Duba Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

Duba is connected to Port Safaga via a daily ferry boat. The ferry boat is mainly for trucks and cars, but you can also take it as a foot passenger or with a bicycle. Taking it from Egypt is simple. There is one company called Kenzy Tours that sells the tickets in Port Safaga. If you travel by foot, you will get the tickets just a couple of hours before departure.

It is best to call the company a few days before. You can call the owner, Mr. Alaa on +20 100 694 4263. As he doesn't speak a good English he will probably give you the number of one of his employees. You then have to go to their office located in front of what the locals call the New Police Station, close to the bus terminal, east of the city (the office was previously close to the harbour but they moved in June 2025). They will give you the time to come, but usually around 8:00pm. It is basically an office in the middle of a parking for trucks going to Saudi Arabia. To enter the parking (even if you are on foot), you will have to pay 20 pounds (as of June 2025). You need to have your passport, your visa for Saudi Arabia and cash to pay the ticket. As of June 2025, it is about 80 USD per person (4000 pounds) and 12 USB (600 pounds) if you want a cabin. Not all the ferries have cabins, so maybe you will have to travel on a Pullman seat. These seats are not optimal but OK for sleeping. Drivers take their own blankets to sleep on the floor, so you can also do the same if you want.

The procedure is really efficient, and you will get the ticket in a couple of minutes. Then you can wait (be aware, no toilets there) until around 9:00pm when one of the employees will tell you to go to the harbour. They can order a taxi for you (about 2 USD as of June 2025) or maybe they will give you a ride if one of the employees is going to the harbour. Then you have to wait in front of the door for cars (not the one for trucks) until it is opened, usually around 10pm. Here they will check your passport and ticket and you will have to pay a 35-pound (about $0.70 US, June 2025) tax to enter the harbour. Then you will have to go to the immigration police located inside a huge building full of chairs, but mainly empty, as there are few people crossing the Red Sea by ferry. You will have to pay again a 15-pound (about $0.30 US, June 2025) tax (it is a stamp you will have to put on the immigration card) and your passport will be checked. You can now leave Egypt! You will then have to wait for a couple of hours, until the ferry is ready to embark foot passengers. A bus will take you to the ferry when ready and you will have to pay the driver 20 pounds (about $0.40 US, June 2025). Your passport and visa will be checked again and then you can sit and relax. The boat will leave a couple of hours later, but you can start your night. The crossing is about 10 hours.

Northwest bus operates buses to Duba from Tabuk, Jeddah and even Al Ula (with a connection at Tabuk).

Note that there is no bus from and to the ferry terminal. If you arrive at Duba with the ferry, it is quit easy to hitch-hike to the city.

There is no much to see, except the old fort and some coral-made houses around (but mainly abandoned).