What are you planning?
The three tiers are sized to different trip shapes. A single connection, a full Egypt circuit, or a group movement — each has a corresponding plan that covers exactly what you need without charging for what you don't.
- One city-to-city leg (or Cairo Metro guidance)
- Current verified fare in EGP with class breakdown
- Recommended service and departure window
- Booking channel guidance + step-by-step process
- Tourist supplement status note
- Station transfer note for origin and destination
- Delivered within 2 business days
- One revision included
- Unlimited legs across the full trip
- Optimal sequence with timing logic explained
- Class comparison on long-haul legs (sleeper vs day)
- All verified fares — total trip cost estimate included
- Advance booking priority flags per leg
- Cairo Metro integration where applicable
- Booking channel guide for each leg
- Station notes at all stops
- Delivered within 2 business days
- Two revisions included
- All Multi-City Plan content
- Group ticket purchase procedure per leg
- Minimum advance booking requirements
- Platform and assembly logistics at each station
- ENR group booking contact and process
- Member-ready reference document (PDF format)
- Repeating-route licence for operators (one season)
- Priority turnaround: 3–4 business days
- Unlimited revisions within 30 days of delivery
What's included in each tier
| Feature | Single Route · EGP 350 | Multi-City · EGP 900 | Operator & Group · EGP 2,400 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of legs covered | 1 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Verified fare in EGP | ✓ | ✓ all legs + total estimate | ✓ all legs + total estimate |
| Class recommendation | ✓ | ✓ with comparison on long legs | ✓ with comparison |
| Booking channel guide | ✓ | ✓ per leg | ✓ per leg + group process |
| Tourist supplement note | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Advance booking flags | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Leg sequence optimisation | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cairo Metro integration | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Station transfer notes | ✓ origin + destination | ✓ all stops | ✓ all stops + platform logistics |
| Group booking procedure | — | — | ✓ |
| Member-ready PDF | — | — | ✓ |
| Repeating-route licence | — | — | ✓ one season |
| Revisions | 1 | 2 | Unlimited (30 days) |
| Turnaround | 2 business days | 2 business days | 3–4 business days |
When to use each plan
Single Route
The Single Route plan is the right choice when you have one defined leg and need to know the correct class, current fare and booking method. Common use cases: a traveller who has already planned most of a trip independently and is unsure about the tourist sleeper booking process; someone doing only the Cairo–Alexandria run as a day trip; a visitor who needs only the Cairo Metro guidance because they are arriving at the airport and crossing the city independently. The Single Route plan answers the question "what do I buy and where do I buy it" for one leg, completely and accurately.
For tourist sleeper queries specifically, this tier is particularly useful because the Wataniya booking process diverges significantly from the standard ENR flow and is the most common source of confusion for first-time Egypt visitors. The plan document walks through every step of the Wataniya portal and flags the payment methods currently accepted. See the booking guide for a preview of the method we use.
Multi-City Plan
The Multi-City Plan covers the full arc of a trip — all legs, sequenced optimally, with class recommendations that account for journey length, time of day and the relationship between legs. The most common itinerary we plan is Cairo arrival → Alexandria day trip → Cairo → overnight sleeper to Luxor → days in Luxor → day train to Aswan → return leg. That is four to five legs across the ENR network plus Cairo Metro, and the Multi-City Plan handles all of them in a single document with consistent fare data and a clear booking sequence.
The plan also includes the leg sequence logic: why we put the Alexandria day trip before the southbound leg, why we suggest the sleeper southbound and the day train northbound (or vice versa depending on dates and availability), and where the advance booking windows are tightest. This is the planning context that makes the fares data useful rather than just a list of numbers. Check pass types for more on how we structure multi-leg recommendations and intercity routes for the timetable data the plan draws on.
Operator & Group
The Operator and Group plan is designed for tour operators, group leaders and any organisation moving more than six people on Egyptian rail. The logistics of group rail travel in Egypt differ meaningfully from individual travel: group tickets are purchased differently, platform assembly matters at busy stations, and advance booking windows are tighter. The plan addresses all of these specifically for your group size and route.
The member-ready PDF is formatted for distribution to group members — it reads as a clean briefing document rather than a planning working paper, with the information each traveller needs to board correctly without requiring them to read the full planning logic. Tour operators who use the same Egyptian rail circuit repeatedly can use the repeating-route licence to re-use the plan across multiple departure dates within one operating season without paying for a new plan each time. For enquiries about the Operator plan, contact the desk with your group size, route and travel window and we'll confirm applicability and turnaround.
Before you request a plan
A planning document lists each leg of your journey with the train number or service type, our recommended class, the current verified fare in EGP, the booking channel to use (ENR website, Wataniya portal or station counter), whether a tourist supplement applies, and any timing notes specific to your travel dates. For multi-city plans it also includes the optimal sequence of legs and flags where advance booking is necessary. Fares are cited with the date of last verification; if you are booking more than 30 days after receiving your plan, we recommend a quick fare check before purchasing — ENR adjusts prices periodically and we update figures on request at no charge.
No. We do not sell Egyptian National Railways tickets, Wataniya sleeper reservations, Cairo Metro tokens or any other transport product. Every transaction is between you and the official booking channel. Our service is the planning document and the advice it contains — we make no margin on any ticket purchase and have no commercial relationship with ENR, Wataniya or any third-party booking platform. This is a deliberate structural choice, not a legal limitation. It means the advice we give is based entirely on what is correct for your journey, not on which channel pays us. See about the desk for more on how we operate.
Standard turnaround for Single Route and Multi-City plans is two business days from receipt of your full route details and payment. "Full route details" means: the city-to-city legs you need, your approximate travel dates, your preference for day or overnight travel on long legs if you have one, and whether you are travelling alone or with others. Incomplete enquiries extend the turnaround because we need to come back with questions. For Operator and Group plans, allow three to four business days for the initial document. Revision requests across all tiers are turned around within one business day.
Plans carry the verified fare figures as of the date of issue. If you are booking within two to three weeks of receiving the plan, the figures will be current. If you are booking more than 30 days later — which happens when travellers plan well in advance — contact us for a fare check before purchasing. ENR has adjusted intercity fares several times in recent years, and the sleeper fare is periodically revised by Wataniya. We run a fare update check at no charge for plans issued by us within the past six months. For the Cairo Metro, token fares have been stable and a 30-day gap is not usually a concern.
Yes. The tourist sleeper between Cairo and Luxor or Cairo and Aswan is a single leg and falls under the Single Route tier. The plan document for this leg includes the Wataniya portal link, current cabin category prices for both standard and premium double cabins, single-occupancy supplement, availability notes for your specific travel period (January, October and major holidays book out earlier), and a step-by-step guide to the Wataniya booking process including which payment methods are currently accepted. The sleeper is the leg we get asked about most by first-time visitors — it's genuinely easy once explained but the booking flow is non-obvious. Read the sleeper trains guide for the public version of what the plan goes into in more detail.
For tour operators and group leaders, the Operator and Group plan covers the full route itinerary at the same level of detail as a Multi-City Plan, plus an additional layer specific to group logistics. This includes notes on the ENR group booking process (separate from individual ticket purchase, with different lead time requirements), minimum advance booking windows for groups on high-demand services like the tourist sleeper, platform assembly notes at Cairo Ramses and the main Upper Egypt stations, and practical notes on managing a group through the busier stations. The member-ready PDF is formatted cleanly for distribution to group members — not the full planning document, but the key information each person needs to board the correct service correctly. Operators who run the same Egyptian circuit across multiple departures in a season can use the repeating-route licence to apply the same plan to subsequent groups without commissioning a new document. Contact the desk through the planning form to discuss your specific group size and route.
Requesting and paying for a plan
The process is three steps from enquiry to delivered document.
Send your route
Use the contact form and select the plan type you need in the dropdown. Include your city legs, approximate travel dates, number of travellers and any specific requirements (sleeper preference, accessibility needs, connection constraints). The more specific you are at this stage, the faster and more accurate the first draft will be. We'll confirm receipt and send a payment link within one business day.
Confirm and pay
Payment is by card or bank transfer. The confirmation email sets the clock on the turnaround period. We do not start drafting until payment is confirmed, which is standard for a document service — the plan takes research time and we allocate that against confirmed orders. For Operator and Group enquiries, we will sometimes request a brief call or email exchange before payment to make sure we have captured all the logistics variables correctly for a group of your size on your specific route.
Receive and use
The plan arrives by email as a structured PDF. For Single Route plans, it's a concise document — typically two to three pages covering the leg in full. For Multi-City plans, five to eight pages covering every leg with the leg-sequence logic and an appendix of booking links. For Operator plans, the deliverable is two documents: the full planning paper and the member-ready briefing PDF. Revisions are handled by reply — send specific change requests and we'll turn them around within one business day. Questions after delivery go to [email protected] and are answered by Salma at the desk.
Why not free?
The reference content on the site — route guides, class comparisons, metro documentation, the booking guide, the rail network overview — is free and will remain free. That content is generalist: it explains how the system works, what the classes are, what the fare ranges are. It is useful for a large proportion of travellers who can take that information and apply it to their own trip without further help.
The planning service is different. It takes the specific legs you are travelling, on the specific dates you are travelling, and produces a current, verified, sequenced document for your trip. That requires Khaled to run a fare check against the current ENR and Wataniya data, Heba's most recent field notes on the relevant services, and Salma's current knowledge of which booking channels are working. The three-tier structure reflects the amount of that work involved: a single-leg check is quick; a full multi-city loop with class comparisons and sequence logic takes longer; a group plan with separate logistics requires additional research.
We don't mark up fares, don't take booking commissions and don't charge for the general information. The planning fee is the business model, and it's a straightforward one: you pay for research time, we give you current, accurate, trip-specific documentation. See about the desk for more on the independence principles that underpin this structure.
Questions before ordering?
If you're unsure which plan fits your trip, send a brief outline of your route to the desk and we'll tell you which tier applies and why — at no charge.
Or browse the pass types guide to see how we structure multi-leg recommendations, and the services page for what's covered in each corridor.
Ready to plan your route?
Send your cities and dates. We'll confirm the plan type, return a verified planning document, and leave the booking to you and the official channels.
Request a plan