Egypt: Harbours, bridges and formalities for sailors
18 harbours · 35 bridges and locks
Egypt: 18 harbours, 35 bridges and locks, clearing in, papers and fees. Plan your trip with weather, tides and route.
Formalities
outside the EU customs unionCurrency: Egyptian pound
Clearing in: Clear in only at a port of entry: on the Mediterranean Port Said (Port Fouad Yacht Club) and Alexandria (El Alamein is not one), on the Red Sea Suez (Port Tawfiq), Hurghada, Safaga and Port Ghalib, on Sinai Sharm el-Sheikh. Health, immigration and customs, plus a cruising permit from the port authority, in practice only through an agent; the agent registers every passage from port to port with the port authority and the coast guard (port clearance). Germans need a visa, available on arrival or in advance as an e-visa; according to reports, a three-month tourist visa has applied to people travelling on foreign yachts since 2023. Anyone visiting only Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba gets the free "Sinai only" stamp for up to 15 days instead of a visa; it does not cover the mainland or the Gulf of Suez. An agent is mandatory for the Suez Canal: measurement in Port Said or Suez, a pilot on board, transit in two days with a night at the Ismailia Yacht Club. Yachts may stay up to one year.
Ausreise: Clear out through the agent before every passage to another country: Taba, Eilat and Aqaba are only a few kilometres apart.
Documents: Passport with visa (valid for six more months, identity card not recommended), boat papers, insurance, crew list, sailing permit.
Fees: High port and agency fees (Port Said reportedly around 650 US dollars for yachts up to 18 m). Suez Canal: canal toll by Suez Canal net tonnage (for yachts under 300 GT the gross tonnage times 1.2, without a tonnage certificate length times beam times depth divided by 2.83) at 11.98 special drawing rights per ton for the first 5,000 t (SCA tariff since 15 January 2024), plus pilot, agent and the berths in Port Fouad and Ismailia; reportedly around 400 to 1,000 US dollars in total for a 12 to 15 m yacht. In the national parks on the Red Sea, entry fee per person and day.
Fairway: On the Mediterranean a flat, sandy coast with few harbours, fishing nets and production platforms off the Nile delta; off Port Said anchorages and heavy traffic to the entrance of the Suez Canal. In the canal, yachts travel with the pilot according to the convoy times, under engine at about 6 kn or more. In the Gulf of Suez the north wind often blows 20 to 30 kn on the nose, plus production platforms and the traffic separation scheme. Off Hurghada, Safaga, Marsa Alam and Sinai, coral reefs just below the surface: enter only by day with the sun behind you; charts are in places offset by several hundred metres. Military restricted areas along the coast; the Strait of Tiran is monitored by the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO).
Nature: West of El Alamein, undeveloped stretches of coast still hold mines from the Second World War: do not go ashore there. On the Red Sea national parks (Ras Mohammed, Nabq, Abu Galum, Giftun and the islands off Hurghada, Wadi el Gemal with Hamata): anchoring on coral is prohibited, moor to the buoys, entry fee per person.
Emergency: 122 (police), 123 (ambulance); JRCC Cairo, VHF channel 16 and DSC.
Sources: Auswärtiges Amt: Egypt, travel and safety advice, Yachting Pages: three-month visa for yacht travellers, State Information Service: strategy for yacht and cruise tourism, Noonsite: Egypt, Red Sea and Suez Canal, Wikipedia: Visa policy of Egypt ("Sinai only" stamp), Suez Canal Authority: Transit Dues Rates, Special Floating Units (from 15 January 2024), Suez Canal Authority: transit tolls for yachts under 300 GT (since 5 May 2022) (as of 2026-10-20)
Harbours by cruising area
Egypt (Alexandria, Marsa Matruh, Port Said)
Egypt: Gulf of Suez (Ain Sokhna, El Tor)
Egypt: northern Red Sea (El Gouna, Hurghada, Safaga)
Egypt: Sinai and the Gulf of Aqaba (Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Taba)
Egypt: southern Red Sea (Port Ghalib, Marsa Alam)
Egypt: Suez Canal (Ismailia, Suez)
Bridges and locks
Movable bridges
Fixed bridges (33)
- Abut Tig Marina Island 3 m
- Ancient Sands Golf Bridge 2.7 m
- Ancient Sands Villas 3 m
- Brücke bei Abu Tig Marina 3 m
- Brücke bei Abydos Marina 3 m
- Brücke bei Abydos Marina 3 m
- Brücke bei Abydos Marina 3 m
- Caspian 3 m
- Fanadir Bay 3 m
- Fanadir Lagoons 3.1 m
- Fanadir Marina Bridge 4.8 m
- Fanadir Shores 4.7 m
- Footway 2.9 m
- Friedensbrücke (Al-Salam-Brücke) 70 m
- Golf Villas 3 m
- Hill Villas 3 m
- La Maison Bleue Bridge 3.1 m
- Mövenpick Hotel 2.7 m
- New Marina Bridge 6.9 m
- Phase 3 3 m
- Phases 1 Entrance 3 m
- Phases 3 Entrance 3 m
- Phases Entrance 3 m
- Sheraton Bridge 3 m
- Steigenberger Golf Tee 18 3.4 m
- Steigenberger Golf Tee 2 3 m
- Steigenberger Golf Tee 9 3 m
- Steigenberger Hotel 3.2 m
- Um Jamar 3 m
- Villa Coconut Hotel Passage 2 m
- Walkway Bridge Downtown Kafr 2 m
- West Golf 3 m
- Zeytouna Beach Bridge 3.5 m
Frequently asked questions
Egypt: Do I need to clear in?
Clear in only at a port of entry: on the Mediterranean Port Said (Port Fouad Yacht Club) and Alexandria (El Alamein is not one), on the Red Sea Suez (Port Tawfiq), Hurghada, Safaga and Port Ghalib, on Sinai Sharm el-Sheikh. Health, immigration and customs, plus a cruising permit from the port authority, in practice only through an agent; the agent registers every passage from port to port with the port authority and the coast guard (port clearance). Germans need a visa, available on arrival or in advance as an e-visa; according to reports, a three-month tourist visa has applied to people travelling on foreign yachts since 2023. Anyone visiting only Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba gets the free "Sinai only" stamp for up to 15 days instead of a visa; it does not cover the mainland or the Gulf of Suez. An agent is mandatory for the Suez Canal: measurement in Port Said or Suez, a pilot on board, transit in two days with a night at the Ismailia Yacht Club. Yachts may stay up to one year.
Egypt: Which documents do I need on board?
Passport with visa (valid for six more months, identity card not recommended), boat papers, insurance, crew list, sailing permit.
Egypt: What fees apply?
High port and agency fees (Port Said reportedly around 650 US dollars for yachts up to 18 m). Suez Canal: canal toll by Suez Canal net tonnage (for yachts under 300 GT the gross tonnage times 1.2, without a tonnage certificate length times beam times depth divided by 2.83) at 11.98 special drawing rights per ton for the first 5,000 t (SCA tariff since 15 January 2024), plus pilot, agent and the berths in Port Fouad and Ismailia; reportedly around 400 to 1,000 US dollars in total for a 12 to 15 m yacht. In the national parks on the Red Sea, entry fee per person and day.
Egypt: What is the emergency number at sea?
122 (police), 123 (ambulance); JRCC Cairo, VHF channel 16 and DSC.
Egypt: How many harbours does Sailseer cover?
Sailseer covers 18 harbours with harbour info, weather and route planning. Plus 35 bridges and locks with opening times and clearances.