The Taba Border Crossing (, ), also known in Israel as the

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

Crossing (), is an international border crossing between Taba, in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and

Eilat Eilat ( , ; ; ) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port of Eilat, port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan as the Gulf of Aqaba. The c ...

, in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. The Taba Border Crossing is the southernmost point in Israel.

History

Opened on April 26, 1982, it is currently the only entry/exit point between the two countries that handles tourists. The site is at the bottom of Mount Tallul and was close to Raffi Nelson's Nelson Village and the Sonesta Hotel which both closed due to the handing over of the Sinai to Egyptian control in exchange for normalization of relations. Under terms of the deal, Israelis would be able to visit the Red Sea coast from Taba to

Sharm el-Sheikh Sharm El Sheikh (, , literally "bay of the Sheikh"), alternatively rendered Sharm el-Sheikh, Sharm el Sheikh, or Sharm El-Sheikh, is an Egyptian city on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula, in South Sinai Governorate, on the coastal strip alo ...

(and

Saint Catherine's Monastery Saint Catherine's Monastery ( , ), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Catherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, is a Christian monastery located in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. Located at the foot of Mount Sinai ...

) visa free for visits up to fourteen days. In 1999, the terminal handled a record amount of 1,038,828 tourists and 89,422 vehicles. The terminal is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year except for the holidays of

Eid ul-Adha Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main Islamic holidays, festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carri ...

and

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

. In February 2014, a coach taking tourists to

in Sinai exploded in Taba shortly before crossing the border to Israel. Three

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n nationals and one Egyptian national were killed, while 14 South Koreans were injured; the blast was blamed on terrorists. In September 2016, the Israeli side of the crossing was renamed to "

Crossing" after the late prime minister, who signed the peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. The crossing was closed for a week in April 2017 after bombing attacks at Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt.

Israeli terminal

The Israeli border terminal was opened in September 1995 at a cost of

US $ The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and International use of the U.S. dollar, several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introdu ...

3 million.

Services within the terminal

* Drive in stations for those traveling by car * ''Change Place'' stand offering a money exchange * James Richardson

duty-free shop A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

* Cafeteria

Transportation to and from the terminal

The Israeli border terminal can be reached from within Israel via Egged bus number 15 from

's central bus station. Privately owned Israeli cars may cross through the terminal and stay in the confines of the Egyptian border terminal (this includes the parking lots of the

Hilton Taba The Steigenberger Hotel & Nelson Village () is a resort hotel in Taba, Egypt, just over 100 metres from the Borders of Israel#Border with Egypt, southern border between Egypt and Israel. History :HE:אליהו פפושדו, Eliyahu Paposchado beg ...

and Mövenpick Taba Resort); further travel into the Sinai is possible after change of license plates, registration and the payment of a tax. Israeli rental cars are not allowed to cross the border.

Passage fee

All travelers to Egypt must pay a border-crossing fee before leaving Israel. The border-crossing fee is NIS 109 (June 2023) per traveler. The fee is quoted in NIS and is updated once a year (on January 1) linked to the Consumer Price Index. An additional service charge of 6 NIS (per payment, not per traveler) is added if the fee is paid on-site, and not online. The border fee is waived if travelling no further than from the border. This means travelers to the Mövenpick Resort, Hilton Taba Resort Hotel, and Radisson Blue Resort Taba are exempt from any fees, but a printed reservation to the hotel must be shown at the border, otherwise the full fee is required.

Egyptian Terminal

Visa

Travelers will get a stamp on arrival allowing entry into the Sinai Peninsula for up to 14 days. With this stamp, travelers can travel as far as Sharm El Sheikh including St Catherine Monastery and visit Ras Mohamed Nature Reserve. There is no cost involved to get the stamp. Travel beyond into the rest of Egypt requires an Egyptian Visa that will need to be obtained in advance.

Passage fee

The Taba border tariff is , payable in cash, only if travelling beyond the immediate Taba resort area."Taba Eilat Border Crossing"
Explore Wider. May 2018. There is no fee when crossing back from Taba to Eilat.

Gallery

Image:Taba Border Terminal (Egypt) Arrivals Hall.JPG, The Egyptian arrivals hall at night. Image:Taba Border Terminal (Israel).JPG, The entrance to the Israeli terminal from

. Image:Tabaterminal1.jpg, View of entrance to the Israeli terminal from Mount Tallul. Image:Israel Taba Border Entry.JPG, Entry stamp to Israel issued at Taba in an Israeli passport. Image:Egypt Taba Entry.JPG, Entry stamp to Egypt issued at Eilat in a

United States passport United States passports are passports issued to citizens and non-citizen nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides passports (in booklet form), limited-use passport cards ...

. File:ISR denied stamp.jpg, An Israeli " denied" stamp from the Taba Border Crossing, with a 2005 stamp from the same crossing with a different spelling

References

External links

Taba Border Terminal info
{{Israel Airports Authority Egypt–Israel border crossings Eilat Toll bridges 1982 establishments in Egypt 1982 establishments in Israel

History

Israeli terminal

Services within the terminal

Transportation to and from the terminal

Passage fee

Egyptian Terminal

Visa

Passage fee

See also

Gallery

References

External links