Taba Border Crossing from Dahab (Egypt) to Eilat (Israel) with Troubled Stamps in Passport

This detailed travel guide tells you how to get from Dahab to Eilat or Jerusalem in one day, crossing the Taba border between Egypt and Israel using a taxi or bus. We also share with you how much private transport or bus costs and everything you need to know to cross the Taba border successfully if your passport is full of stamps from other Middle Eastern countries. And also, can you avoid getting your passport stamped when crossing the Taba border?

I love crossing the overland borders, but crossing the border to Israel with a passport with stamps from Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq sounded like a big challenge. Anyway, we decided to try it, and you can read below how it went.

VISA

Many nationalities can enter Israel without a visa. This includes EU countries, USA, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. When crossing the border, instead of getting an Israeli stamp, you will receive a small card that serves as a visa. Therefore you don’t need to worry about your passport having an Israeli stamp.

However, when leaving Egypt overland, you will get a stamp from the Egypt side that clearly says the Taba border. That means there is huge evidence in your passports that you visited Israel. You can try to persuade the officials on the Egypt side not to stamp your passport and instead give the stamp on a separate paper. That was also our plan, but the officer was too fast, and we couldn’t stop him, so we got our passports stamped.

Other nationalities, such as UAE, Iran, Iraq, Tunisia, etc., need a visa.

Read: Visit paradise-like Siwa Oasis from Cairo, Egypt & Things You Need to Know.

Enjoying the last sunset in Dahab before we crossed the Taba border between Dahab and Eilat the following day.

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMATIC STAMPS IN YOUR PASSPORT?

When travelling to Israel, we have been on a year trip and previously visited Iraq, Iran, Syria and Lebanon. We actually got 4 stamps from Lebanon as we went there twice. I can say our passport was more than suspicious, as all of those countries are the ones with which Israel has not a good relationship. True that we had 2 passports with us and could easily use the one without all those stamps, but then if they searched our things and found the passport with all the stamps, that would be even more suspicious. That’s why we decided not to hide anything and cross the border with the main passport. You can read below in the section questioning how the crossing went. Trigger warning: we have been detained and questioned for 5 hours.

Read our travel guides from Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and more.

Try to travel with a passport without stamps from other Middle Eastern countries. This way, you avoid being detained and questioned for multiple hours by Israeli officials.

Step 1: FROM DAHAB TO TABA BORDER

There used to be a bus going from Dahab to the Taba border. However, that is not a thing anymore and there are 2 options:

Taxi

You can arrange a taxi from Dahab to Taba border. It is a 140 km ride and takes 2 hours. We decided to take a taxi, which seemed the easiest and fastest option. Also, we wanted to get to Jerusalem on the same day, so this was the only option that gave us a chance to do so, as otherwise, we would have to spend a night in Eilat.

There are many taxi drivers in Dahab, so I recommend you find one a day before your departure to give you a chance to negotiate the price. We found our taxi driver the day before and took his WhatsApp number to confirm the ride later. We paid 1000 EGP ($32) for a private taxi. There is a Facebook group, Dahab News & Talk (Residents & Community). You can try to find fellow travellers to share the taxi price.

We took a private taxi from Dahab to Taba border for 1000 EGP ($32).

Bus/Taxi

You can take Go Bus from Dahab to Taba Heights at 11 am. And then, from Taba Heights, you need to find a taxi for the remaining 25 km to get to the Taba border. From the reports of other travellers, you most likely will get ripped off by taxi drivers at Taba Heights as they know you need to get to the border, and there is no other chance than to take a taxi. The normal rate is 300-400 EGP ($10-$13).

Update October 2023: The bus runs at 8:40 am and costs 115 EGP ($3.7). Check the current schedule here.

Step 2: CROSSING THE BORDER

Egypt side

This side was very easy to go through. Our taxi driver dropped us off right by the border crossing gate. We were met by Egypt officers sitting outside, and they checked our passports, and we were asked to pay the exit fee. Be careful here; officers try to charge more, but there is a huge sign in front of them clearly stating how much you are supposed to pay. Don’t pay more than that.

After paying the fee, we went inside the building for x-ray bag checks. Then we continued to another building, where another official met us, checked our passports and filled out the exit card. Here, you can technically fill it up yourself, but they do that so they can ask for a backsheesh of 10 EGP ($0,3). If you want to avoid this, bring your own pen. We paid this small fee because they already filled out the form before there was a chance to say something. In the same building, a guy who stamps your passport with an exit stamp sits behind a desk. Here is the opportunity to ask him not to stamp your passport but give the stamp on a separate piece of paper if you want to avoid the evidence that you crossed the Taba border. And that’s it, you passed through the Egyptian side. Now, the fun can begin.

Visiting Palestine? Read how to visit & stay in refugee camps in the West Bank.

Israeli side

First gate

First, we got to the locked gate, and the officer asked us to give him our passports through the designated tray built into his window. After checking our passports, he asked us our nationality, names, why we were coming to Israel, what we did in Egypt and if we had any weapons or sharp objects. Then he opened the gate and let us go through.

Luggage check

We followed the path leading to another officer. Here, they asked the same questions and also asked why we had been in Egypt, how long and where did we stay. We were asked if we knew any people in Egypt or Israel. Then the officer left somewhere with our passports. After a few minutes, she returned, gave us a piece of paper instead of our passports, and let us go through the x-rays and luggage checks.

After the luggage check, another officer came. Took us aside, and we had to answer the same questions as before. Again. What did we do in Egypt? Why did you go to Lebanon, Syria and Iraq? Why are you coming to Israel? What is your job? And so on and so on. The whole conversation was in a friendly manner. He asked us to step aside and wait a bit; meanwhile, he left somewhere. Here I thought, oh wow, maybe that’s it, and we will easily go through. Haha. It was not the case.

Visit Dahab. It’s a truly unique place. We spend here almost three weeks.

Saying goodbye to Egypt before crossing the Taba border to Israel.

Questioning

After he returned, he took our bags and asked us to follow him. Another 2 officers arrived. They separated me and Jakub, and each of us got a chair on the other side of the terminal, so when they have been questioning us the same questions, we don’t hear what the other person says. The questions were all the time the same. Why. Why. What did you do in Syria? What was your itinerary? If I open your phone, do I find any contacts from Syria or Iraq? Why? What was your itinerary? What did you see in Beirut? What currency is in Lebanon? Many questions were the same or similarly asked.

Here, I have only one tip. Be honest with everything because if they find out you lie, they will turn you back to Egypt. Even when they asked if I had a contact for Iraqi or Syrian people on my phone, I said yes. I do. Why? Because I used Couchsurfing. There was no problem with such answers. I think it would be much worse if I’d lie and then they found out if they checked my phone.

After questioning, they took us to private rooms, where we went through the body search. Then we have to unpack everything from our bags. And I mean everything. They even scanned our cookies several times. They also found the second passport that we had in our bag packs. Obviously, we have been asked why we have 2 passports. As Czech citizens, we can have more passports, and our second passport is for emergencies, especially if we travel long term, as in this case, around a year. There were no issues with that. But they took all details from all of our ID documents.

We spent a whole day travelling between Egypt and Israel, starting early morning from Dahab and getting to Jerusalem in the evening. Dome of Rock in Jerusalem.

This whole process took maybe 4 hours. Then they returned our passports, and we could go to the immigration officer where we got the Israeli entry card (instead of the stamp that Israel had a long time don’t give anymore). Not sure if there is a difference, but we were the only ones who got the green card. Other people got blue cards. I thought; finally, it’s over, and we can go. Nope. This officer questioned us again. Same questions. She even asked why we wanted to visit Israel when we were clearly interested in Muslim countries. Omg!

After getting the Israeli entry card, we were stopped and taken aside once again by another officer. Getting through another round of questions. This time it took maybe 20 minutes, and it was in a more friendly manner. This officer even wanted to see our social media, which caught us off guard. So she checked our Instagram page @brokennavigation_ and wrote down our nickname. That’s why we shared all our stories after we left Israel and Palestine for good.

I recommend you delete the Instagram app if you don’t want them to look into it and write down your user name. They also checked our Facebook profile.

After 5 hours, we have been finally out of the border crossing.

If you don’t have stamps from Syria, Lebanon etc., then this crossing should take just a few minutes. From what we experienced, they only stop people who are suspicious to them. During those 5 hours of questioning, we saw only one more guy taken aside like us. The rest of the people had a smooth crossing.

Our purpose for this border crossing was to get to Palestine, which we wanted to visit. We did not mention any of our plans for our 11 days of travelling through Palestine to the officers because we were pretty sure it would bring us even more trouble. Instead, we had an itinerary for Israel created that we showed them.

City of Nablus in Palestine. It is one of our favourite cities in Palestine, with such an authentic vibe similar to Damascus in Syria or Tripoli in Lebanon.

FROM THE BORDER TO EILAT

Once you get outside the border crossing, a bus stop is 100 m ahead of you on your right side, from where you can take the bus to Eilat. You need Rav Kav Card to travel by bus in Israel, but that card is impossible to buy at the crossing, making it a bit tricky. However, the bus driver was so nice that he took us to the main bus station for free even though we wanted to pay him cash. Take Egged urban bus line #15 or #16 takes you to the main terminal. You can check the bus schedule on Moovit App. It is the best app for public transport in Israel, showing you the exact times, locations and prices.

Plenty of taxi drivers are also waiting, and they charge around 50 ILS to take you to the city centre.

Read: How to travel to Israel on a budget – Best Tips & 6 days itinerary. (Coming soon)

You can buy the RavKav card from those terminals in the Eilat bus terminal.

TRAVEL INSURANCE FOR ISRAEL

Travel insurance to Israel is not mandatory, but you should always have one for unexpected troubles. We recommend IATI Insurance as they cover a wide range of activities and have different plans for different types of travellers. It also covers you when you travel to Palestine territory. In addition, you, as a reader of Broken Navigation, get an exclusive 5% discount.

Get your 5% discount for travel insurance with IATI here.

MONEY EXCHANGE

There is an ATM at the Israeli side of the border, where we withdraw money. However, we paid a withdrawal fee. Then you can also withdraw cash in a Bus terminal or from any ATM in Eilat City. There were no people exchanging money at the Taba border.

It was not possible to exchange Egypt Pounds for Israeli Shekels in Dahab.

Before leaving Dahab, try the delicious food in the local Yum Yum restaurant.

HOW TO GET FROM EILAT TO JERUSALEM

We took bus #15 from the Taba border to the Eilat bus terminal. Then we bought a ticket for bus #444 to Jerusalem for 63 ILS. We arrived at the terminal after 3 pm and waited one hour for the next bus to Jerusalem. There was plenty of space on the bus so I’d say you can buy the tickets last minute. We arrived on Shabbat, so the first buses started going in the afternoon until evening.

In case you don’t know yet, Shabbat is the Jewish day of rest that starts at sunset on Friday and ends at sunset on Saturday. Most businesses close and public transport does not run that often.

Buses to Jerusalem run almost every hour, and again, you can check the timetable on Moovit App.

At the bus terminal, we purchased the Rav Kav Card, which we topped up and used for all our bus rides in Israel. You can also use the app Rav-Kav Online to top up your card or see the balance.

Waiting for the bus in the Eilat bus terminal. After being questioned for so many hours at the Israeli border, we finally can continue our journey to Jerusalem.

WHERE TO STAY

JERUSALEM I Abraham hostel – the best choice in Jerusalem or all around Israel because of its budget options. They have amazing dorms, clean and comfortable, with a rich, healthy and tasty breakfast included, fast wifi and amazing common space, and a rooftop terrace. If you prepay your stay in advance, you will get a welcome beer in their bar. We had a blast staying in Abraham Hotels all around Israel, and it is one of the best budget tips for Israel that we can give you for travelling in Israel.

EILAT I Comfort Hotel Eilat – If you don’t manage to go straight to Jerusalem and want to spend a night in Eilat stay, then Comfort Hotel Eilat is the right choice. Located in the centre, this hotel has spacious rooms, and what is a big plus is its outdoor pool.

DAHAB I Miramar Camp Dahab – absolute gem; we loved our two weeks spent in Miramar Camp Dahab; it is right on the main street in Dahab, yet once you step inside, you find yourself in a quiet oasis, with its garden and outside patio. They have a small hut as accommodation, wifi works well, and it is right next to the local Yum Yum restaurant, where we took breakfast every day.

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Taba Border Crossing from Dahab (Egypt) to Eilat (Israel) with Troubled Stamps in Passport

VISA

DO YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMATIC STAMPS IN YOUR PASSPORT?

Step 1: FROM DAHAB TO TABA BORDER