sudanrailways.gov.sd.  Buses link Wadi Halfa with Atbara and Khartoum, over new roads.  If you have any more info, please email me!

• Travel from Wadi Halfa to Aswan High Dam (El Sadd el Ali) by ferry, sailing from Wadi Halfa on Wednesdays around 16:00, arriving Aswan lunchtime on Thursday.  The northbound ferry fare is around 5,000 Sudanese pounds (£12 or $20) 1st class.  Don't forget the Sudan exit tax when leaving Sudan.

• Travel from Aswan to Cairo by overnight air-conditioned sleeper train, see the Egypt page.

Traveller's reports...

Traveller Leonie Purvis travelled Cairo-Khartoum in 2006:  "We got our Sudanese visas at the embassy in Cairo – after being told by the Sudanese Embassy in London that this was not possible!! I believe we broke the waiting record as we got our visas in 1 hour and 20 mins. Cost was US$100 each (but more if you are a US passport holder at US$150 and you are told to come back in a month!). Letter of recommendation is required from your own embassy regardless where you are from (this cost US$10 for a NZ passport holder and US$25 for a British passport holder).  Bought our tickets in Aswan for the ferry – first class cabin – was pretty expensive at £90 for two – but we decided to splash out!! Nothing special, just two bunks and a port hole window. Ticket included dinner and breakfast as well as a cold drink. Ferry left on Monday at 7pm and we were told to be at the port at 10am in the morning but they took all day to load the cargo. Was okay though as the captain plied us with hot tea and chatted the hours away! One thing to be aware of, although you don’t officially need a Yellow Fever Certificate, when you give your passport in to customs on the boat, they will ask if you have the certificate, if you don’t have one, you have to pay a “Fine”. Luckily, we had one from our previous trip to South America, which was still valid.   Arrived in Wadi Halfa around lunch time the next day. Have to go through customs hall while they search your bag for any alcohol you may be trying to smuggle in. Stayed in a local “hotel” which was a mud hut with two cot style beds in it for US$10 for 2 people. Shared toilet/washing facilities - Loo was a hole in the ground, shower was a bucket of water you take from a tap and go into a cubicle. This place was a great way to make friends with Sudanese people travelling to and from Egypt. Ate at a local restaurant which was fine and cheap. There was a local market with amazingly fresh fruit for sale.  Brought our tickets the night before for the train out the next day at a cost of US$40 per person first class. You also have to register with the police on entering Sudan which cost us another US$40 each. Even though there are banks in Wadi Halfa and they have exchange rate boards out – they do not exchange US$. You can do so through the guys hanging around outside the police station though – this is where we were directed by the police themselves!  Train to Khartoum is extremely run down – wouldn’t bother with a first class ticket as this hardly gives you any more comfort than 2nd class – unless you book the whole compartment but you will have to pay per seat and there are six seats. Our compartment was full of people (more than there were seats) as well as a huge amount of cargo which traders bribe the guards to store anywhere on the train. Most of the traders themselves did not even have a ticket but again bribed the guards so corridors, toilets and anywhere there was the smallest amount of space was full of bodies!  Fantastic journey though – amazingly friendly people who constantly shared their food with us and every time the train stopped, paid for our tea or coffee. The only way we managed to return the favour was to sneak out of our compartment and pay the tea seller in advance!! We reached Khartoum at about 9am on the Wednesday morning. Taxi from the station to centre of Khartoum cost us $4 – stayed in a hotel close to the centre – don’t know the name as was not in English. Found accommodation pretty dear – US$19 for our very basic double room – very run down – shared facilities no restaurant or anything. Ate in the market – kebabs and the like. Can highly recommend the fresh fruit juice stalls – fruit is blended with ice and boy you will need it!! I have never been anywhere so hot in my life – it was close to 50 degrees when we were there and we ate very little in Khartoum – just drank a lot of water and fruit juice.  For moving on the bus station has been relocated from the market to well outside of Khartoum – nice new building with Air Con though!!

Find hotels in Egypt & Sudan

Other hotel sites worth trying...

• www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

• www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

Backpacker hostels...

• www.hostelbookers.com:  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelbookers offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & health card...

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

Never travel overseas without travel insurance from a reliable insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover cancellation and loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings.  An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or use Confused.com to compare prices & policies from many different insurers.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition or are over 65 (no age limit), see www.JustTravelCover.com.

        If you're resident in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

    If you're resident in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get a spare credit card, designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!

You can avoid ATM charges and expensive exchange rates with a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or their multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, see www.caxtonfx.com for info.

Get an international SIM card...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up a £1,000 bill in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  It cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also works for laptop or PDA data access.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.