Best Egypt Travel Guide
Best Egypt Travel Guide
So, how many days do you need in Egypt? Are you searching for the best Egypt Travel Guide? Thinking which could be the best itinerary? Although 14 days seem like enough and you can visit and do a lot of stuff, once you get to Egypt you will realize that 3 weeks would have been a better idea.
No worries, we prepared the best Egypt Travel Guide so you can organize the perfect exploring adventure in the land of Pharaohs.
This will allow you to see the best part of Egypt in just 14 days and make the best out of your time there.
If you have less than 14 days, you can easily adapt the proposed itinerary to 10 days. And if your next question is what can you see in Egypt in 10 days? Our answer is a lot…if you plan them well.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
1. Is Egypt safe? How safe is it to travel to Egypt?
We approached this topic in more detail in our Cairo Guide. This is one of the most common asked questions when it comes to traveling to Egypt. So go check it out here.
Most of the Egyptians are very friendly with tourists. So, if you respect their culture, when it comes to dress-code or local customs, you will get along just fine. The majority of the restaurants are open until late at night and people can walk safely in the streets.
In other words, all we can say is: book that trip!
Best Egypt Travel Guide
2. Visa for Egypt
When traveling to Egypt, you need a VISA. You can either apply for one online and this is in our opinion the best option. Or you can pay for one at the airport after your arrival.
E-Visa
If you wanna go for an online visa you can apply for one here. Or, another option is applying for the e-visa here.
You can get the e-Visa up to 3 months before travel and it is valid for 30 days from the date you enter the country.
Visa upon arrival
Nationals of most countries can get their tourist visa upon arrival at the Cairo International Airport. We recommend you to check this with the Egyptian Embassy or Consulate in your country.
If you wanna buy one in the airport, the most convenient for you is to have the fix amount in cash (a visa costs 25 USD/person). Also, expect a line and be aware that the POS might not work, so you cannot pay for the visa with a card. You can pay in another currency, but the exchange rates can be higher.
Kinds of stuff we experienced at the airport: some tourists tried to pay for the Visa with a bank card. The operator was the National Bank, they had a POS. However, the POS was not connected to the network. So they let people try to pay with one card, then try another, and another, for them to see it is not working. No one realized that they were trying to pay on an offline POS.
That is why our advice is to go for an online Visa 😊.
Now if you really want to get rid of all the pain with the exchange fees and extra hidden fees, make sure you read our article about it.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
3. The best time of year to visit Egypt
Best Egypt Travel Guide
What is the best time of year to visit Egypt or the best month to visit Egypt?
The best times of year to visit Egypt are from March to April and from October to November. These are the times with comfortable temperatures, fewer crowds, and low hotel rates.
Temperatures in Egypt are generally high, especially during the summer (May to August).
This is when the sun can be very strong, but the heat is more dry than humid. When in Egypt always have and apply sunscreen.
If you visit during wintertime (October to February) make sure to have a jacket with you.
Furthermore, regardless of the season, especially in Cairo and along the Nile Delta, it can get cold in the evening and during the night.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
4. How to best travel in Egypt / How to get around Egypt
Egypt is a country where you can travel on any kind of budget.
For a low budget, you can choose to stay in hostels and travel by train and local buses.
Moreover, you can find some good accommodation in Boutique Hotels. They have decent prices and quality services.
Make sure you check our Cairo Guide for accommodation ideas while in Cairo.
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by Train
This can be a good alternative. Since most trains are running at night it can be a good choice to save one night’s accommodation budget.
If you wish to book your train online you can do it here.
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by Bus
When it comes to buses and if you are on a budget this is the one we recommend: Go Bus.
They are decent, pretty comfortable and cheap. In addition, it is easy to make a reservation either on their web page or through their Phone app.
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by Plane
The main airline companies that operate domestic flights in Egypt are Egypt Air and Nile Air.
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by Boat (Nile Trips and Cruises)
Best Egypt Travel Guide
There are many Nile trips and Cruises that start from the main cities, especially in the Luxor – Aswan area. Here you get to visit all the main Temples that either are on the water or nearby.
They stop at the most famous places in that area of Egypt and it is an option that you could take. However, life on the boat may not be suitable for everyone in which case you have the other options.
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by car (rent a car)
If you go for this option, always make sure you take full car insurance. We learned that most of the Egyptians pay no insurance for their cars. In fact, if you pay attention, most of the cars on the streets are scratched or damaged.
We rented via Easyrentcars.com. We usually rent the cars through Easyrentcars.com (and we recommend them) due to their awesome fares, discounts, worldwide network, and the customer service.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
If you drive around Egypt here is some important advice:
- The majority of the roads are not in good condition.
- Where possible, always opt for the highway, since is less crowded and will take you faster to where you want to go. The tolls are, in fact, quite cheap (Cairo to Hurghada was around 10 euro for 500 Km).
- Be careful if you drive at night, many Egyptians don’t use the headlights.
- Blinkers are also rarely used, most common is to show your intention by using the horn.
- If you park in a crowded area, it is customed to leave your car on neutral and with the hand break off. This serves the purpose of someone to be able to move them in case of emergency.
- The traffic in Cairo is very chaotic, it is best to try not to drive inside the city. Especially in particular, the speed limit is frequently exceeded. Here, the drivers are crossing the lanes in a chaotic manner, without using the blinkers. Also, the traffic jams are high.
It sounds like an adventure and believe us it is. But, once you get used to the style, you will manage to drive with no problems. We rented a car while in Egypt and it was something new for us.
We had a totally different experience than any other country we have rented cars so far. Luckily, we got used very fast to the driving style and did not have any incidents 😊.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Best Egypt Travel Guide – Uber or taxies
We recommend that you use Uber inside the big cities. Especially in Cairo (Uber or Careem) they have the best prices.
With Uber what you see is what you get. The price is transparent and you do not have to negotiate anything. Because negotiating in Egypt can become annoying if you dislike it 😊.
But for using Uber, you will need an internet connection, which is very poor in Cairo. For getting fully prepared for your magical trip to Egypt, check more travel tips and tricks here.
Dealing with taxis
We did not use a taxi as much since we walked a lot. Generally, in all the cities you will find taxis and in the airports as well.
In fact, a lot of taxi drivers will invite you to take their cabs. To convince you, they will say that Uber is more expensive, which is not true.
As a piece of advice, you should always use a marked taxi (with some relevant taxi signs).
And even more important, always be aware and ask about the prices from the start, even before you get in the car. Tell the driver your destination and ask for the price. We recommend you also to negotiate it!
Best Egypt Travel Guide – by Tour Operators
If you feel like wandering by yourself around Egypt is not the trip you want, a tour is always an option. There are many tour operators in Egypt.
When you book a tour, make sure you pay attention to extra costs that are not all the time covered, explained or listed in the main offers. These are for instance the entrance fees, the tips for the tour guides, and for the bus drivers, the local taxes.
Also, check the extra activities and lunches or dinners.
Last but not least, ask for all these details before booking the tour, so you make sure you are fully informed about the costs!
If you are searching for a tour, the one that we tried while in Egypt is Travel Talk Tours. They offer a wide range of tours from Egypt to Jordan, Morocco, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
5. Food in Egypt / What can you eat and drink in Egypt?
Best Egypt Travel Guide
The food in Egypt is diverse. Egyptian main traditional dishes are koshary, falafel, foul, hummus, baba ganoush and tahina. They are easy to find in most of the restaurants and are not expensive.
Koshary, also called kushari, is the Egyptian national dish. It contains various types of noodles, rice, lentils, tomato sauce, fried onions, and chickpeas.
Falafel, also called ta’amiya is on every corner of the street. In Egypt, they do not make it with chickpeas, but with fava beans instead. You will find many fresh made falafels on the streets. They come in a flatbread with salad and sesame sauce (tahina).
Foul, also called full, foul medammas, foul medammes or ful mudammas is most of the time served in pita bread as well. It contains cooked beans crushed together with oil. Many Egyptian dishes use fava beans as the main ingredient.
Shorba ads is a delicious lentil soup.
Hummus, the chickpea puree you must already know and it is very good in Egypt.
Baba ganoush, the eggplant puree is also delicious, you should try it.
Tahina, also called Tahini is a sweet sesame sauce. It goes well with almost all the dishes, from Falafel to Hummus.
Dolma contains vine leaves filled with rice, onions, nuts and sometimes meat.
Maamoul cookies are typical Egyptian date cookies.
There are many good restaurants in Egypt. We are gonna leave some of them here, but explore on your own, wherever you travel.
Here are some of our favorite places to eat in Egypt:
Cairo: We reviewed in details our favorite places to eat in our Cairo Guide.
Luxor: Sofra Restaurant & Café.
Aswan: Ad-Dukka Restaurant, Panorama Restaurant, Al-Makka Restaurant, Abeer Restaurant, Al-Masry Restaurant.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
6. Best Egypt Travel Guide without Tour – the perfect 14 Days Itinerary
So what to see in Egypt?
Most of the Temples and historical landmarks in Egypt stand along the Nile. Here is where the ancient Egyptians used to live.
Our Travel Guide and Egypt itinerary will take you to the most important Egypt landmarks.
Day 1-3 – Cairo
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Start your journey in the capital of the country. This is the most crowded city in Egypt. And the place that hosts the world’s ancients wonders: The Great Pyramids of Giza & The Sphinx.
We recommend that you reserve a full day to walk around the Pyramids. Here you can even visit one inside, but you have to buy an extra ticket.
Also, get to the spot where you see them all aligned. Or walk around the Sphinx and look at the city from the sand next to the Pyramids.
In the second day, pay a visit to the Khan El-Khalili market. This is a big tourist attraction and the most known Souk in Cairo.
Head then to the Egyptian Museum. Here is where you will discover the Tutankhamun exhibit. You can even visit the mummy room and stare at the sarcophagi. Or you can admire the amazing statues or ancient artifacts. If you are into ancient Egypt, you can stay here all day, otherwise, book at least 4 hours.
After that, you can visit the Citadel and the Mosque of Muhammad Ali to get the best view over the city. Close to them, you will also find the Hanging Church.
Start day 3 in Tahrir square, this is the major public town square in downtown Cairo. After visiting the market, head to Gezira Island to spend the rest of the day.
Read our Cairo Guide to find out more about the places to see, where to eat and where to stay.
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Day 4 – Saqqara
It does not compare to the Great Pyramid, but here you will see the first Pyramid ever built.
The Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara started as a standard burial house (Mastaba). It was later enlarged and ended up being a gigantic step pyramid.
You can find 1 day tours at all the hotels in Cairo, or you can hire a driver to take you there. There is also the shorter option of a half-day trip, then return to Cairo, and enjoy the rest of the day.
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Day 5-6 – Aswan
Aswan is mostly known for its breathtaking views of the desert dunes. But also for the epic cruises with the felucca on the blue Nile River and the colorful Nubian villages.
It is also one of our favorite places in Egypt.
To get to Aswan you have 3 options:
- If you are adventurous like us, you can rent a car for the rest of the trip.
- Otherwise, the best way to go to Aswan is by train. There are night trains, so you get to sleep and save money for one-night accommodation.
- The 3rd option is also a more expensive way: you can fly there with an early plane.
What we recommend to do next is to split the following sites in 2 days according to your wish.
Nubian Village, Elephantine Island, and Felucca
When in Aswan you should take a traditional Felucca boat. Sail on the Nile as the ancient Egyptians did thousands of years ago. Enjoy the Nile’s breeze and get a different perspective of Aswan and its surrounding sand dunes.
Do not spend too much time on the Felucca because there are so many to see next. Therefore, our advice is to arrange in advance a motorboat to cross the Nile to Elephantine Island and afterwards to the Nubian Villages.
Keep in mind that there are 2 ways to get into the Nubian Villages. The epic one is by the motorboat.
You can also get there by car it is just 30 minutes drive. However, this is not as exciting as sailing on the Nile to get there.
As for the motorboat, you should know this is the only way to sail upstream the Nile to the Nubian Villages. Because the currents are too powerful for the Feluccas to get there.
You will find plenty of motorboats in the port of Aswan. Negotiate the price as low as you can!
The whole boat should cost around 15-25 USD maximum. So, if you can find other tourists, merge your efforts and book the motorboat all together.
Some cool facts about the beautiful Nubian Villages
Nubia was an ancient region situated in northeastern Africa. Most Nubians lived along the Nile in what is now the South of Egypt and the North of Sudan.
The villages are keeping alive the old Nubian traditions and style. Furthermore, the locals are welcoming tourists who want to experience moments of ancient times.
There are many Nubian villages near Aswan. We visited this one.
The bright colors of the Nubian Villages
Visiting the village is a unique experience. You will be surprised by the colorful houses that you can spot already from the water. For sure, you will notice them even before reaching the village.
However, also expect a small village, with dusty roads. Many people opened small shops in front of their houses. Once you are in the village, the main road is full of merchants trying to sell you something. Not all the village is full of colorful houses. Only the ones on the main road and the accommodation facilities are colorful.
Moreover, one of the local attractions, that we do not resonate with, is keeping crocodiles locked in cages as an attraction for tourists.
Overall, the village seemed very peaceful, and the people were friendly. This is a place where you can try a henna tattoo. If you didn’t have the chance to try one before and want to experiment something new here is your chance to do so.
In conclusion, put it on your list because this place is worth visiting. You can even find some nice accommodation places if you plan to spend a night in the village.
Going further with our itinerary, while in Aswan you must visit the next landmark. This is one of the top things to do in Egypt and its location is very close to Aswan.
Philae Temple
This is a Temple you do not want to miss.
Firstly, because it is one of the most well preserved Temples in all Egypt.
Secondly, the word goes by that this is the place where the last hieroglyphs were written.
Thirdly and the most impressive of it all, the whole Temple complex was moved entirely to another location. To be more exact, on an island situated 500 m away from its original location. This happened when the Aswan High Dam was built and the water inundated the Temple. As a result, most of the colors of the murals are gone.
The Temple is fascinating and the whole complex is so beautiful. It was Egypt’s ancient center for the cult of Isis.
Tip for Philae Temple:
The best time to visit Philae is in the morning when it is not so busy. Typically, the tourists are starting to come here at noon, and it gets crowded until 2 PM. That happens because most trips to Philae are connected to a day trip to Abu Simbel. And this trip usually starts early in the morning.
Day 7 – Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is in our top 3 Egypt landmarks.
The Temple of Ramses II is located right on the bank of Lake Nasser. It has a fascinating story and it leaves you breathless when standing in front of it.
Right next to it, you will find another beautiful Temple, the one of his wife, Nefertari.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Abu Simbel – one of its kind
The beautiful Statues of Ramses II are about 20 meters high.
Now imagine that UNESCO also moved this Temple. This happened also when the High Dam was built in order for the Temple not to be completely inundated by the water. Cool right? When you get to stand in front of it, you can imagine what a great work and huge effort that was.
Abu Simbel lies at 280 km from Aswan and you have 2 options to get there:
- The fastest, easiest but also expensive way to travel from Aswan to Abu Simbel would be by plane. If you take a plane, you will need 45 min to get from Aswan to Abu Simbel.
- If haven’t rented a car, option 2 is to take a bus. There are many companies that organize tours from Aswan (ask your hotel and they will find plenty of option for you). It will be less expensive but it will take you roughly 5 hours to get there.
We recommend you to stay in Abu Simbel overnight, especially if you want to ditch the crowd from the Temple.
Tip for Abu Simbel:
Most of the tours come from Aswan and get to Abu Simbel around 8 – 9:00 AM. It will be very crowded until 10:30 when they are all heading back to Aswan and to the Philae Temple.
Best time to visit the Temple is either at 6 AM when almost nobody is there, or after 10:30-11:00. Or you can choose to visit in the afternoon.
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Day 8-10 Luxor
After visiting Abu Simbel and Aswan, your next destination will be Luxor.
From Aswan to Luxor, you can:
- Option 1 is to take a train.
- Or, option 2 and the one we recommend: take a bus or hire a taxi if you prefer. This way you can stop to some other great landmarks.
On your way to Luxor stop and visit the next Temples:
Kom Ombo Temple
This Temple is at 1-hour drive from Aswan and it is somehow special. The left side of the Temple is dedicated to God Hathor while the right side is dedicated to the crocodile God, Sobek.
While at Kom Ombo, you should also consider visiting the Crocodile Museum, which is right next to the Temple. Here you get the chance to see a huge collection of ancient crocodile mummies.
Edfu Temple
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Next on the list and on your way to Luxor is the Temple of Horus, in Edfu. This Temple, dedicated to the falcon God Horus, is so well preserved and beautiful.
The inscriptions on its walls date from ancient Egypt. They reveal information on language, myths, and religion during the Greco-Roman period.
It is very close to Kom Ombo, so you can stop and visit it on your way to Luxor. After visiting these two Temples, you should arrive at Luxor and enjoy a nice evening in the city.
Day 9 – Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple & Colossi of Memnon
Valley of the Kings
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Next morning (day 9) it is best to start the day as early as possible, to book a tour and go explore the amazing The Valley of the Kings. This is the place where the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt were buried.
You will have the chance to see the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, where the original Mummy is. And also other burial chambers, some of them very well preserved.
The most impressive for us were the tombs of Ramses IV, V, and VI, or the one of Seti I.
You will want to get here as early (in the morning) as possible before it gets crowded and hot, especially in summer.
Tip for the Valley of the Kings:
If you want to take pictures inside, be aware that it is not possible inside the Tomb of Tutankhamun. For the other ones, you will need to buy a special photography pass. In fact, buying an extra photo pass is valid for most of the historical sites if you want to have some inside shots.
Temple of Hatshepsut
Next, head to the Temple of Hatshepsut. This one venerates one of the few female Pharaohs from the long history of ancient Egypt.
It is such a beautiful Temple. You will love how it stands so imposing on the West Bank of the Nile. Imagine it is right on the other side of the mountain where you just visited the Valley of the Kings.
The Colossi of Memnon
After visiting the fascinating Valley of the Kings, head along to see the famous Colossi.
The Colossi of Memnon are two faceless seated stone statues that represented King Amenhotep III.
They are also known as the singing statues or “The Vocal Memnon”. All because of the whistle sound, they used to make when the wind was blowing over the Valley.
Their purpose was to be the guardians for Amenhotep III’s mortuary complex that once stood behind them. You will find them west of the modern city of Luxor.
What is really impressive about these two statues is the fact that they are 18 meters high and 1000 tons each. Both were carved from single blocks of sandstone.
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Day 10 – Karnak Temple Complex & Luxor Temple (these are by far our top favorite places in Luxor.)
The Karnak Temple
The Karnak Temple Complex is one of the major tourist attractions in Luxor. This is one of the most important Temples in ancient Egypt and it is so big and amazing. Take time to visit it, because it is worth it.
Karnak is the largest religious building ever constructed and it covers 100 ha. The Great Temple in the middle of it is so big that St Peter’s, Milan, and Notre Dame Cathedrals would fit within its walls. Now take a second and imagine that. Awesome, right?
Best time to visit is early in the morning. Many tourist buses come here from Aswan and Hurghada and arrive around 10-11 AM.
The Luxor Temple
The Luxor Temple is almost as beautiful as the Karnak and so impressive.
The most emblematic is the famous obelisk that stands in front of it. They were two of a kind in ancient times, the other one is now in Paris.
Luxor Temple is beautifully illuminated in the evening, so plan to get a chance to see it.
If you manage to visit all this and still have some time left, the Luxor Museum is another great place to visit. It is not as big as the one in Cairo, but it competes with it.
This ends a beautiful 10 days adventure in Egypt.
If you finish your trip here, then on your last day you should catch a domestic flight to Cairo.
In case you will follow our perfect 14 days itinerary, it is now time to relax on the seaside.
Day 11-13 Hurghada
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Best Egypt Travel Guide
From Luxor, the best option to get to Hurghada is to take a bus. Once again, we recommend the Go Bus. The bus leaves from a small parking lot next to the train station.
Hurghada is one of the best vacation spots in Egypt especially when it comes to the seaside areas. Feel free to search for a place that suits your needs.
Always look with great attention at all the facilities a hotel offers. Make sure to read the accommodation-dedicated chapter.
We wanted to relax in our last days in Egypt in a quiet place, so we looked over for an adult-only hotel. But we also wanted a hotel with a direct access to the beach and a cool view.
Therefore, after a lot of searching, we ended up with this hotel: Sunrise Romance Resort Sahl Hasheesh, where we enjoyed some amazing days at the beach. The location is near Hurghada, in the holiday village of Sahl Hasheesh.
Hurghada area – the ideal place for scuba diving and snorkeling
Best Egypt Travel Guide
From there, we went snorkeling and scuba diving since the water in Egypt is perfect for that.
The Red Sea is one of the best scuba places on the planet. Here, the water is warm and the visibility is high. Therefore, you can see the beautiful reef and the awesome marine life.
In this area, you can find a lot of scuba diving companies where you also can register for scuba diving lessons. You can even get your PADI certificate quite cheap in Egypt (if you have enough time).
1 day trip to Giftun Island
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A popular sea tour is a 1 day trip to Giftun Island, where you can enjoy the beautiful beaches of the island, the awesome reef and a good food on a boat.
There are 3 types of tour services for visiting Giftun Island. And all because the Giftun Island is separated into 3 sections: Giftun, Paradise and Mahmya Island. You cannot pass from one beach to the other. Therefore, there are these 3 ranges of prices.
The cheapest ones are the Giftun Island tours and it grants you access only on the public beach of the island.
Visiting the other two is more expensive because they offer you shade, toilets, as well as little cafes selling food and drinks. The most expensive are the Mahmya Island tours.
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Best Egypt Travel Guide: Tips for the seaside vacations:
In the hotels and on the beach people will come directly to you selling different offers for scuba diving, snorkeling and sea tours.
From our experience, the prices they offer are quite high, almost double than the price you will get when you go to a travel office.
Therefore, the best and cheapest option for you is to visit directly the scuba centers, ask them for an offer and try to negotiate the price. Remember, in Egypt, it all stands in the negotiation!
If you are interested, you should search for a tour in the first day you arrive. This way, you will probably be able to find better prices and availabilities.
If you do not have a Go-Pro and you want to take, underwater photos…ask for the price when you book the tour. Insist if the first answer is “I do not know, you have to talk to the photo guy” (which is one of the divers).
Most probably, they will ask for a big price, but if you are determined 😊 you will be able to get the pics for the half of it.
When you are in the boat ask the other tourists how much were they asked for 😊. It is always fun to get a sense of that and might even notice differences in the “pricing system”.
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Day 14 – Goodbye Egypt
It is now time to say goodbye to Egypt and head home or to your next destination.
Depending on where your home is, on your last day you should get a flight back home either from Hurghada or Cairo. If possible, catch a later flight so you can enjoy more time at the sea.
We hope you enjoyed our itinerary. Make sure you continue reading more about the essential things to know when planning your trip to Egypt.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
7. What to wear while traveling in Egypt
What to wear in Egypt as a tourist?
Being a Muslim country, the dress code is normally conservative, especially for women. As a woman, you need to cover your hair, arms, and ankles inside the religious sites.
However, not necessarily outside. You should avoid though tight or transparent clothes. Go for light fabrics, especially because of the heat.
You will notice in general that Egyptians wear modern clothes.
Most of the man wear normal long trousers, sleeved shirts and T-shirts. In fact, in the resorts or beach areas, it is normal to wear shorts and sleeveless tops.
In conclusion, try to dress as simple as possible and respect the culture.
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8. Booking accommodation in Egypt.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
When it comes to accommodation in Egypt, there are some important facts to take into consideration:
- Most important, always book a 5 stars hotel. The hotel standards in Egypt are not like in Europe. In a 5 star hotel, you are sure that you will find decent conditions.
- Some offers are only valid for Egyptians or people with Egyptian residence.
- There are often extra taxes that are not transparent at a first look (like 14% VAT, 12% service charge and 1% city tax). Always check on the booking site if you pay a price with all the taxes included. Otherwise, you might get a bad surprise of paying 27% extra when you get to the hotel. Which is a lot.
- Always pay attention to all the listed facilities and double-check them. For example, if a hotel says that they have a beachfront, double check that on google maps. They might not have the direct access to the beach, but instead they provide you transportation to a nearby beach.
- Do your research and read the guest’s recommendations before you book a place, it is crucial to do so.
- The Wi-Fi is not always available, or is limited to some accommodation area, like the lobby. In some places, you even need to pay for access.
- The internet is not working so well in general in Egypt.
- In all the facilities, the staff will wait for a tip and most of the times they will ask for it. It is your call if or how much you want to give.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Our recommendations:
We advise you to search for Boutique Hotels, where possible. This way you get a cozier environment, better prices and the conditions are not bad.
Use our Booking.com link for 10% Cashback on your reservation!
Here are some hotel recommendations from the main areas we visited:
Cairo: check our Cairo guide, we found some cool places to stay there.
Aswan: Pyramisa Isis Island Aswan Resort, Sofitel Legend Old Cataract, Mövenpick Resort Aswan.
Luxor: Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor, Steigenberger Nile Palace, Home Sweet Home Luxor.
Hurghada: Sunrise Romance Resort Sahl Hasheesh, Lilly Apartments.
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9. Our Egypt top tips
General
- Get your Visa online, it is faster and easier.
- Buy a local internet sim card. You can get one straight from the Airport it is the best option. The quality of the internet is not that good in general.
- Tap water in Egypt is safe to drink. But as it is very chlorinated, we do not recommend that you drink it as it can cause you stomach upsets. It is safe to brush your teeth and shower with it. For bottled water, try supermarkets like Carrefour, where the bottle is 2-3 time cheaper than the street price.
- Don’t wear stuff that might draw attention on you, like large pieces of jewelry, don’t keep money in plain sight.
- To take pictures at the historical landmarks you need to buy an extra Photo pass in most visiting sites.
- Be aware that tipping is very common here. So get used to hearing the word “backsheesh” a lot while in Egypt. Tips are expected everywhere. Even for the smallest things (like asking for directions). You can expect to come from a waiter, or drivers, or even a security guard or police officer.
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Money
- Most of the ATMs, have a daily withdrawal limit (e.g. 3000 EGP, 8000 EGP). And a maximum amount per operation (e.g. 1000 EGP). So if you want to withdraw 3000 EGP and the ATM does not allow it, try to get 3 times 1000 EGP. In addition, if you reached the daily limit with one ATM and you need more cash, just search for another ATM and get your money from there.
- Be careful when you receive change or exchange money. The official currency is the EGP or LE (Egyptian pound). The amounts are also written in English on one side of the bills. One Egyptian pound is made up of 100 piastres. Some of the bills might look the same, especially the 50 pounds with the 50 piastres. Always look at them with attention.
Shopping and booking
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- Most of the prices are without all the taxes, so always check if extra costs apply.
- NEGOTIATE!, especially if you are at the market, or if sellers approach you on the street. Or even when visiting the main landmarks.
- Learn to say "NO" and don’t get stressed if people insist that you buy all kind of stuff. Try to understand that they are trying to make a living.
- Take a boat to cross the Nile to see the Nubian Village. Negotiate for a boat in Aswan (we paid 250 EGP, @15 USD, for the whole boat, half a day).
- Buy condiments, dried fruits; tea leaves from a supermarket, instead of the souk. It is much cheaper and you find the same quality.
- Try the hibiscus drink, we enjoyed the cold one the most.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Driving in Egypt
- If you are renting a car, take full insurance, most of the locals have no insurance for their cars. Our diving instructor told us that in case of a traffic incident, we should take photos of the other car so we would have a proof. The custom among the Egyptians is to solve their incidents by fixing the damages on their own costs without involving the police or insurances. However, this would not be the case of a rental car, isn’t it?
- When driving in Egypt be extra careful at night, since most of the locals do not turn on their lights when it is getting dark. They also don’t usually use the blinker. Instead, they use the horn a lot in order to signalize their intentions. In addition, when parking your car in crowded areas leave the hand brake on. This is a local habit so that they can move your car a couple of inches if needed.
Best Egypt Travel Guide
Make your trip to Egypt one to remember
Also, go ahead and check our Best Travel Tips to help you travel like a Pro no matter where you go. In this blog post, we gathered all our Best Travel Tips from traveling the world in the last 15 years. We are sure they will come handy.
This is our best Egypt Travel Guide for 2 weeks. We enjoyed our time in Egypt so much and we would like to return to Egypt and visit more.
We are sure it will help you plan your Egypt vacation. Whether you are visiting Egypt on your honeymoon or you want to plan the best things to do in Egypt on your own. This is the perfect Egypt Travel Guide.
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