Getting around Giza

5 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

On the plateau, a system introduced in 2025 replaced the old car and coach traffic with a car park and electric buses. Between the plateau, your hotel and the other sites, you are on Cairo's roads, which means a ride-hailing app, a taxi or a tour with its own driver. The metro does not reach the pyramids before 2028, and public bus routes to the new gate could not be checked for this guide.

The gate and the car park

The main entrance has been on the Cairo–Fayoum road, south of the pyramids, since 8 April 2025. The former entrance by the Mena House was closed. Next to the new gate are a visitor centre and a car park with room for more than 1,200 cars and 200 coaches. The plateau is run by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities together with Orascom Pyramids Entertainment, which has developed the site under a protocol with the Supreme Council of Antiquities since 2018.

If you arrive by ride-hailing app or taxi, ask to be taken to the new gate, not to the old Mena House side. A review from October 2026 describes the main gate closed without notice and visitors sent to the second entrance near the Sphinx, about 2.8 km away, so keep your phone charged for a change of plan.

Electric buses on the plateau

Private cars are no longer allowed on the site. Instead, electric buses run hop-on, hop-off between seven stops. At the launch, Ahram Weekly counted more than 45 buses at three-minute intervals. The first weeks were rough: visitors complained of waiting or walking in the heat, guides of crowding and changed routes, and the minister asked for larger buses with seat belts. How the service runs in 2026 has not been confirmed by an official source; plan some slack.

On foot, by camel or by carriage

Walking is the simplest way to see the pyramids and the Sphinx, as long as you start early in the warm months. One guided walk meets you at the ticketing area itself and covers Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure, the viewpoint known as Panorama Point and the Sphinx in about three hours, without any transfer. Bring a card if the plateau ticket is not part of your option: the operator says the gate takes cards only.

Camels and horse carriages are the traditional alternative. Under the new system their handlers were moved to designated zones, which the handlers say are too far from the main entry points. The operator has said the aim is to regulate them, not remove them, with shaded shelters, water and vets checking animals before they enter. Reviews also report animals in poor condition, and the camel and quad rides page sets out what is known. A quad operator notes that quads and camels are not allowed inside the archaeological area itself.

Ride-hailing and taxis

Uber operates in Cairo around the clock, with an option for groups of up to six and Cairo taxis bookable through the app. It also covers trips from the airports. Whether drivers may wait at the new gate has not been confirmed, so order the return ride once you are leaving. The UK Foreign Office advises women travelling alone to take care in taxis, especially at night, and suggests sharing the driver's details and your live location with a friend.

Distances from the plateau

These road distances come from OpenStreetMap routing without traffic; in Cairo, real journeys are usually longer. The Grand Egyptian Museum is 5.7 km away, about ten minutes on an empty road, and one tour operator allows 30 to 45 minutes from a Cairo hotel to the plateau. Central Cairo around Tahrir is about 15 km. Saqqara is about 20 km to the south and Dahshur about 28 km, both reached by car or on a Saqqara and Dahshur tour. The Foreign Office warns that road accidents are common in Egypt and advises against driving outside the main cities at night, so leaving the driving to a tour or a driver is the simpler choice.

If something goes wrong

The tourist police can be reached on 126, and an ambulance on 123, according to the UK Foreign Office. If you need to report a crime, do it before you leave the country, because prosecution is difficult afterwards.