Cairo · Maadi, Nile Corniche
ICE Planet — Family Land
A real ice rink on the Maadi corniche, inside a leisure complex that has aged around it.
A real ice rink in Cairo is still a curiosity, and this one sits at the foot of Family Land, on the Nile corniche in Maadi; it is billed as the largest in Egypt. You skate indoors in air conditioning, under lights that shift colour — in this city the cooling is half the appeal. Instructors are on hand for anyone who has never laced a skate, a team runs games on the ice, and the Egyptian figure-skating federation advertises beginners' classes at this address, which is the firmest sign the ice is genuinely working. Around it the complex adds bowling, an arcade, restaurants and a cinema, enough to hold a whole afternoon without stepping outside. The rink itself is sold in thirty-minute slots: this is not a ticket for the afternoon, it is a session. And it has to be said, because nobody will say it for you: the place has aged, and recent visitors describe a complex that would need taking in hand.
The extra bit
Telephone before making the trip. The operator has no site of its own, and anything you read elsewhere may be out of date. On the phone, ask three things: is the ice open to the public that day — it is sometimes taken by classes or a group — what does a thirty-minute slot cost, and are skates included or hired separately.
Know before you go
This is the address on this list we are least certain about: the operator has no official site, and several recent reviews describe a tired complex. The telephone was working when we last checked — find the number on a directory listing and use it before crossing Cairo, because nothing guarantees that part of the complex will not be shut on the day you turn up. Since skating is sold in thirty-minute sessions, a family that really wants to skate will buy several: count the slots before you pay, not after. If skates are hired, thick socks brought from home change the session. At the weekend and during school holidays the ice fills with beginners and you shuffle along the barrier in single file. Finally, this is the Nile corniche: at rush hour the road is the real obstacle, and it is worth agreeing the way back in advance.
