Taxis, Hurghada

I don't want to frighten you, but its a very long journey for one day and too exhausting for one driver. There are many cases of drivers getting sleepy and some fatalaties. The bus is a good idea, as they change the drivers preventing one driver getting tired. A lot of the route is desert so there are not many places a driver can stop to rest.The Egyptian buses are fantastic and so cheap. Some of the British tour operators do the trips too but there prices are costly compared to the Egyptian companies. The bus is about £10 a taxi to Cairo return is £140 approx but varies with negotiation. Also if you use a taxi make sure its new and not a old wreck as it could break down in the hot desert.

There are no taxi meters in the car so you MUST agree on a price BEFORE you go in the taxi or it will cost you alot.

There are taxis allover Hurghada 24-7 so dont worry if your out late some day you will find a taxi. It felt there was more Taxi cars then regular cars in Hurghada. But once again DONT GO IN TO THE TAXI UNTILL YOU AGREED ON A PRICE

While in the taxi the driver will start talking that he has 2 wifes and 6,7,8 and 9 kids to feed and take care of so he works day and night he tells you this so you feel sorry for him and give him some tip, DONT every taxi driver told us simular stories........

SOME DIRECTIONS ABOUT WHAT TO PAY
From Sakkala to "New Hurghada" (even called Sindbad) about 10 Pounds
From Sakkala to The Grand Hotel about 15 Pounds
From Sakkala to Hilton Hurghada Resort About 15-20 Pounds
From Sakkala to Senzo Mall about 40-50 Pounds

Ofcourse you can get the price even lower if you are want to, but then you must talk and bargain with the taxi driver. I felt that this prices was on my level so I went with that.

To and from the airport, don't pay more than 50LE. Around Hurghada, pay no more than 15LE for the whole party. We were told to get the black and orange taxis as they're the "official" ones.
This is what you do! It's very, very easy to hail a cab. Just wave at them - they'll usually beep at you even when you're trying to cross the road, and there is never a shortage. Through the window, tell them your destination. If you have a flyer for it, ie Hard Rock, even better (just in case they pretend you said something else). If they seem to know where it is, say (confidently) "ten Egyptian (pounds)". They will usually laugh and say twenty. Stick to ten for a while, and if they don't drop to fifteen, you can raise it to fifteen. They might still say twenty, in which say "ok, never mind" and walk away, and make to hail a different taxi. They will usually say "ok, fifteen". Make sure that this is for all of you, NOT each, as they will sometimes pretend that you said each...
It's quite fun, though. When our driver (once we were in the taxi) said "ok, sixty Egyptian? Fifteen each"... we just laughed and said "erm, no", and gave him fifteen. Make sure that everyone is out of the taxi before you pay, then hand the exact money through the window - they usually pretend to have no change - say thanks, and walk away. It's pretty easy, really, and if they don't agree to fifteen, there are plenty of drivers who will. Egyptians drive like maniacs, by the way, so be prepared!

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The airport of Hurghada is in 13 km to the east from the city centre. It is possible to reach the hotel by a taxi - there are a lot of them in the city. It is rather inexpensive. Not more expensively than 1 Egyptian pound (5,7 LE = $1) for 1 km. It is possible to agree with a taxist to pass in any point of Hurgada for 10LE (less $2).

As I have bought a tour with all transfers I was met at the airport by the manager and together with one more tourist we were taken to the hotels by a good minibus with the conditioner. Last evening I have been brought back to the airport alone on the same minibus. It was free-of-charge, except 1LE for loading of my bag.

They told that there are a lot of fixed-route taxis in the city which for 1LE bring up each interested person. I did not see them. Probably it's so.

Taxi is extremely cheap in Egypt, for few punds it will take you anywhere! Be sure to bargain the price before you get into the cab, otherwise you'll be ripped off!
Sometimes bus vans can decide to operate as taxi, so make sure it doesn't have a TAXI tag on it if you want to take it as a bus. They will try to trick you into getting in pretending it's a bus, so you have to be attentive.