I had nothing but trouble on the Taba/Aqaba ferry ( a detailed report is posted on Lonely Planet).

I knew this had to be booked by travel agent and I attempted to do so with Pro Tours in Taba by email. The manager would not answer my emails, even when they were referred by Nikki at the Tourist Office. I then found Aqaba Sky Travel who arranged the ferry and the remainder of the touring in Wadi Rum and Petra, so I thought.

The ferry times given to us were wrong--we had to rush to the marina and beg to get on the last boat. Fortunately, Maged El Said of Excel Travel was on site and helped get us on the boat, which was loaded with Russians. He followed up with a phone call to Aqaba, making sure we were picked up by Aqaba Sky as planned.

The return ferry was delayed hours, waiting for bus loads of returning Russians. The trip itself was fine. Mr. El Said was at the marina to return us to the hotel in Taba. I would say that he is the best person to assist the independent tourist. Send me a private message for his contact information.

Actually, I did not have trouble ON the Taba/Aqaba ferry, rather WITH the Taba/Aqaba ferry. Sorry.

I can add a little bit of information about the Sindbad ferry between Taba and Aqaba, but not too much. I did not take the ferry, so the experiences of those that did should be heeded. However while in Aqaba I did visit the Sindbad office, which is on Maisalun St (which runs parallel to and one street over from Petra St, which is where the AB Maritime reservation office is). Look for a building on the corner, with a sign with a picture of a bus on it. Take the elevator up to the third floor.

I spoke with a man there who gave me his card (only I now find it does not have his name on it). First I complained to him that emails I sent to them at aqaba@sindbadjo.com were not answered. He apologized and said he had only been in his position for about a month, but told me this would not happen again. Who knows, maybe this is true - you should give it a try. He also gave me his personal email, which is kingamr5@hotmail.com. Their web site is www.sindbadjo.com.

He told me a ferry goes from Taba to Aqaba every day at 8:00, and returns from Aqaba to Taba at 20:00. I imagine these times are set up for the day trips running from Egypt to Petra. He said they also sometimes have a ferry in the afternoon, depending on demand. This man told me I could take the ferry one-way for $US 65 or round-trip for $85 per person. He told me the round-trip did not necessarily have to be the same day - I could spend additional days in Jordan. I realize that some of this information disagrees with what swisssinai has just posted, and I would caution the reader that I have been there once, while swisssinai resides there. But this is what I was told on November 5, 2008.

The man at the Sindbad office also told me they can arrange ground transportation from Sharm El Sheik to Taba to coincide with a ferry trip. This costs $US 150 round-trip per private car (not per person). If I was to do it again, I would probably try to arrange a trip on this ferry, rather than the one from Nuweiba. Maybe it would be just as problematic, but at least I would get some variety. Plus it is significantly cheaper than the AB Maritime ferry, especially for a round-trip.

I would also like to add to what swisssinai has said about registering complaints about the AB Maritime "fast ferry" with the Egyptian Tourism Authority - at his suggestion I am going to do this. However I would also suggest complaining directly to the AB Maritime company. The General Manager is Admiral Nabil Lutfi, PO Box 989, Aqaba 77110 Jordan. And I plan to also complain to some appropriate tourism agency in Jordan - my own experience is that the country of Jordan is truly interested in ensuring tourists have a good experience, and this ferry was the low point of our visit.

While at the AB Maritime reservation office in Aqaba, I met a man named Magdy (magdy_y_sh@yahoo.com). He told me that he was very interested in my comments about the ferry service, because he is the ISO 9001 Quality Manager for AB Maritime. I was absolutely astounded and greatly amused to hear that such a person existed. For those unfamiliar with ISO 9001, it is a set of rigorous procedures to continually improve the quality of an organization. The notion that such a person existed for AB Maritime was almost too much for me to take - I wondered if he has ever even been on this ferry. I told him that considering the expense, this was probably the worst ferry in the world - he seemed surprised to hear it. I asked him about their web site, and the completely inaccurate schedules that are on it. Yes, he knew about this and agreed it should be corrected (nothing has changed so far). Finally, I directed him to this forum on TripAdvisor, to get some first-hand feedback from his customers. I don't know if he has checked in, but I would invite him to respond to these posts.

FROM NUWEIBA TO AQABA

After debating the pros and cons, some people are still going to decide to try their luck on the AB Maritime "fast ferry". Since I recently took it in both directions, I thought I would give some pointers to future travelers.

Since some details are different depending on direction of travel, I will first describe the trip from Nuweiba to Aqaba.

1) You will need to get a ticket. Perhaps a travel agent can provide you one, but we got ours at the AB Maritime ticket office in Nuweiba Port on the morning of our departure. The ticket office is about 0.5 km away from the actual departure terminal - rather inconvenient. We had a driver who took us to the ticket office and assisted in the purchase of tickets. It is a one story, tan building, with a stair-step patterned fence in front. The blue sign on the building is in Arabic, except for saying AB Maritime near the bottom. Pass through the gate into the courtyard - there are several windows, but the one selling ferry tickets was the furthest to the right. You will need your passport and $US 80 to get the ticket. Our driver spoke to the ticket-office staff in Arabic for us - I do not know how much English they might have. We tried to get a return (round-trip) ticket, but were told this was not available.

2) Make your way to the ferry terminal. Our driver took us over to it, but if your luggage is manageable you can walk in 5 or 10 minutes (our Lonely Planet guide had a map). We were confused as to how to enter the terminal, but finally saw a sign labeled "Departure" that showed the way. At this point you will pass through a security checkpoint with x-ray and metal detector.

3) You now walk a ways along the outside of the departure terminal to reach the entrance. Make your way inside a large hall, with four numbered passport control booths at the far end. When we were there, this hall was filled with hundreds of passengers, the vast majority of them ticketed on the slow ferry. Four huge lines were formed behind the passport booths. By gestures from many of these passengers, we came to understand that tourists are expected to bypass the lines and go straight to the front. We felt a bit sheepish about this, but proceeded to the booth and got our Egyptian exit stamps.

4) You now enter a huge departure waiting hall - about roughly 100 meters by 25 meters in size, full of wooden benches. It is dimly lit and rather dirty - not at all pleasant, but likely to be your home for many hours to come. As you enter from the passport control, turn left and head to the far end of the hall. At least when we were there, this was the area for fast ferry passengers. The hall was filled with at least 1000 people (all men when we got there), but mostly for the slow ferry.

5) Your challenge now is to try to determine when the fast ferry will start boarding. When we were there, the slow ferry was in a prolonged boarding phase. So people were steadily leaving the terminal and getting on the buses that take you to the ferry. So how do you know when it is time for you to take your bus to the fast ferry? There are plenty of announcements, shouting and shoving matches, and general chaos going on, but it is all in Arabic. You will need to find a staff person who you can communicate with, and keep asking them. This task may be easier as other tourists show up to share the burden with you - the day we traveled there were around 30 western tourists finally assembled, most from a couple escorted groups (however, groups get a new guide in Jordan, so their Egyptian guide leaves as soon as everyone is settled into the waiting room).

6) We had been told at the ticket office that the ferry would leave at 16:00. In fact, we finally took the short bus ride to the ferry at 18:15, and the ferry did not leave for over an hour more. So we had a very long time to wait. There are snacks and drinks available for sale inside the waiting hall at reasonable prices. And there are separate restrooms for men and women, quite filthy but barely useable when faced with no alternatives.

7) Finally, the staff opened a door at the end of the hall where the fast ferry passengers had assembled, and we began the process of boarding. It is a very short bus ride to the ferry. We put our luggage in the compartments under the bus for the trip. There will be as many bus trips as it takes to load the ferry (it probably had a couple hundred passengers on this day). But they seem to take western tourists first.

8) Get off the bus, grab your luggage and walk up the ramp into the vehicle hold of the ship. We were on the Queen Nefertari, which is supposedly a relatively new ship - introduced in spring 2007. A crew member will show you where to leave your bags - this was just on an internal ramp in the hold of the ship. I don't think many vehicles use the fast ferry - the hold was empty on our way to Aqaba, and had only one vehicle on the way back (belonging to a German fellow determined to drive it to Cape Town).

9) You will now head up some stairs into the rear section of the passenger areas of the ship (your ticket will be collected now). Remember this section, as you will be returning here once the ship reaches the other port.

10) At the front of this section, on the left side, are a couple windows for passport control. These windows will be staffed near the start of your trip - keep an eye out for a line to form there. On the way to Aqaba, these will be staffed by Jordanian immigration. Tourists like us, who had no Jordanian visa, must hand in their passports to these officials. In return, you will get a small, stamped slip of paper - do not lose this.

11) Go ahead and enjoy your trip across the Gulf of Aqaba. The boat itself is reasonably nice, though from the visible wear, it is hard to believe it was brand new only 18 months ago. The windows are coated with salt spray, so views are poor. There is a stairway up to a higher deck supposedly for first-class - this was roped off and no one was allowed up (some passengers were quite angry about this as they felt they had purchased "first class" tickets - though apparently there is no such thing). Restrooms are available at the very front of the passenger deck - other restrooms on that deck were locked. Use them early in the trip if possible, as they get rather crowded and eventually messy. One problem is that many passengers use the small sinks in the restroom to wash for prayers, resulting in crowded and wet conditions. Snacks and drinks are available at reasonable prices from a couple locations - they accept LE, JD and maybe other currencies. They advertise that the crossing will take one hour, but this is not true. Our trip took two full hours, even though sea conditions were calm.

12) As the boat reaches the other port, it is time for western tourists to move back to the rear section of the passenger deck. Internal doors between sections will be closed by ferry staff - if you get caught on the wrong side just knock on those doors and you will be let through.

13) Once the boat is secured, and perhaps after waiting a while, you will be allowed to go back down the stairs into the vehicle hold. Western tourists are given a bit of a head start over the rest of the passengers. So find your bag where you left it and walk off the ship. You may take a short bus ride here, or you may walk the short distance to the Aqaba ferry terminal.

14) You now need to find the immigration waiting hall, where you are going to retrieve your passport (now with a Jordanian visa). We found it very confusing as to where to go in the terminal. But the waiting area is upstairs, at the south end of the building. Once you have found the right place, you will need to take a seat and wait for 15 minutes or more. The immigration officials are sorting through all the passports in a nearby room, and will bring them out to you when finished. You will need that small slip of paper you received on the boat to exchange for your passport.

15) With passport in hand, you can now pass through the final checkpoint and exit the building. We arrived at night, and once outside the building we passed through a pitch dark passageway with uneven footing - try not to break your ankle. Meanwhile, you will be surrounded by taxi drivers, etc, all clamoring for your attention. We fortunately had a ride to our hotel already arranged, though I imagine you could negotiate one here if needed. But check with your hotel ahead of time - some of our fellow passengers even had a car come down from their hotel in Petra to get them (for about 40 JD).

16) We got to our hotel in Aqaba at 22:00, having left our hotel in Sharm at 09:00. So 13 hours to cover this distance of roughly 200 km.

FROM AQABA TO NUWEIBA

Please review the previous post for directions from Nuweiba to Aqaba. We found the trip from Aqaba back to Nuweiba to be much less difficult, though still confusing. I will highlight the differences:

1) Since the ticket office in Nuweiba would not sell a return ferry ticket, we proceeded to the AB Maritime reservation office on Petra St in Aqaba (look for a light blue sign in English, next to the Humam Supermarket). Here we found the staff to speak English, and also to be helpful and friendly. We were there on a Tuesday, and planned to take the ferry on Thursday. They told us the departure would be at 13:00 and this turned out to be correct information. They allowed us to pay for the tickets in JD instead of $US - we paid JD 50 per ticket, equivalent to $US 70. However, we discovered on Thursday that it is possible to buy your ticket right at the ferry terminal building, so we could have avoided the short walk from our hotel to Petra St. However, they may require payment in US dollars in the ferry terminal.

2) The passenger ferry terminal is about 8 km south of Aqaba - tell the taxi driver "fast ferry" and "speed boat." We were dropped off at the vehicle checkpoint outside the ferry complex, and went in on foot after showing our passports. We saw the slow ferry docked at a different spot during this taxi ride - I am reasonably sure the slow and fast ferry do not share the same terminals in Aqaba, which make things much less crowded and hectic.

3) We had to walk a couple hundred meters to the terminal building - look for the building with a sign that says "Passenger Terminal."

4) Immediately inside this building on the ground floor are some windows where you must pay the Jordanian exit tax of 5 JD per person. You will receive a small paper stamp, which you will hand over later to passport control.

5) Now go upstairs. To do this, go out of the building, walk a few meters to the left, and go back into the building and up the stairs. Here you will easily find the ticket office for AB Maritime. I talked to the staff here, and found them not quite as friendly or helpful as on Petra St. They at first told me the ferry was scheduled for 15:00, but after I protested and said the Petra office had said 13:00, they finally agreed with me. It amazed me how easily and with little concern they dispensed bad information.

6) Also upstairs, to the left of the AB Maritime windows, is the place to get your passport departure stamp. Give the official the paper stamp you bought downstairs, and he will glue this into your passport and stamp everything.

7) Now it is time to wait for boarding. Like in Egypt, you will be taking a bus ride for the short distance to the ferry. We waited on benches outside the front of the terminal building - infinitely more pleasant than the departure hall in Nuweiba. They seem to have bought a new bus for this purpose - it is bright white and says AB Maritime on the side. However, it does not have outside luggage storage, so everyone must struggle with their luggage on the bus. The first bus load of passengers was about 2 hours before the scheduled ferry departure time. But it will go back and forth as many times as needed.

8) This part is just like in the other direction. Get off the bus, walk into the hold of the ship, deposit your luggage where they show you, move up the stairs, hand over your ticket and find a seat. On this day, the ferry left only a few minutes after the scheduled time. Because the ship is based in Jordan, I am guessing departures from there are more likely to be punctual. Or maybe we were just lucky this day.

9) The immigration window on the ferry will now be staffed by Egyptian immigration. Most tourists must once again hand over their passports, which they will reclaim after disembarking in Nuweiba. However, we had obtained multiple-entry visas from the Egyptian consulate in San Francisco before leaving home. Because we already had valid visas, our passports were stamped and immediately returned to us while still on the ferry. This removed one confusing step in the process for us - later in the Nuweiba terminal area I saw some fellow passengers wandering around trying to find where to collect their passports. Sorry, but I can't help you with this!

10) The rest of the process is similar to the one in the other direction. Move to the back of the boat when reaching Nuweiba, get downstairs and grab your bag, get on the bus for the ride to the terminal area, find your passport, go toward the sign that says "arrivals", through an x-ray checkpoint, and out of the terminal area. You will emerge at a parking lot, where we were happy to find the driver we had arranged waiting for us. But you can probably find transportation at this point if you have not already arranged it.

Good luck!

Very good report !

It would be good to put it in the insider pages for Nuweiba. If you do not have the time, I can, with your permission, do it.

I reckon you were pretty lucky on both of your trips ! Some unfortunate persons wait much longer.

The problem with staying in Sharm before taking the ferry is that one has to get to Nuweiba in order to get the ticket in the morning regardless of what ever time the fast ferry will travel that day. Persons staying in Nuweiba have the advantage that they can get the tickets in the morning ( or sometimes the evening before ) and then go back to there hotel and wait on the beach until they see the ferry arriving. This usually gives people a good extra 5 or 6 hours of relaxation on the beach at the hotel instead of sitting in such dismal conditions at the port. Alternatively, if a fast ferry pops up in the morning, like just five minutes ago, they can make a dash and catch that.

The fare is still US$ 70.00 one way plus the equivalent of US$ 10.00 departure tax, making a total of US$ 80.00 and still, from the Nuweiba side only, return tickets can not be purchased. I do nt know why, as the tickets are open for 6 months anyway and not fixed for any particular date, though one needs the passport when purchasing them as the passport number is written into the ticket, ( which is why the agents in Sharm can 't get the tickets in advance ).

Hello!

Quite scaring, all what's written about this ferry! Anyway, I'll have to take it, since I shouldnt pass the israeli crasy border...

I want to travel on a Saturday. On the official website is written the fast ferry doesnt run on Saturdays, only the slow one. Do you know about that? A lot is written about the fast ferry, is it worse on the normal one?

Thanks a lot for your answers!

When I was there in November, the fast ferry did not run at all on Saturdays. Unless you have some very reliable information telling you otherwise, I would assume there is no fast ferry on Saturdays. (Incidentally, the AB Maritime web site should not be considered to be reliable information.)

I only traveled on the fast ferry, not the slow ferry (which I think you are referring to as the "normal" ferry). However, every bit of information I could collect told me to expect an even worse experience on the slow ferry than we had on the fast ferry. My advice would be to completely avoid the slow ferry.

The result of this is that you should arrange your schedule so that your ferry trip is not on a Saturday.

Hi, guys. My girlfriend and I are planning to go from Egypt to Jordan with our car. Can you suggest which way is better:

1. Car ferry from Egipt to Jordan

2. on road from Egipt via Israel to Jordan.

THX for suggestions