El Alamein is city on the north coast of Egypt, famous as the site of major battles between British and German forces during the Second World War (see World War II in Africa).
Understand
Winston Churchill once described El Alamein as having the best climate in the world and during the late 2010s the Egyptian government decided to make good use of El Alamein's touristic potential with the mega-project New Alamein. Resorts, skyscrapers and new residential areas are being built along the coast.
Get in
By plane
El Alamein sees direct seasonal tourist flights from a few destinations in Europe, but not much other traffic . Consider using airports in Alexandria or Cairo for much better connectivity.
- 1 El Alamein International Airport.
By rail
There are several daily air-conditioned trains from Alexandria as well as an overnight train from Cairo.
- 2 El Alamein railway station.
Get around
See
The Commonwealth War Cemetery at El Alamein is open during daylight hours, and staffed Saturday to Thursday 0730 to 1430. There are also German and Italian cemeteries, and a very substantial war museum.
- 1 El Alamein Military museum.
- 2 Commonwealth War Cemetery and Alamein Memorial.
- 3 German War Cemetery.
- 4 Italian War Cemetery.
Do
Buy
Eat
Drink
Sleep
The entire coast near El Alamein is covered by fancifully-laid-out villa complexes; eleven kilometres of it is the Porto Marina, which is regarded as an elite resort by Egyptian standards but reasonably affordable to Western travellers.