If we travel through the oasis we have to goet to Luxor via Asyut according to the guide books. But they seem to say that it's not very foreigner-friendly. Do we need a police escort or can we roam around on our own and is it ok to stay overnight or should we head straight for the station for a train to Luxor?
I am sorry, I do not understand your routing. Kharga is the only oasis with a road link to Asyut but there is a paved road from Kharga to Luxor. Do you mean the Fayoum? From there a road runs on the western bank of the Nile, through Minya, to Asyut. I overnighted at Asyut almost 4 years ago and, as best I can remember, the minibus had a police escort all the way from Minya. I felt no inclination to go wandering about so I cannot comment on the advisability of doing so.
Maybe someone with more recent experience will come forward? If you don't get any answer here, you might try a more backpacker- type forum which I'm sure can be found. Just returned last week from a road trip from Cairo to Luxor along the Nile. This was a very small group tour 8 people.
It was a fabulous experience, the sites in middle Egypt virtually deserted. We had a police escort all the way from Cairo to Abydos. The police also escorted us as we walked around at each site. We could not leave the hotel as a group in El Fayoum, but could leave individually. We could only go a short distance about a block for small grocery supplies without the police escort before checking into the hotel in El Minya, but this was the first time the tour leader was able to convince them to allow it, and they knew where we were going.
We were not allowed to leave our hotel whatsoever in Assiut. It was a wonderful trip down the Nile but make no mistake, this is not something anyone should attempt on their own. Forget the idea of doing the driving yourself, no matter how experienced you are driving elsewhere in developing countries.
