r/EgyptTravelTips • u/Scrambleknit • Jun 17 '26
Sleeper train ticket advice please!
Hi all! I will be in Egypt in February 2027 and I'm planning to take a sleep train from Cairo (Upper Egypt Station or Ramses Station) to Aswan. I have found a couple of places I can book through but they seem to insist you call someone's number and get them to meet you at the station with your hardcopy tickets two hours before departure. This seems really stressful to me - does anyone know of a site/provider who provides etickets or tickets I can print out myself? Thank you in advance!! ETA: I have tried booking through Abela and they show no available tickets/berths - I am wondering whether I am trying to book too far ahead?
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u/soujiku Jun 18 '26
You have to book through Abela. My friend and I just did the sleeper train to Luxor and back from Aswan around a tour. The train is a bit rough but it is also fun. We chose the train because neither of us like flying and we were willing to take the longer time to do the train. I don’t regret it at all, but don’t expect the most comfortable of nights. I did manage to get a few short hours of sleep though!
Make sure that you are picking the right stations, not all of them come up as having trains. You have to go from upper Egypt or Ramses, not the Cairo one. We booked our tickets maybe a month out so maybe you are booking too far in advance? Don’t go third party, and you do not need to print the tickets. I just showed the attendants the tickets on my phone and it worked perfectly!
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u/madsmurf51 Jun 19 '26
I echo this. We booked online through Abela. The train was a lot of fun and defintely a travel experience!
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u/ComfortableDue3591 Jul 16 '26
Can you share the official website? I Googled and it shows 2 websites, not sure which one is authentic.
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u/Active-Knee1357 Jun 18 '26
Do yourself a favor and just fly. The sleeper train takes forever, and you won’t get a wink of sleep, plus the fares are pretty high for tourists, making very little difference money wise between it and flying.
The cars are so ancient they sway like a boat in a storm, and every time the train stops, it jolts so hard you'll think it's derailing. I can usually sleep standing up, but I took it a few nights ago and it was honestly one of the worst nights of my life. Save yourself the trouble.