Top 20 Egypt Travel Tips - Know Before You Go!

Hey everyone! Heading to Egypt soon? Here are the top 20 travel tips I think you should know before you go. Ready? Let's get started! Tip number 1. Size. Egypt is big. It's about twice the size of France, 640 miles from north to south and 775 miles east to west at its longest and widest points. Don't think you can see the pyramids in the morning and the Valley of the Kings in the afternoon. You may need to book some domestic flights or an overnight train to get to see everything, so plan accordingly. Tip number 2. The Mediterranean coast. Don't sleep on Alexandria. Most tourists explore along the Nile or head for some sun and relaxation along the Red Sea, but if you're a fan of the Greco-Roman period, think from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra, then Alexandria is the place to go. If you're a diver, you could even go visit the ruins of the ancient lighthouse under the Mediterranean. Very cool. Tip number 3. The weather. We tend to think of Egypt as boiling hot, and while that can definitely be the case, it's not always true. I visited in December, and I wore a long-sleeved shirt and jacket walking through Cairo at night and I was still pretty cold. If you're visiting in the winter, check the forecast beforehand and bring enough to keep warm. Layers are always a good choice to stay comfortable throughout the temperature swings from day to night. Tip number 4. Alcohol. Egypt is filled with western tourists, and while there is a very established tourist infrastructure and we are catered to, you have to keep in mind that it is a Muslim country. Don't expect to find alcohol easily everywhere you go or get frustrated when you can't always get a glass of wine with dinner. Be mindful of local life and set your expectations affordably. Tip number 5. Wardrobe. This one is for the ladies. Anywhere I travel, I always dress toward what is considered respectful in that country's culture. Now, you can wear whatever you'd like in Egypt and be totally fine, but I find that it's nicer to dress in a way that doesn't attract unwanted attention or stares from both men and women. I brought lots of loose, flowy shirts, skirts, and dresses on the trip. I love long skirts and dresses anyway, and I don't get to wear them enough in everyday life so I completely embrace this style on the trip. Tip number 6. SIM cards. If you want to stay connected on your trip, buying a prepaid local SIM card is actually the best way to go. You can grab one as soon as you land at the Cairo airport so you'll have the most affordable rates and best mobile internet connection throughout the country. The registration process at the airport kiosk takes a couple of minutes, you get activated right away, and then you're set. Tip number 7. The general vibe. Egyptian cities, especially Cairo, can feel a bit more chaotic on the surface than what you may be used to coming from a western country. Be prepared to experience the difference in the overall energy and flow of street life. But part of traveling is experiencing places and things that are different from what you know, so embrace it. Tip number 8. Crossing the street. Building on tip 7, embrace the chaos but also have a plan to tackle it. Cairo traffic is notorious. I've never seen anything quite like it. Crossing the streets in Cairo can seem daunting on day one. The trick is, you have to ignore the big picture and go lane by lane, otherwise you will die of old age waiting for the traffic to evade. Just take one lane of cars at a time and frogger yourself across. By the end of the trip, you'll be crossing without batting an eyelash. And when in doubt, find a local who was crossing as well and just stick with them. They'll know how to get across in one piece. Tip number 9. Cash. This tip applies to a lot of places. The easiest way to get cash is to do just what the locals do, go to an ATM. I personally never use currency exchanges, I just find the nearest local bank. Probably best to avoid any non-bank ATMs, but honestly that's what I do in the States too. And use a US card to withdraw. The world is a very connected place, so it's easy to withdraw cash and get good exchange rates this way. There are many cards out there that will also refund you any foreign ATM fees, which is an even bigger cost savings. Tip number 10. Bakshish. Another money tip here. Keep plenty of small bills on hand for Bakshish, or tipping. Tipping in Egypt is a tradition, and you are expected to provide one as a token of appreciation for whatever service you have received from a guide, a driver, a waiter, really anyone who has offered you their service. Keep in mind, service can also include things you might not consider. For example, if you go to a mosque and leave your shoes with someone at the front, even though leaving the shoes is required to enter, you are still expected to leave a tip. If a guard at a historical site offers to let you around a barrier for a special closer look, he's not doing that because he finds you particularly likable. You are expected to give Bakshish. On the flip side, sometimes people will ask for Bakshish even if they really haven't done anything at all for you. So don't be afraid to say no to people trying to press their luck, but do always leave a tip for someone who has done something for you. Even if they kind of manipulated you into accepting their service, it's still proper to tip. This ties into the idea of Bakshish. Every tourist site you go to will have guards or guides who are more than willing to show you around. They're very slick at roping you in, and many of them do have genuinely good and helpful knowledge to share that can enhance your visit. Keep in mind, though, that this is never free. Many will tell you at the start that their services are free and they just want to guide you around. Nothing is free. You will always be expected to tip them at the end. So if you want the guide, then go for it. Many times it can be worth it. Just build these sorts of things into your budget and cash plan for the day. If you don't want the guide, though, be polite but firm. Sometimes they will follow you in and just start talking or reassuring you that their services are free. Politely decline and keep going, and they'll eventually try their luck with the next tourist. I did actually meet a guide on the street one day in Cairo who very smoothly convinced me that the mosque I was looking for was closed. He then led me to another one where I was handed over to a ticket collector who definitely overcharged me. The guide then gave me a tour of the mosque before I grabbed an Uber to head back to my hotel. The guide's services were quote-unquote free until I requested my Uber to leave, and then his tune changed. I knew that was coming, and I gave him his tip. All in all, I knew pretty early on that I was walking straight into one of those slick guide situations I'd read about while planning my trip. Did I regret the whole decision to go with it anyway? No, not really. The mosque was lovely, I never would have found it on my own, and the whole experience only cost me around $10 US dollars. Tip number 12. Cameras. If you're a photographer who likes to shoot on a nice DSLR-type camera, then be aware that many sites do charge extra for this. Not all, but many. If you've watched my other videos on Egypt, you may have noticed that a lot of my inside footage of tombs is kind of low quality and not framed all that well, since it was all sneaky iPhone 8 video. That's because cameras often weren't allowed without paying extra, and the fees to bring one in were usually quite high. I remember some being up to $10 US dollars, and that's on top of your entry ticket. And if you want to take in a tripod, that's an additional cost. And most sites with these fees do have multiple guards who actively search for people taking photos without a camera pass. If you're spending a couple of weeks traveling around, these extra charges can really add up. So if you're serious about photography or videography and want to shoot stress-free out in the open, definitely build these costs into your budget. Tip number 13. Photos of you. Be prepared, especially if you look very different than the Egyptian people do, for people to want to take photos with you, especially kids. I had one little girl ask for a selfie with me at the Citadel, and 10 minutes later I think I had taken a selfie with an entire school bus full of children. It can seem a little strange at first, but I guess it's a small taste of what being a celebrity might feel like. I usually said yes to kids and women. Grown men I was a little more wary of, but it's your call who you want to take a photo with or if you want to do it at all. Stay within your comfort zone, and don't be afraid to politely say no or walk away if you aren't feeling comfortable with the attention. The kids can always find another tourist to pose with. Tip number 14. Stores and shopkeepers. This is related to my earlier tip on guides, actually. Egyptian shopkeepers are great at what they do. Even the tourists with the most anti-shopping intentions can find themselves pulled into a shop and being shown plastic trinkets without knowing what happened. The shopkeepers are not that intentioned, and they're just trying to make a living and do their thing. But unless you're genuinely out to shop, politely decline conversation with them as you're walking around. You can even just ignore it if you have to. It might seem rude on the surface, but sometimes it's the only way to get to where you're going. They'll ask you where you're from, they'll ask you your name, they'll ask you how you like Egypt, and they're good. One response from you, and then before you know it, you're having a conversation like he's your long-lost best friend and saying no to browsing his merchandise feels like a slap in the face. So unless you want to shop, avoid conversation with the shopkeepers. Tip number 15. Hired drivers. Hiring a driver for the day can be a great way to build your own day trip. I hired one to take me around the necropolis of Saqqara and Ashur outside Cairo, and it was such a memorable day. Just make clear to the driver before you start your day, unless you genuinely are interested in the driver's shopping suggestions, that you want no unplanned shopping stops. Be firm and clear on that point. They'll often suggest a tea break or something, and before you know it, you're being served tea in a shop and are being shown carpets to purchase. Drivers will often have their go-to store where they will get a piece of the profit if you do end up buying said carpet. Be firm on this before you start, so you don't waste any precious sightseeing time saying no to shopkeepers at shops you didn't want to be at in the first place. Tip number 16. Haggling. Pretty much everyone in Egypt expects you to haggle, unless you're in a big chain store. Don't be afraid to negotiate. It's the way things are done here, and it can be a fun part of your experience. Best to have your top price in mind before you start the conversation, and always keep things friendly and polite to help your cause. Don't be afraid to walk away if you feel pressured to make a decision, and don't ever worry about underpaying. A vendor will never sell you anything unless they're making at least a small profit. Tip number 17. The Cairo Metro. Did you know Cairo has an urban train system? I grew up taking public transportation, and whenever I travel, I love exploring my new city's trains and buses. When I was researching my trip, I could hardly find any information at all in any guidebooks about Cairo's metro system, but I'm here to tell you, yes, there is one, and yes, feel free to take it. It's no New York City subway or London tube. It doesn't go everywhere you'd want to get to, as Cairo is such a massive urban sprawl. But if your travel endpoints can be connected by train, then go for it. It's cheap, you'll avoid the city's notorious traffic, and you'll get to have a genuine local experience that 99% of tourists miss out on. Everyone still with me? Okay, we're almost there. Just a few more. Tip number 18, food. Egypt is famous for its pyramids, not so much for its cuisine, but that doesn't mean you should sleep on the food here. I had some lovely meals while I was traveling around the country, but my favorite was probably koshery. It's Egypt's national dish, so don't forget to give it a try. Tip number 19, pharmacies. All right, I'm just going to be honest here. We're jumping from the food tip to the flip side of that. The big travel D word, diarrhea. Travelers' diarrhea is super common, and while some people have digestive tracts made of steel, I certainly don't. It's common for people to want to bring medicines from home to have on hand for when this strikes, and I get it, I usually do that too. It's more comfortable to bring medicines we're familiar with. But don't rule out grabbing some medication at the local pharmacy, and this applies to mostly anywhere you are in the world. The stuff you get in-country can often work really well. I got some amazing medication at a local pharmacy in Luxor, and without going into too much detail, it kind of made all the difference for me. I was able to quickly revert from thinking about toilets to thinking about ancient tombs. Tip number 20, okay, this one is actually a three-parter, so bear with me. Something about top 22 travel tips just didn't sound quite as nice. Okay, tip 20A, you're going to be touring a ton of ancient sites. Do a little reading or research beforehand on the history so it doesn't start to feel like just an endless barrage of ruins. Find out who lived in those ruins, what did they do, what were their struggles, their strengths, their flaws. Maybe pick a period of ancient Egyptian history, remember it spans over 3,000 years, and sink into that period. Or maybe pick a pharaoh and learn all about him, or her. Yes, guides will explain the basics to you at all the sites, but really knowing what you're looking at allows you to connect more dots. It gives you that context that will turn that temple or tomb or pile of ruins into the places that hosted the lives or deaths of real human beings, people who lived and laughed and loved and schemed and struggled just like we do. Having some of that context before you get off your bus or out of your taxi in the morning is what will really bring that history to life. Alright, enough sentiment, moving on to tip 20B, learn a bit of Arabic. Even just a couple phrases like hello and thank you is such a nice gesture to people and I don't know, I think playing around in different languages is just super fun. Give it a try. And finally, tip number 20C, the final tip, treasure. No, I don't mean what the pharaohs had buried with them. Treasure every moment. For many of us out there, this is the trip of a lifetime. And not everything will go according to plan. Many things, in fact, will likely go sideways. You'll get hot, you'll get tired, you'll get cranky, your feet will hurt, and you might start even giving death glares to all those people who try to sell you things or take you on those quote-unquote free guided tours. Try to treasure every moment as much as you can. Egypt is ethereal. You'll be taking steps back in time to an era long gone where magic was a fundamental part of human life. Embrace that magic amongst all the chaos. Treasure every moment. I hope you all found at least some of these tips useful. Thanks for watching and don't forget to subscribe to join me for future travel adventures. See you next time.