Alexandria is easily reached by plane, train or bus.
By plane
Alexandria's main airport is El Nouzha Airport IATA: ALY, which has a limited selection of domestic flights and fairly extensive services to cities around the Middle East. The only connection to Europe, though, is from Athens. The airport lies 8 km 5 mi to the south-east of the city. A taxi will take you about 20 minutes and should cost no more than 15 LE.
The city's second airport is Borg el Arab Airport IATA: HBE, served by Emirates from Dubai and soon Turkish Airlines from Istanbul. It's rather less conveniently located some 45 km 23 mi to the south-west of Alexandria, which means a one-hour journey by taxi 50 LE or less.
There is only 1 daily bus at 2.30 pm leaving from Alexandria to the Borg el Arab Airport airport. The bus stop is near Raml Station, outside the Sofitel Cecil Alexandria Hotel, 100 m on the right site there is a bigger bus stop. The ticket is 6 LE per person plus 1.5 LE per bag. Takes approximately 1 hour.
Super-Jet and Western Delta operate direct buses from the airport to the New bus terminal on the outskirts of the city every 30-60 minutes between 4 AM and 7:30 PM 25-31 LE.
However, Cairo offers a far better range of international destinations and is not too far away.
By car
There are two options when traveling from Cairo to Alexandria by car. Using either route, the journey usually takes around 3 hours, depending on speed and surrounding traffic.
The Agriculture road has a speed limit of 90 km/hr for private cars and has 4 lanes in each direction. This is the main road, so it can get a little crowded. Also offers access to Damnhour and Tanta.
The Desert road has a speed limit of 100 km/hr for private cars and has 4 lanes in each direction. True to the name, this crosses the desert and is less crowded and faster. There are cafeterias every few kilometers.
The usual cautions for driving in Egypt apply; see Egypt for details.
By train
From Cairo, frequent trains from Ramses Station are probably the best way to get to Alexandria. Trains run at least once every hour from 6 AM to 10 PM, but try to choose either an express or the pride of Egyptian Railways, the French-built Turbo, which takes only 2 hours 10 minutes for the journey. 1st/2nd class tickets LE 50/35 one-way. Reservation is obligatory in express trains.
For the return journey, trains depart from Misr Station, a 10-minute stroll south of the Corniche along Nabi Daniel St, as well as the Sidi Gaber Station.
There are two daily trains from Mersa Matruh to Alexandria, providing 2nd and 3class only.Trains to and from Cairo were not running in early 2012