It’s a sad fact that, at the moment, Egypt only has limited options on offer for overlanders travelling through Africa. With the accidental killing of 12 Mexican tourists in August 2015 near Bahareya and the periodic abduction of oil workers near the Cairo – Bahareya road, the government have recently ruled that permits are required to travel this route, and that none will be issued to foreigners. Furthermore, foreigners are not allowed off-tarmac in most of Egypt – with the exception of the Wadi Raian – Fayoum desert, where permits are required (and, presumably, guides). No 4x4s are now permitted to enter Sinai.
This therefore limits overlanders (and there are two crews heading this way from Greece as I write) to convoyed travel down the Nile Valley or along the Red Sea coast to the Lake Nasser ferry…..