Thanks guys! I'm leaving Thursday for Aqaba too. 107$ is it price for fast ferry? I think after Wadi Halfa ferry it will be like a luxury boat!
to quastdog: Mirage Village - where is it? May be we can meet.

Alex

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RUBTSOVTRAVEL.COM

:: Welcome to Arab Bridge Maritime company website ::

the site of the company.

expensive.....

when we were there last year the timetable was not ''working'' (of course)
just turn up there and see if there is a ship.
when you ask for a ticket at the ticket office (mister in the office was not a very helpfull guy.....) they don't ask if you want a fast or slow ferry. they just give you a ticket for the first ship. no choice when we were there.
at the egyptian side you can pay in egyptian pound or US Dollars.
at the jordan side (in aqaba) you can pay in jordan ......uhm dinars?......and US dollars. (this was last summer).

if you have more question.........just ask..........

brend

sorry for my english

It's a hotel along the water, north end of the main beachfront - around the corner about 300m from the main restaurant/dive shop area (past the closed down blue and white resort).

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

The fast ferry is for passengers only - no vehicles.

Today, the slow ferry leaves at 3pm - I have to report "no later than 1pm" to deal with immigration and customs on the bike.

Don't count on the ferry leaving at 3 all the time - this could be tide and port schedule dependent.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Hi all

I did this journey in 2007 with a car. A word of advice - get to the port EARLY to allow time for all the paperwork to be processed. It takes as long getting out of Egypt as it does getting in!

Mark

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www.overlandcruiser.wordpress.com

You're so right, Ilsemark. I got my ticket about 10 - got some tea and a bite to eat after posting my previous note, then went to the port about 11:30. The process there was just as confusing as Aswan - different buildings (traffic police and customs, immigration, vehicle inspection, and police id verification) were all in different buildings, scattered around the port facility. It took over an hour to complete the paperwork with a Tourist and Antiquities cop shepherding me through the process.

On top of that - the boat left at 2:15 - not 3 as they told me at the ticket office (2:15 was 15 minutes late for scheduled departure). Perhaps the ticket office guy just didn't know his english numbers properly - he meant 2 - said 3. I was on the boat shortly before 1pm, just before they started loading all the trucks.

The trip took 4 hours, arriving after dark. There was more confusion in Aqaba - after getting off the ferry, I stopped where police were standing and they told me I needed to go across the bridge to the arrival office for immigration and customs. About 45 minutes later, I was back at their spot to get a "screening" document that customs required. Then back again to a big shed to get my bike "x-rayed" (same shed the semis all have to go through).

Insurance was mandatory - but it wasn't mandatory the insurance guy be in his office when the ferry arrived (actually, a 2nd ferry arrived from somewhere shortly after ours, so 2 showed almost the same time). After 30 minutes wait, he finally showed to do some work. I guess he prefers there be a line waiting for him, rather than the other way around.

After getting insurance, customs will do your bike paperwork.

Insurance was 21.50 Jordanian dinars (~ $30 USD) - customs was 20 dinars. For some reason, the amount of time I was planning on spending in Amman was important to the insurance guy - don't know that I would have saved money if I told him less time (I said 5 days - I need to get a visa for Syria). So, if your good at Arabic, you might find out how the duration in Amman impacts the cost of insurance.

I finally was out of there around 7:30 - no maps, no idea of where I was going, but found my way to downtown Aqaba for food, an ATM, and a hotel room.

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quastdog
Chiang Mai, Thailand

I took the fast ferry from Jordan to Egypt recently with my motorcycle (and so did four other riders that I met later on the trip). The fast ferry CAN accommodate vehicles (at least going from Jordan to Egypt). If someone told you that it can't, then he's probably the manager of the slow ferry and he's lying. They'll tell you anything to get your money.

Of course, it is possible that there are two options going to Egypt and only one option leaving Egypt, but that seems strange. And nothing strange ever happens in the Middle East.

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Jeremy Kroeker
www.MotorcycleTherapy.com

If anyone is having dificulties with the paperwork entering or exiting from Nuweiba, there is a tourist police guy that will do everything for you for free. Seriously simplifies things especially coming into Egypt.