Sharm El Sheikh to Israel: distance and the Taba border
It is about 220 km by road from Sharm El Sheikh to the Taba border crossing and about 228 km to Eilat on the Israeli side, which is 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes without traffic. According to official sources the crossing is open, but rules and charges change at short notice, so check just before you go. Position as of 15 October 2026. Below: the distance, the crossing status, charges and cash, what the Sinai stamp covers, checkpoints on the coast road and ways to get there. We do not write Charm Rental prices into the text: current prices from local companies are shown on the offer pages.
How far is Taba and Eilat from Sharm El Sheikh
By OpenStreetMap estimates without traffic, it is about 217 km from Sharm El Sheikh airport to the town of Taba, so about 220 km rounded and 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours 15 minutes of driving. From Naama Bay the result is almost the same. The crossing itself is at Taba; to the centre of Eilat through it is about 228 km and around 3 hours. These are road estimates, not a timetable: stops and checkpoints add time.
The road follows the Gulf of Aqaba coast. Wikivoyage describes the strip from Sharm El Sheikh through Dahab and Nuweiba to Taba as one coastal route through Sinai. On the way you pass Dahab (about 90 to 95 km from Sharm) and Nuweiba (about 150 km), so from Dahab the border is simply the shorter last part of the same road. The Israeli terminal is, according to the Eilat city site, about 10 km south of the city centre.
Is the Taba to Eilat crossing open
According to the US Embassy Cairo alert of 18 March 2026, the crossing was operating normally and scheduled to stay open 24 hours a day. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO), in text updated in August 2026, warns that borders could close at short notice, including the Taba crossing. The Eilat city site says the terminal is open round the clock except Eid al-Adha and Yom Kippur, but that is a secondary source.
The honest summary is open, but volatile. Do not plan the trip for the last day before a return flight, and check the status on the day. Checked 15 October 2026; check before you travel.
Border charges and cash
The FCDO says charges at the Taba crossing have risen at short notice since early March 2026. In its August 2026 text it lists about 20 US dollars to enter Egypt and stay only in Taba, about 120 US dollars if you travel on in Sinai including Sharm El Sheikh, and, for travel beyond Sinai, the standard visa plus a letter of guarantee on top. The US Embassy gave a different figure in March and media reported further rises, so treat every number as a guide, not a tariff.
All payments are in cash. The FCDO advises carrying at least 170 US dollars in cash per person and says ATMs in Taba are unreliable and often run out of cash. If you enter by car, the FCDO warns of a possible extra charge plus parking fees. On the Israeli side the Eilat site mentions an exit fee of around 105 shekels, and sources quote it differently. Check the amounts just before you go.
The Sinai stamp and Taba
The free entry stamp many tourists receive at Sharm El Sheikh covers, according to the FCDO, the resort areas of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba and Taba. For EU, UK and US citizens that is up to 15 days according to the FCDO (some operators say 14). So Taba is inside the stamp area, but the stamp is not permission to travel to Cairo, Hurghada or Luxor, where a full visa is needed. Details are in our guide to entry rules and the Sinai visa.
According to the experience of our local partner companies in Sharm (October 2026), Russian and Ukrainian citizens receive the stamp for about a month, 28 to 30 days. Check the current rules before you travel. Israel's own entry requirements are a separate matter to check on the Israeli authorities' websites.
The coast road and checkpoints
On the road from Sharm El Sheikh towards Taba you will meet police and military checkpoints. The FCDO says police check ID regularly and ask to see your passport, and that you may be detained if you cannot show ID and your visa. Travel guides also mention hotel booking confirmation, vehicle papers and the rental contract. So keep your passport (or a copy, where accepted) and the car's papers within reach, not in the boot.
We found no official ban on tourists driving this stretch. Driving rules, fuel and checkpoints have their own guide, which we link instead of repeating.
How to get to the border: transfer, driver or self-drive
A car with a driver for the day, or a transfer, is the simplest way: a driver comes with every booking, and you do not drive at the checkpoints. A same-day return with the same driver is not standard. In your request say whether you need the return, whether the driver should wait and for how long, and ask for confirmation, because we do not promise it in advance. The price per vehicle is shown on the offer page, driver included.
If you prefer self-drive, ask the rental company in your request whether the car may go to the border and where to leave it. Do not assume a rental car can cross the border. An alternative that avoids Israel is the ferries from Nuweiba and Taba Heights to Aqaba, covered in our ferry guide.
Before you go: official travel advice
The situation in the region changes quickly. Check your government's travel advice before you go: the UK FCDO keeps a current Egypt page with warnings and entry requirements, and other countries publish their own. The US Embassy in March 2026 kept Egypt at level two (exercise increased caution).
This page is general information, not legal advice and not a guarantee that the crossing will be open on the day you travel.