Arriving Egypt 4:30am
Ride from Taba Egyptian boarder to Dahab (5-7am) at sunrise
Sunrise Over Saudi Arabia, Mts, & Red Sea
First morning just after arriving
Suprise!! I intended to head to Eilat for 2-3 days, the southern tip of Israel on the beach, to dive the Red Sea and relax after a busy and tiring past week. I ended up running into Chiyah who stayed at Heritage House over the weekend with me as I got on the bus from Jerusalem to the central station…very strange since there’s tons and tons of buses coming every 5 minutes throughout Jerusalem and we weren’t even staying in the same area the past two days. Turned out she was headed to Eilat too on the same bus to continue onto Dabah, Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula with her friend. They told me diving the Red Sea in Egypt is supposed one of the world’s best dive destinations for the Red Sea. I didn’t want to go all the way to Egypt since I didn’t have a VISA in advance . Americans are only allowed in the Sinai region of Egypt without the VISA. I knew if I visited Egypt I’d want to visit Cairo, Luxor and Alexandrea. There ended up being two buses to Eilat and I was on a different one than Chiyah. Two girls from New York were sitting across from me, Liz and Renee. Liz has been living in Egypt 7 months and was also headed to Dahab. She also told me that the diving was supposed to be really good in Egypt and that Dahab is way cheaper than Eilat (which is supposed to be quite expensive although most of Israel isn’t cheap.) We reached Eilat and the girls were getting a taxi to the Israel/ Egypt boarder and Chiyah and her friend were right behind us getting in another taxi. I hopped in the cab with the two girls.…decided right then I was headed to Egypt!! I guess I’ll just have to come back to another time for the other areas. The other side of Egypt is completely different than the part I’m in. The cab ride to the boarder was 10 minutes, then we took another 10 minutes to walk across the boarder at Taba. After security on the Egyptian side which was 15 minutes we were at Taba around 4:40am and it was still dark. Liz was seriously negotiating with the private mini bus cab driver in both Arabic and English..I mean almost like arguing with them. Once she settled the price we headed in our mini bus taxi to Dahab 5 minutes after 5:00am. Our mini bus stopped at multiple check points along the way. What breathtaking views of the sun rising over Saudi Arabia, Saudi Mts in the distance, Red Sea and the Central Dahab mountains!! Wow, the ride alone was worth coming and I am so glad we started when it was still dark to see the most beautiful sunrise I‘ve ever seen. It was only an additional three hours total from reaching Eilat at 4am to Dahab at 7am (exactly a 2 hour ride plus an hour for exiting Israel, entering Egypt, going through security.) It only cost an extra $55.50 US total to leave Israel and get to Dahab. Totally worth the trip. It looks amazing!
It’s beautiful here on the water, I can’t wait to get in the sea!! We walked the the beach and checked out two places Liz had looked up ahead of time. Checked into this lovely hotel/bed and breakfast Called The Coach House. It’s such a pretty and cute place on the beach. We had a small breakfast and delicious cappuchino just before we checked in at a cute bakery down the street. I’ve just showered and going to nap right now for a couple hours. VERY tired. I am looking forward to walking around and going out tonight…there are these super cute Egyptian bars and restaurants with sofa seats right along the water.
Transportation Eilat, Israel to Dahab, Egypt:
Jerusalem to Eilat Egged Bus midnight-4am 73 NIS ($20)
Eilat to Israel/Egyptian Boarder cab 10 minutes 55 NIS (split with girls paid $20 NIS) $5.50
Exit Tax Israel 10 minutes 93 NIS $25
Enter Egypt 20 minutes, go through Security (no fee)
Boarder Tax Taba, Egypt 5 minutes 75 LE (Egyptian Pounds) $13
Taba-Dahab Private mini bus shared with two girls 5:05-7:05am (per person) 70 LE $12
View from restaurant 
Huge starter, could have been an entire meal…Baba Ganoush, Hummas, Vita, Cuc Salad, awesome pita

Shish Kabobs with grilled veggies and served with this awesome rice dish–way too much food!
4:30pm
I’m now at an Egyptian restaurant on the sea, it’s beautiful!! Never been to a place like this before and I’m thrilled it is so relaxing…perfect time in my trip for 2-3 days of chlling out and diving. Very cute Egyptian restaurant with sofa seating and lots of cushion and perfect chll music. The sounds of the waves has me feeling calm already. My starters just came MMM!!! Must go eat… looks delicious. Pita type break, hummas, Vita (Tomato and Cheese dip), baba ganuush…
Just finished dinnner, It was HUGE! Amazing shish kabobs,never had anything like it in the states like this. Way too full though, was more than enough for two. Grilled with tomaoto, onion, zuchinni carrots, and califlower. It’s super breezy and it feels great sitting along the water, listening to cool music. Perfect weather, warm, dry, no humidity. This man brought me some bedouin tea after my meal just now. So glad I did this at this point in the trip, great timing to be here and this is one great place to be alone!!

View of Red Sea from restaurant

40 LE bedouin tea with fruit and sorbet served after meal
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About Keli
Hi! I'm proud Aunt Keli as of December 20, 2008! I'm so happy that Baby Harper Quincy Lott arrived. What a beautiful 7 lb 12 oz girl she is! I look forward to being part of her life and seeing what's ahead in the life of Harper Lott.
Hi there , the egged line timetable info gives the last bus time leaving Jerusalem at 17.00. Please let me know if there is any other info for the midnight bus as we are keen to take that one. thanks! Riz
There is definately a last bus at 11:58pm, I took it Wednesday to Eilat. 73 NIS. Hope this helps. Let meknow if you have any other questions.
I just found your blog post through lonely planet and I cannot thank you enough for such a well written and informative account of this trip. I’m planning on doing nearly the exact same trip in a few weeks here and you helped me so much organizing and budgeting everything! Just another traveler who really appreciates you documenting all of this (and great work on the Vonnegut quote) wanting to say thanks!
this made my morning. This is what makes the entire blog worth it. Sometimes my entries are often completed when I am so tired, but it is still worth documenting!! I am glad the timing/budget and info was worth it.