Egypt. A place that has intensely captivated the world for centuries. Tales of adventures on the Nile, those incredible pyramids, and mysterious temples appearing between desert dunes… Its amazing sites, natural wonders and rich cultural heritage draw millions of visitors from around the world each year.
Egypt though, is as utterly incredible as it is (infamously) challenging to navigate. I’ve traveled a fair bit, and thought there could be no destination that phases me. Egypt though, is possibly the most challenging destination I’ve ever visited in all my escapades anywhere. Sure, when I did my research for our first trip to Egypt, immediately what jumped out to me most was the sheer number of fellow travelers sharing their horror stories. So we were warned, and thought(!!) we were prepared…
My partner and I are quite adventurous travelers, always eager to explore, get to know locals, eat at a few questionable street stalls…Ten days in Egypt though, had us both eagerly (and in disbelief) hiding behind the gates of our 5-star resort by the last day. Something I thought could never happen!
Let me just say it – no matter where or how much you have traveled before – NOTHING prepares you for Egypt. Hahaha. You’ll see.
Despite all the challenges though, Egypt is every bit worth all the trouble you might encounter. So much so, that on the final day of our unforgettable holiday in Egypt, my partner and I vowed to return with a vengeance and do it right next time. And this year, returned we have!
We’ve now lived in Cairo for a few months! Egypt is truly amazing… if you know how to do it right.
So I’m writing this post, to help you avoid the pitfalls we encountered and discover rich culture, incredible sights and friendly people.
Keep reading this post for travel advice and tips – a survival guide to Egypt!
How Long to Spend in Egypt
I would recommend at least 10 days, ideally 2-3 weeks if you can. If you can stay for longer, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy the country like an expat, and this is where Egypt really starts to shine. I’ll write a separate post with itinerary advice…
Our first trip to Egypt was 10 days – it was enough to see the top sites, but definitely rushed and had us absolutely exhausted by the end!
Travel tip: My main piece of advice for Egypt travel – Egypt is best enjoyed like a fine wine – sipped slowly, rather than downed in a single shot. Much less likely to result in a severe hangover.
People
Let me just start by saying that local Egyptian people are incredibly kind, friendly and hospitable. It’s a shame that many travelers come here and don’t have a chance to see this side of Egypt.
We’ve never been hassled or ripped off in the local areas. However, there will be those dishonest individuals that are found in any group of people. In Egypt, most of these bad eggs can be found in proximity to the tourist hot spots. Much of that, in my opinion is because of the economic conditions, hitting the tourism industry particularly hard in recent years.
Travel tip: When you are in a tourist hotspot, beware — do not trust anyone. That means around the pyramids. That means near to any temple. That means the harbor areas around the tourist cruise ships. If you are approached by someone who claims to be the baker from your cruise ship, don’t believe him – or you could find yourself on a random local minibus … and led to his friend’s perfume shop, lol. But then, if you’re looking for an experience, go on ahead but proceed at your own risk! :))
Also, avoid rides from men with horse drawn carriages. We learned that the hard way (a tale we agreed never to talk about again…). My partner recently found out from an Egyptian friend that it’s well known among the locals – men with horses are bad news, apparently.
Money
If you eat and do what the locals do, Egypt is extremely affordable. As soon as you step onto the tourist circuit though, prices go up 10x or more. That being said, in some instances it is better to opt for the pricier option, for example with accommodation, for western living standards. And for some activities, like entrance tickets, the higher prices may be unavoidable.
Travel tips: Egyptian currency is very volatile, so USD is highly sought after. We have a stash of small denomination ($1, $5, $10) bills which we keep for tipping, and getting out of tricky ‘situations’…you’ll find that tipping in USD makes you very popular indeed!
If you are staying at an Airbnb, you can reach out to the host to negotiate on the price, particularly if you are staying for over a week. While this is an odd thing to do in the West, it is normal here.
Tipping
Egypt has a tipping culture similar to the US, and it is more prominent at tourist sites.
In tourist spots, people often ask for tips for ridiculous things. At these spots, people may also be a bit hesitant, let’s say, about giving you your change. Don’t feel guilty about asking for your change, even though they may hang onto it for an uncomfortable amount of time. Almost always people will be fine with giving the change.
On the internet, there are many stories about how complicated tipping in Egypt can be. But it’s really not so complicated, here is some general guidance below.
Where you don’t need to tip:
- The bathroom – you do not need to tip for someone handing you some paper in the bathroom.
- You do not need to tip a taxi (but you can if it was a good ride!)
- Shops / souvenirs / grocery
Where you can tip:
- Restaurants where you sit down to eat
- Long journeys (by train or taxi)
- Tour guides (but only if they were good)
- Impeccable service on any occasion
How much to tip:
- Typically between 10-20%, and only if service charge isn’t already included.
- As a reference, we tipped our sleeper train service crew $5 USD for impeccable service throughout our journey, and he was very happy!
- A 5 EGP tip for a 35 EGP coffee
- $1-2 USD tip for helpful staff at pyramids or temples.
- USD is always appreciated, but tipping in EGP (particularly small amounts) is perfectly fine.
- * Keep in mind that the average yearly salary in Egypt is around $5000 USD (that’s not to say don’t be generous, but don’t feel that you need to give a $10 USD tip for each meal, or $100 tip to a tour guide – though you can if you want to…)
Food
You can get a filling meal for around 1 USD, and often even less than this!
Some local prices:
- Falafel wrap: 10 EGP (~0.20 USD at time of writing)
- Koshari (a delicious local meal of rice, pasta and lentils): 50 EGP (1 USD)
- Grill: 100-200 EGP (2-4 USD) (I’m not a big fan of grills, but Egyptian grill is sooo flavorful, definitely recommend!!)
If you’d prefer to play it safe, or want to live it up like a king – you’ll find that nice meals at Cairo’s finest establishments are significantly cheaper than you’ll pay back home. For reference, a main meal and a couple of drinks at the Marriott in Zamalek (a beautiful hotel in Cairo’s fanciest district) will be around 20 USD per person.
Food safety: It’s good to check reviews online, or go where you see locals eating (oftentimes locals will have a handful of trusted places they go regularly), to avoid that Egyptian ‘tummy-ache’ that could really ruin your trip. That being said, I have been living in Cairo, trying local eats, and have not had any food poisoning. A bit of discomfort for the first few days can be expected, from things like pasta cooked in tap water, which is hard to avoid anywhere. Food poisoning though, I didn’t get from any local eateries, but rather, from our Nile cruise ship on the final day…
Travel tip: With food safety, to a great extent, it’s much like Russian Roulette – a lot of the time it is just the luck of the draw. If there’s a line of people waiting to eat somewhere, that’s a good sign.
Transport
Nile Cruise
To Nile Cruise, or not to Nile Cruise?
I wouldn’t do it again, but I’m glad I did. Here are the pros and cons:
Pros
- The Nile Cruise is an experience in itself!
- Easy transport between Egypt’s main sites, most of which are located at various points along the Nile.
- Saves time – spend the night on the cruise ship, while being transported to the next destination.
- Saves effort – includes all the top sites, so saves the effort of planning your itinerary to Egypt’s (many) top sites, which can be overwhelming if you’ve never traveled here.
- Includes a tour guide who looks after the group, and gives you background on ancient Egypt, and information about each site.
- Meet some fellow travelers! We had some great laughs with new friends from our cruise group.
Cons
- Busy sites! Though the cruise ships are run by different companies, they all generally leave and depart each location at the same time. We counted at least 20 ships in our convoy! In high season, this could mean thousands of people at each site at the same time. For us, this was the main downside.
- Less freedom – your time and itinerary is scheduled according to the group and cruise schedule.
- Can be tiring – our 4 day cruise from Aswan to Luxor was jam-packed, and we were pretty exhausted by the end. If you’d like a more relaxing experience, perhaps book in for a longer cruise.
- Hassle! While there is free time in the evenings, due to being a tourist hotspot, there is quite a lot of hassling near the docks. (Remember my comment above about the baker from the ship! Unless you are looking for some perfume…)
Sleeper Train
I would highly recommend taking the overnight sleeper train for those cross-Egypt journeys. Embark on an original 60s style choo-choo ride — though the train is a bit outdated, it is clean and well run, with tasty food and really wonderful staff.
The service runs between Cairo and Luxor, or Aswan. At the time of writing, a bed in a double cabin costs $94.50 USD, and a single cabin costs $136.50 USD. There are stops at major stations along the way as well, so this may be a good alternative to the Nile cruise or flying. Update: starting from November 2024, sleeper trains now leave from Upper Egypt Station rather than Cairo Station. Departure from Giza station is still available.
The service is operated by Abela Train Services, and you can purchase tickets from their website: https://abelatrains.com/Home
You can also purchase tickets in person at the station, but we found it was easy to book online. Once you book, you just need to bring the ticket on your phone, your passport and bags — and you’re all set!
We took the sleeper train from Cairo to Aswan, and enjoyed it a lot! Just don’t expect a modern mag-lev type train experience. It won’t be the most restful night’s sleep you’ve ever had, but in my opinion it was well worth the experience!
The sleeping cabins each have a top bunk, and a bottom bunk that converts from a seating area to a bed – the staff comes round with a ‘turn down’ service to convert the bed after dinner service. There is a bathroom (with basic toiletries), a sink area, mirror, luggage storage, coat hooks and electrical outlets in each cabin.
There is dinner and breakfast included, and for a train meal it was very much above expectations, even delicious I might say! Much tastier than many airline meals I’ve had…
Taxi
- Uber is available, and is extremely affordable. 2 USD will get you anywhere across Cairo (45 min ride). 1 USD will get you anywhere locally.
- For even more affordable prices (and some fun e-haggling too!), locals use the InDrive app, where you can make bids to drivers who either accept or offer another price.
- These apps are typically only available in the major cities.
- Longer distances: you can get a taxi from Cairo to Alexandria (about a 2.5 hour ride), for around 700 EGP (~14 USD).
Travel Tips:
- Avoid taking the white taxis. AVOID. Here’s a story that hopefully illustrates why – the most terrifying car ride of my life, including driving for 5 hours in the pitch dark through the mountains of Jordan where a wrong turn could have you going off a cliff. One such white taxi ride had us barreling through central Cairo, swerving around traffic (and pedestrians!) at more than 100 mph, honestly praying and hanging on for dear life (no exaggeration!). No seat belts in the car, obviously. To top it off, suddenly out of nowhere, the car stopped, and would not start despite repeated efforts from our driver. It turns out, the car had completely run out of fuel (??!), and we were left to walk the rest of the way (luckily we were quite close to our destination already). From the sheepish look on the driver’s face as he said to us ‘Benzene’ – it was not the first time that his Formula 1 driving had left him stranded in the middle of the road. So, avoid the white taxis.
If you do take a white taxi, other than pray, here are a few things you must do. (Here’s a photo of one)
- Agree a price beforehand.
- Before paying, double check how much you’re giving them. Chances are, they will swap out the bills and try to ask for more. Just be firm and clear that you are not to be swindled!
- Similarly, make sure you are getting the right amount of change (do your math and double check the bills) – don’t assume they will give you the right amount.
- *Also, just be sure that it is a white taxi you are getting in, not just a guy with a white car who wants to be a taxi driver that day...
- Cairo rush hour is extremely terrible. Try to avoid rush hour like the plague – before 9am and 5-9pm. This will add time (and breathing in exhaust fumes) to your trip.
- Do not attempt to cross busy 4+ lane traffic. Just take a taxi, it’ll be a dollar or less. This advice is coming from someone who grew up in the motorbike jungles of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Accidents happen here more than you might expect, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Other Transport Options
- Fly: Many people choose to fly, and often the flights are cheaper and faster than getting the train.
- Public bus: There is the public bus, but it’s really not worth it. Getting from Cairo to Alexandria is cheap (about 1 USD), but could take 5-6 hours (rather than 2-3 hours by car), because of all the stops.
Post Highlights
- Spend at least 10 days in Egypt, preferably 2-3 weeks.
- Egyptian people are kind and friendly, but be very careful around tourist hotspots!
- To save money, go local – tourist prices are much higher. Fancy dining is very affordable though compared to prices in the West.
- Some cash in small USD denominations is super useful!
- Nile Cruise – saves time and effort to see many top sites. An experience in itself, but comes with its downsides – glad I did it, wouldn’t do it again.
- The sleeper train is a great experience, just don’t expect a modern train and top quality sleep. Would do again! 😀
- Taxis are a good transport option, but avoid the white taxis.
And a final bit of advice – something we heard from a fellow traveler during our Egypt adventures that I still remember today. Egypt has so much to offer, and it can be super overwhelming… Just remember…
This is YOUR trip, do whatever brings YOU joy!
I hope that this guide can help you to really enjoy the wonders of Egypt, as we are doing now!
Have you visited Egypt before, or live here? What do you think of these travel tips? Let me know in the comments, and please share this post with others who are traveling to Egypt, so they can come prepared too!