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Voykit pocket guide · Egypt
El Alamein
العلمين
Go for one full day: WWII cemeteries and museum in the morning, Leukaspis ruins and a Marina beach in the afternoon. Sleep one night only if you want the sea.
El Alamein is a war-history stop on Egypt's north coast, about 2 h 30 min by road from Cairo and roughly 1 h 30 min from Alexandria. The Commonwealth, German, Italian and Greek memorials sit along a 15 km stretch of the Alexandria–Marsa Matruh highway, and the Greek-Roman port of Leukaspis plus the Marina resort fill the rest of a day. New Alamein, under construction since 2018, is adding hotels and a beach strip.
- Country
- Egypt
- Local name
- العلمين
- Best months
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Avoid
- Jun–Aug (coastal heat and peak domestic crowds), Ramadan afternoons (shortened memorial hours)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EGP
- Money
- Currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP, also written LE or £E). Hotels, cruise boats and larger restaurants take cards; taxis, markets, small cafés, tips and toilet attendants are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget EGP 1,200–2,000 excl. bed · Mid EGP 2,000–4,000 excl. bed · High EGP 4,000+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat (e&) and WE sell tourist SIMs at Cairo airport with passport; about EGP 500–1,000 for 20–40 GB — check.
- Emergency
- Police 122 · Ambulance 123 · Tourist police 126 · Fire 180
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 220 V · 50 Hz · European round-pin sockets.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: 10% even when service is added (it rarely reaches staff).; Guide, full day: US$10–20 per person.; Driver, full day: US$5–10.; Cruise crew: About US$5–10 per person per day in the envelope.; Toilet, porter, small help: EGP 10–30.
- Water
- Tap water is chlorinated in cities but most visitors drink bottled; do not drink Nile water.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in hotels and restaurants; attendants at sites expect EGP 10–20. Carry tissue.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea at a highway café | EGP 40–80 |
| Seafood main at a Marina restaurant | EGP 250–600 |
| Fast-food chain meal | EGP 120–250 |
| Taxi, El Alamein station to Marina | EGP 150–300 |
| Taxi, half day across the memorials | EGP 600–1,000 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | EGP 300–600 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- AAC · El Alamein International Airport
- No scheduled flights as of late 2022; check before planning around it.
- HBE · Alexandria Borg el Arab
- About 85 km east; mainly Middle East routes. Check current schedules.About 53 mi east; mainly Middle East routes. Check current schedules.
- CAI · Cairo International
- Best connectivity; about 3 h by road to El Alamein.
Typical fares
- Taxi El Alamein station → Marina el Alamein
- EGP 150–300, about 15 min (check)
- Train Alexandria → El Alamein
- about 1 h 30 min, several daily air-conditioned services (check)
- Bus Alexandria → El Alamein
- roughly hourly, about 2 h (check)
Get around
Taxis are the practical way between the memorials, which are spread 10–15 km along the highway; agree a half-day rate with the driver rather than metering each hop. Leukaspis is walkable on foot only and the ground is uneven. Buses from Alexandria and Marsa Matruh run roughly hourly; trains from Alexandria and Marsa Matruh run several times a day, with an overnight service from Cairo.Taxis are the practical way between the memorials, which are spread 6.2–9.3 mi along the highway; agree a half-day rate with the driver rather than metering each hop. Leukaspis is walkable on foot only and the ground is uneven. Buses from Alexandria and Marsa Matruh run roughly hourly; trains from Alexandria and Marsa Matruh run several times a day, with an overnight service from Cairo.
See and do
Known for
- WWII battlefields of 1942
- Commonwealth War Cemetery and Alamein Memorial
- German and Italian war cemeteries
- Leukaspis (Antiphrai) Greek-Roman ruins
- Marina el Alamein resort and yacht harbour
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Alexandria | Train or bus from El Alamein station, or about 1 h 30 min by car on the coastal highway | 1.5–2 h |
| Abu Mina and Taposiris Magna | Car or taxi east along the Alexandria road | 1–1.5 h |
| Marsa Matruh | Train or bus west, or about 2 h by car | 2–2.5 h |
| Cairo and Giza | Overnight train from El Alamein, or about 3 h by car via Wadi El-Natrun Road | 3–4 h |
Sleep
- Marina el Alamein
- Lagoon resort with hotels, restaurants and the yacht harbour; the most practical base for the memorials and the beach.
- New Alamein
- New-build city between the Commonwealth and German cemeteries; malls, mosques and newer hotels, some still under construction.
- Sidi Abd el-Rahman and Ghazalah Bay
- Coast west of town, 30–60 km out; larger resorts, quieter, car needed.Coast west of town, 19–37 mi out; larger resorts, quieter, car needed.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | السلام عليكمas-salaamu alaykum |
| Thank you | شكراًshukran |
| How much is it? | بكام؟bi-kaam |
| Where is the taxi? | فين التاكسي؟feen el-taksi |
| The bill, please | الحساب لو سمحتel-hesaab law samaht |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: 'Salam alaykum', handshake; wait for a woman to offer her hand; avoid: Hugging strangers
- Eating: Right hand; accept tea; avoid: Refusing hospitality flatly
- Bargaining: Humour and patience; avoid: Anger
- Dress: Shoulders and knees covered in cities; avoid: Beachwear outside resorts
- Baksheesh: Keep small notes ready; avoid: Showing a thick wallet
- Photos: Ask; pay if agreed; avoid: Photographing police or military
Scams and watch-outs
- The memorials are 10–15 km apart with no public transport between them: without a car or taxi you will see one site, not four.
- Memorial hours run about 8:00–17:00 in summer and 9:00–16:00 in winter and Ramadan; confirm before a long drive.
- The military museum closes about an hour for Friday prayer, and only phone photography is allowed.
- New Alamein is an active construction site: expect dust, diversions and unfinished roads.
- Summer heat and strong Mediterranean sun on open, shadeless cemeteries: carry water.
El Alamein itself is calm and the memorial sites are well kept; the real risks are highway driving, summer heat on shadeless ground, and straying into New Alamein construction zones. Use the tourist police line 126 if anything goes wrong.
One and two days
No timed day plan for El Alamein yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- WWII battlefields of 1942
- Commonwealth War Cemetery and Alamein Memorial
- German and Italian war cemeteries
- Leukaspis (Antiphrai) Greek-Roman ruins
- Marina el Alamein resort and yacht harbour
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Commonwealth War Graves Commission — El Alamein War Cemetery: www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/2019000/EL%20ALAMEIN%20WAR%20CEMETERY/
- Egyptian Ministry of Defence — El Alamein Military Museum: www.mod.gov.eg/ModWebSite/MuseumDetails.aspx?id=3
- Wikivoyage: El Alamein, revision 5247780 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5247780
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
El Alameinالعلمين
إلى العنوان ده لو سمحت
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in El Alamein; most are in Cairo, with consulates in Alexandria. Check your own country's listing.
Memorial opening hours shorten in winter and Ramadan; confirm before travelling.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/el-alamein). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.