Sharm El Sheikh to Jerusalem: the Taba crossing, the travel advice and the real timing
Sharm El Sheikh to Jerusalem is possible on paper, but it is an international journey, not a day out. You drive north along the Sinai coast to the Taba crossing (about 220 km), cross over into Israel at Eilat, and then travel on to Jerusalem, roughly another 300 km by road. Read this first: as checked on 16 October 2026, the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) advises against all travel to parts of Israel and against all but essential travel to most of the West Bank, warns of a risk of rocket and drone attacks throughout Israel, and says borders can close at short notice. Jerusalem and Eilat are not named in those lists, but read the areas yourself. Below: the route, documents, timing and our part, a car with a driver from Sharm or your hotel to the Taba crossing. We do not cross the border or run tours.
Sharm El Sheikh to Jerusalem: the route in short
Egypt and Israel share a land border, and for travellers on the Gulf of Aqaba coast the crossing is at Taba on the Egyptian side, opposite Eilat. The Israeli terminal is called the Menachem Begin crossing; Wikivoyage places it about 9 km south of Eilat's central bus station, with the two sides only a short walk apart.
The road figures below are OpenStreetMap-based road estimates we queried on 16 October 2026, without traffic, borders or checkpoints. Sharm airport to Taba is about 218 km, roughly 2 hours 45 minutes. From the Taba crossing to Jerusalem is about 315 km, around 4 hours 50 minutes. From the centre of Eilat it is about 304 km, around 4 hours 35 minutes. Put together, that is more than 500 km, about 7 and a half hours of pure driving each way, before the border.
These estimates do not tell you which roads a driver or bus will use. The FCDO's West Bank advice names main roads, such as Highway 1, and areas south of Jericho, so compare your actual route with that page before you choose it.
What the official travel advice says (checked 16 October 2026)
The FCDO page for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, last updated 22 July 2026, gives no single country-wide level. It advises against all travel to Gaza and within 500 m of its border, to Tulkarm, Jenin and Tubas in the West Bank, and to areas of northern Israel and the Golan near the Lebanon and Syria borders. It advises against all but essential travel to the rest of the West Bank, except East Jerusalem, Bethlehem Governorate, Ramallah municipality, Jericho municipality, the area south of Jericho and named main roads such as Highway 1. Eilat and the Negev are not named in those lists, and Jerusalem has no separate warning.
The same page says there is a risk of rocket and drone attacks throughout Israel, that you should be ready for flight cancellations and airspace closures, and that regional tensions may close air and land borders.
The FCDO's Egypt page (updated 4 August 2026) advises against all travel to North Sinai and all but essential travel to the northern part of South Sinai, and says the borders in Israel and Palestine could close at short notice. Both pages warn that travelling against advice can invalidate your insurance. Each traveller should also check their own government's advice, not only the British one. This is information, not encouragement to go.
Documents: Israel entry, the Taba crossing and your Sinai stamp
Israel: the FCDO says British citizens need an electronic travel authorisation (ETA-IL) before arriving, and a passport valid for at least 90 days after arrival. It says some entry points give an entry card instead of a stamp. Other nationalities have their own rules, so check the Israeli authorities for your passport. We could not open the Israeli border authority's pages, so we state no Israeli exit fee or hours.
Egypt: the free stamp you got at Sharm airport covers the Sinai resorts. The FCDO describes entering Egypt from Israel at Taba as a new entry: a border charge applies for a stamp of up to 15 days if you stay in the Sinai, including Sharm, and travel beyond the Sinai needs a visa. The FCDO adds that charges at Taba have risen at short notice since March 2026, that payment is in cash and that Taba cash machines often run empty. Wikivoyage says there are no visa facilities at Taba and that a side trip to Israel can use up a single-entry visa. We found no official text on whether your airport stamp survives the trip, so ask the Egyptian authorities before you go.
Day trip from Sharm El Sheikh to Jerusalem: why it is hard
A day trip from Sharm El Sheikh to Jerusalem would mean about 7 and a half hours of driving each way plus two border controls, so roughly 15 hours on the road before you see anything. Nobody can promise how long the border takes on the day, and the crossing can close. Add the Jewish Sabbath: Wikivoyage says buses and trains do not run in Jerusalem from Friday after 4 PM until 8 PM on Saturday, which matters if you plan to move around without a car.
So the realistic version is at least two nights in Israel and a spare day before your flight home. Jerusalem itself rewards time: the Old City has to be toured on foot, and Wikivoyage advises modest dress at holy sites and says security checks are frequent, so carry identification.
We found no organised excursion from Sharm to Jerusalem that we could confirm from an official source, and we do not name or recommend tour organisers. If you are offered one, ask what it includes: the border, the permits, the return stamp and who is responsible if the crossing closes.
On the Israeli side: Eilat, buses and the road to Jerusalem
After the crossing you are at the southern tip of Israel. Wikivoyage's Eilat page says local buses and taxis run from the crossing into the city and that the last local buses leave early in the evening, with different times on Friday and Saturday. Timetables and fares move, so we quote none.
For the long leg, Wikivoyage lists intercity buses from Eilat to Jerusalem of about five to five and a half hours, one line running along the Dead Sea road, and advises buying tickets in advance because seats are assigned. Eilat's Ramon Airport, about 20 km north of the city according to Wikivoyage, is the other option if you prefer to fly part of the way. We could not read a current operator timetable, so check the operator before you plan around any departure.
Where a car with a driver fits in
We do not drive into Israel or take guests across the border. What a car with a driver can do is take you from Sharm or from your hotel to the Taba crossing, so you do not handle the coast road and its checkpoints yourself. Keep your passport within reach for those checkpoints.
Look for the Sharm El Sheikh to Taba transfer on our pages. The price per vehicle, driver included, is shown on the offer page, and you send a free request. Booking the return from Taba is a separate request, so give the day and time you expect to be back and the flight number if you have one. Because the crossing can take long and can close, do not set your return transfer for the day of an onward flight.