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. On this page...
Cairo to
Khartoum by train+ferry
Travellers' reports
On other pages...
Train travel in
Egypt.
Getting
to Egypt overland from Europe.
-
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) 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 SD 4,500 (£10 or $18).
-
Feedback would
be welcome, as information on both the ferry and Sudanese
train is not consistent!
 |
|
 |
|
Above: Loading the Nile steamer at Aswan High
Dam.
Photo courtesy of Leonie Purvis |
|
Above: 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 N station at 08:40 on Mondays,
Atbara 19:00 on Mondays, arriving Wadi Halfa at 22:45 on
Tuesdays.
-
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 dinars (£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 Emilia travelled from
Cairo to Khartoum in June 2007: "The ferry from Aswan
leaves on Mondays, supposedly at noon. One should be at the
immigration at the port by 10 am when the gates open and
definitely go for the 2nd class deck tickets - the starry sky
at night is definitely worth the lack of space! There was bit
of a delay, which I suppose is the norm - the ferry departed
around 5pm. The ferry crossing from Aswan to Wadi Halfa
over Lake Nasser is supposed to take 24 hrs. We arrived in
Wadi Halfa on Tuesday around noon again, but due to passport
control on board the ship and the off loading of goods etc we
were not able to disembark before 2pm at least. The
train connection to Khartoum is conveniently on the next day,
Wednesday at 7pm - however, it's better to get the tickets
immediately in the morning or even upon arrival to Wadi Halfa
after passing through Sudanese immigration on your way to the
town. Specially 3rd class gets packed full soon.....
The accommodation in town is very poor. There was a
quasi-hostel which basically consisted of beds under a roofed
terrace/courtyard. We opted to sleep in the desert in
tents in stead - BEAUTIFUL!!! The train to Khartoum
makes several stops along the way but the longest ones (about
30 min-1hr), enough to look for a toilet, are at Abu Hamad,
Atbara and Shendi. The train arrives, provided there are no
break downs, in Khartoum on Friday at 4am in the morning.
Now, so far I haven't done the trip Northbound but I was
informed that in order to make the ferry from Wadi Halfa to
Aswan, which departs on the Wednesday afternoon around 4pm the
train from Khartoum leaves on Mondays at 7pm from Khartoum to
Wadi Halfa - arriving in the same way at the break of dawn.
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!!
|
|
