Wikitravel - Changes related to "North Africa" [en]

Italy

2013-06-19T17:37:09Z

sorry, no URL to secondary sources of info External links; you added this URL to multiple articles

Egypt

2013-06-19T13:19:08Z

‎Understand:

Italy

2013-06-19T11:07:05Z

‎Telephone:

Egypt

2013-06-16T12:01:46Z

‎See:

Algeria

2013-06-16T11:49:06Z

Morocco

2013-06-13T12:23:55Z

‎By taxi:

Ceuta

2013-06-13T08:08:41Z

‎Get in:

Egypt

2013-06-13T07:08:30Z

‎By plane:

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 Payphones are widely available, especially in stations and airports. However, the number of payphones has consistently been reduced after the introduction of mobile phones. Some payphones work with coins only, some with phone cards only and some with both coins and phone cards. Only a limited number of phones (just a few in main airports) directly accept credit cards.
-Italians use mobile phones extensively, some might say excessively. The main networks are TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile, part of Telecom Italia, formerly state controlled), Vodafone, Wind, and 3 (only UMTS cellphones). Note that cellphones from North America will not work in Italy unless they are Tri-band. Nearly all of the country has GSM, GPRS and UMTS/HDSPA coverage, OpenSignal provide independent [http://opensignal.com/networks/italia/i-wind-copertura Italy coverage maps]. If you arrive from abroad and intend making a lot of calls, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card (termed ''prepagato'' for "prepaid" and ''ricaricabile'' for "rechargeable") and put it in your current mobile (if compatible and if your mobile set is not locked). You need to provide a valid form of identification, such as a passport or other official identity, to be able to purchase the SIM card. Unless you already have one, you will also be required to obtain a ''Codice Fiscale'' (a tax number) - the vendor may generate one for you from your form of identification. Subscription-based mobile telephony accounts are subject to a government tax, to which ''prepaid'' SIM cards are not subject. Sometimes hotels have mobile phones for customer to borrow or rent.
+Italians use mobile phones extensively, some might say excessively. The main networks are TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile, part of Telecom Italia, formerly state controlled), Vodafone, Wind, and 3 (only UMTS cellphones). Note that cellphones from North America will not work in Italy unless they are Tri-band. Nearly all of the country has GSM, GPRS and UMTS/HDSPA coverage. If you arrive from abroad and intend making a lot of calls, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card (termed ''prepagato'' for "prepaid" and ''ricaricabile'' for "rechargeable") and put it in your current mobile (if compatible and if your mobile set is not locked). You need to provide a valid form of identification, such as a passport or other official identity, to be able to purchase the SIM card. Unless you already have one, you will also be required to obtain a ''Codice Fiscale'' (a tax number) - the vendor may generate one for you from your form of identification. Subscription-based mobile telephony accounts are subject to a government tax, to which ''prepaid'' SIM cards are not subject. Sometimes hotels have mobile phones for customer to borrow or rent.
 Call costs vary greatly depending on when, where, from and where to. Each provider offers an array of complex tariffs  and it is near impossible to make reliable cost estimates. The cost of calls differs considerably if you call a fixed-line phone or a mobile phone. Usually there is a difference in cost even for incoming calls from abroad. If you can choose, calling the other party's land line could be even 40% cheaper than mobile.

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 ==Understand==
-Ever since the 2011 revolution, tourism (which employs ~15% of the country = 1/3 of the population are reliant upon) has taken a major hit.  As of May2013, there is little risk of any violence or continued rioting.  On Fridays you may see 20-30 people congregating at Tahrir Square in Cairo, but this is simply because they are unemployed (and directing their blame towards Morsi and the current administration).  Because of the downturn in tourism, expect more persistent and aggressive touts, but really this is a great time to visit as prices are lower and you can avoid the gigantic crowds that are typically overflowing the marvelous sites.
+Ever since the 2011 revolution, tourism (which employs ~15% of the country = 1/3 of the population are reliant upon) has taken a major hit.  As of May 2013, there is little risk of any violence or continued rioting.  On Fridays you may see 20-30 people congregating at Tahrir Square in Cairo, but this is simply because they are unemployed (and directing their blame towards Morsi and the current administration).  Because of the downturn in tourism, expect more persistent and aggressive touts, but really this is a great time to visit as prices are lower and you can avoid the gigantic crowds that are typically overflowing the marvelous sites.
 ===History===

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 Payphones are widely available, especially in stations and airports. However, the number of payphones has consistently been reduced after the introduction of mobile phones. Some payphones work with coins only, some with phone cards only and some with both coins and phone cards. Only a limited number of phones (just a few in main airports) directly accept credit cards.
-Italians use mobile phones extensively, some might say excessively. The main networks are TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile, part of Telecom Italia, formerly state controlled), Vodafone, Wind, and 3 (only UMTS cellphones). Note that cellphones from North America will not work in Italy unless they are Tri-band. Nearly all of the country has GSM, GPRS and UMTS/HDSPA coverage. If you arrive from abroad and intend making a lot of calls, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card (termed ''prepagato'' for "prepaid" and ''ricaricabile'' for "rechargeable") and put it in your current mobile (if compatible and if your mobile set is not locked). You need to provide a valid form of identification, such as a passport or other official identity, to be able to purchase the SIM card. Unless you already have one, you will also be required to obtain a ''Codice Fiscale'' (a tax number) - the vendor may generate one for you from your form of identification. Subscription-based mobile telephony accounts are subject to a government tax, to which ''prepaid'' SIM cards are not subject. Sometimes hotels have mobile phones for customer to borrow or rent.
+Italians use mobile phones extensively, some might say excessively. The main networks are TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile, part of Telecom Italia, formerly state controlled), Vodafone, Wind, and 3 (only UMTS cellphones). Note that cellphones from North America will not work in Italy unless they are Tri-band. Nearly all of the country has GSM, GPRS and UMTS/HDSPA coverage, OpenSignal provide independent [http://opensignal.com/networks/italia/i-wind-copertura Italy coverage maps]. If you arrive from abroad and intend making a lot of calls, buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card (termed ''prepagato'' for "prepaid" and ''ricaricabile'' for "rechargeable") and put it in your current mobile (if compatible and if your mobile set is not locked). You need to provide a valid form of identification, such as a passport or other official identity, to be able to purchase the SIM card. Unless you already have one, you will also be required to obtain a ''Codice Fiscale'' (a tax number) - the vendor may generate one for you from your form of identification. Subscription-based mobile telephony accounts are subject to a government tax, to which ''prepaid'' SIM cards are not subject. Sometimes hotels have mobile phones for customer to borrow or rent.
 Call costs vary greatly depending on when, where, from and where to. Each provider offers an array of complex tariffs  and it is near impossible to make reliable cost estimates. The cost of calls differs considerably if you call a fixed-line phone or a mobile phone. Usually there is a difference in cost even for incoming calls from abroad. If you can choose, calling the other party's land line could be even 40% cheaper than mobile.

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 Perhaps the most popular activity in Luxor and Aswan is to do the Nile Cruise on a ship from Aswan to Luxor. It enables you to stop at each location along the Nile where you can see all the famous ancient monuments as well as experience being in the Nile River inside a five-star hotel boat.
-* The Red Sea resorts at [[Sinai]] peninsula, including Dahab, [[Hurghada]], and [[Sharm el Sheikh]]. The Red Sea offers some of the best dive locations in the world.
+* The Red Sea resorts at [[Sinai]] peninsula, including [[Dahab]], [[Hurghada]], and [[Sharm el Sheikh]]. The Red Sea offers some of the best dive locations in the world.
 * The sights of the [[Sinai]] peninsula, including [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] and [[Mount Sinai]].

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 {{warningbox|While the country has come a long way since the civil war in the 1990s, there are still occasional attacks against government institutions (buildings, police forces, etc). Such attacks include bombings, false roadblocks, kidnappings, and ambushes , particularly in rural areas such as the Kabylie region of the country. Sporadic episodes of civil unrest have been known to occur.
-Additionally, there is the threat of bandits and an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group (AQIM) in the south of the country. Much of their activity has been in neighboring Mali & Niger. In the fall of 2011, a few European aid workers were kidnapped by AQIM and held captive in Mali until July 2012. Also, in January 2013, Al Qaeda captured several foreigners including British and Americans. Tamanrasset is safe to visit due to police & military presence, but you should not attempt to travel in the Sahara desert without a local guide taking adequate caution. Some routes in the Sahara may require vehicles to travel only in military/police-escorted convoys for safety.Absolutely no attempt should be made to travel overland to Mali or Niger! (Updated July 2012)}}
+Additionally, there is the threat of bandits and an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group (AQIM) in the south of the country. Much of their activity has been in neighboring Mali & Niger. In the autumn of 2011, a few European aid workers were kidnapped by AQIM and held captive in Mali until July 2012. Also, in January 2013, Al Qaeda captured several foreigners including British and Americans. Tamanrasset is safe to visit due to police & military presence, but you should not attempt to travel in the Sahara desert without a local guide taking adequate caution. Some routes in the Sahara may require vehicles to travel only in military/police-escorted convoys for safety.Absolutely no attempt should be made to travel overland to Mali or Niger! (Updated July 2012)}}
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	Taxi owners vie with each other to add extras such as sunshades. A clean vehicle and smart driver is usually a good sign of a well maintained vehicle.		Taxi owners vie with each other to add extras such as sunshades. A clean vehicle and smart driver is usually a good sign of a well maintained vehicle.
		+
		+	Some prices for the grand taxis (June 2013):
		+	*Essaouira - Marrakech: 100 MAD per seat (actually the price is 80, but any luggage will be charged 20 MAD)
		+	*Marrakech - Ouarzazate: 100 MAD per seat
		+	*Ouarzazate - Agadir (not Inezgane): 150 MAD per seat. The driver will most likely stop in Inezgane. Insist they find another taxi for you and they should pay the driver.

	===By car===		===By car===

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 ==Get in==
-[[Image:Ceuta port and taxis.jpg|thumb|250px|Taxis awaiting new arrivals at the port]]
+[[Image:Ceuta port and taxis.jpg|thumb|250px|Taxis awaiting new arrivals at the border]]
 Ceuta is easily accessible from [[Algeciras]] (Cádiz) by ferry. High speed ferry services run between Ceuta and mainland [[Spain]] every half hour as of summer 2007.  Cruise ships occasionally visit, and usually dock within a few blocks of the easily-walked downtown area.

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 ===By plane===
 The domestic air network is fairly extensive and covers most major towns in Egypt. The national carrier, EgyptAir [http://www.egyptair.com], has the most regular services and is the easiest place to start looking before you go. They provide services from [[Cairo]] to quite a few towns and places of interest around the country, the most common being [[Luxor]], [[Aswan]]
-[[Abu Simbel]], [[Hurghada]], [[Sharm el-Sheikh]], [[Alexandria]], [[Marsa Matruh]], [[Marsa Alam]] and [[Kharga oasis]].
+[[Abu Simbel]], [[Hurghada]], [[Sharm el-Sheikh]], [[Alexandria]], [[Marsa Matruh]], [[Marsa Alam]] and [[Kharga oasis]].<br>Cheaper, but with less frequencies, are the domestic flights offered by [http://www.air-viva.com air viva].
 The airlines previously employed two-tier pricing structure, which made fares more than four times more expensive for foreigners than locals. After the beginning of 2007, they changed to a system in which everyone pays the same fare regardless of nationality. Fares are still relatively cheap - for example a return day trip to [[Luxor]] is about $170. It is wise to book early as flights fill up quickly in the peak season. Local travel agencies have internet web pages and can sometimes squeeze you in last minute, but it is safest to book in advance. Travelers can also check prices and book flights on EgyptAir's website, but only with Visa or Mastercard. Online ticket sales close 72 hours in advance. Travel agencies can still make bookings. The national sales call center is unable to sell tickets over the phone, but directs you to a local travel agency; you can also ask your hotel staff about travel agencies nearby. EgyptAir has a large network of offices at strategic points around the country, which can sell you tickets.