🧭 Egypt: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Egypt feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 204 written places.
Five thousand years of hosting visitors; baksheesh oils every hinge and bargaining is theatre.
Cost level: Budget One of the friendlier destinations for a travel budget - daily costs sit well below western Europe. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Carry small notes constantly - baksheesh for small services is the custom, not a scam
- Bargain everywhere with humour - start near a third of the first price
- Dress modestly - both sexes, especially at mosques and in Cairo
- Agree taxi fares before getting in, or insist on the meter, or use apps
✗ Better avoided
- Accept 'free' gifts or unrequested help - payment will be expected
- Photograph bridges, stations or anything military
- Enter mosques in shoes or shorts
- Drink tap water
💡 Worth knowing
- Cash rules; ATMs are plentiful in cities
- Tipping 10-12% in restaurants on top of any service charge
- Trains link Cairo-Luxor-Aswan; the sleeper is the classic
- Friday midday prayer pauses much; Sunday is a working day
Plugs and voltage
Type C, F · 220 V travel adapter →
CurrencyEgyptian pound (EGP)
LanguagesArabic
Driving sideright
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list the kind of gear we would pack ourselves.
Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.