Asyut sits on the main Cairo–Aswan rail line, and trains are the easiest way in. Express services from Cairo take about six to seven hours; the overnight sleeper from Cairo to Luxor stops here. From Luxor or Aswan, southbound trains run several times a day.
There is an airport (ATZ) west of town with limited domestic flights, mostly to Cairo. Long-distance buses run from the depot on the south side of the city — slower and less comfortable than the train but useful for reaching smaller Upper Egyptian towns.