10 ESSENTIAL TIPS FOR TRAVELING TO EGYPT

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This list of Essential tips for traveling to Egypt, will help you prepare your trip to one of the most fascinating countries in the world, which we are sure, you will never forget.
Known as the country of the pharaohs and marked by the passage of the Nile, Egypt will allow you to discover one of the oldest and most advanced civilizations in history through many of its most famous places. Cairo, where you will be speechless when you are in front of the Pyramids of Egypt, tour the mythical Nile visiting ancient temples, look for tombs of pharaohs in the Valley of the Kings or reach the wonderful Abu Simbel, perfect end for any trip to Egypt .

Based on the experience of our trip to Egypt in 11 days we have made a list of what we believe are the best tips for traveling to Egypt.

1. What is the best time?

The best time to travel to Egypt goes from March to May and from September to November. In this period you will avoid the hottest and coldest months since although the weather is hot and dry during most of the year, in the months of July and August, the thermometers soar above 40 degrees.
In case you can only travel in summer, we recommend concentrating all visits during the first hours of the day, when temperatures are still bearable. Also keep in mind that the visits to the temples are not long-lasting, there are parts of the temples where you are in the shade and the buses and cars are air-conditioned.
If you include the Red Sea area to spend the last days relaxing on the beach or diving, the best time is from May to September.

2. Security

The current situation in the country has stabilized after a few years in which, unfortunately, tourism completely disappeared due to insecurity due to terrorist attacks and the Arab Spring. In recent years tourism has been recovering until reaching quotas that begin to resemble those of its best years, so in principle, we can say that traveling to Egypt is safe.
In addition, it should be borne in mind that tourism is one of the largest sources of income in the country and the government allocates many resources to ensure security in all tourist places and hotels.
If you travel for free, it is advisable to follow the traditional road routes marked by agencies and the government to always travel safely.
In cities like Cairo, you can move perfectly by free on foot, although you have to be careful with the traffic when crossing the roads and if you take a taxi agree the price beforehand.

All temples have security

3. Requirements for entering the country

To enter the country, in addition to having a passport with a minimum validity of 6 months, you need a visa that lasts 30 days. The visa can be processed at the airport of arrival or in advance online on this page. In both cases the price is 25 dollars and if you pay in euros they will return the exchange in Egyptian pounds.

One of the best Tips for traveling to Egypt and to other countries it is always to carry one or several copies of the paper passport and another one in the cloud, either in an email account, in Google Drive or in Dropbox.

Passport

4. Vaccines and travel insurance

In the case of vaccines, in principle there is no obligation to travel to Egypt, although we always recommend (and we believe it is very necessary) to make an appointment at an International Vaccination Center and bring the book with the vaccines you are wearing.
Another of the best Tips for traveling to Egypt It is having a good travel insurance. We always travel insured with Mondo, with whom we carry a totally adequate insurance to the needs that we will have on the trip. Hiring your insurance here with Mondo, just for being a Street Travelers reader, you have a 5% discount.

In addition to insurance it is advisable to follow a series of basic precautions such as drinking bottled water to avoid the usual stomach problems, always wear sunscreen and mosquito repellent in the Nile area.

Vaccinations

5. How to start the trip

To get to Cairo, you can catch a direct flight from Madrid or Barcelona with the EgyptAir company that takes just over 4 hours. If you opt for other companies and do not mind making stops, we recommend flying to Luxor, an option that allows you to start the trip with the Nile cruise and finish in Cairo, with the visit to the Pyramids, ending the trip for everything top.
From Cairo you can also take an internal flight to Luxor or make the journey on a night train.

To make the transfer from the airport to the hotel, if you travel on your own, you can take a taxi, Uber or book this comfortable transfer, in which a driver will wait for you at the airport exit.

Cairo

6. Money exchange

To get Egyptian pounds, one euro equals about 20 pounds, we recommend getting money at ATMs, rather than opting for exchange houses. To avoid paying commissions and always having the current change, we recommend using the N26 card to pay and the Bnext and Revolut cards to get money at the ATMs. They are the ones we use, They are free and will save you a lot.
You can find more information in this article about the best cards to travel without commissions.

Also remember to always carry a good amount of coins and one pound bills, for the usual tips.

Egyptian pound

7. How to have internet in Egypt?

If you want to have internet in egypt, something very necessary today, especially considering the amount of applications we use in our trips and the need to be in contact with our family and friends, you can choose several options:

Buy a SIM card at the airport or at a phone shop in the city.
Buy one Holafly SIM card, with which you will have internet from the moment you land, saving you all the time of the negotiations and making the whole process to have internet in Egypt much more comfortable, fast and easy.
In this case, with the Holafly SIM you will have several Gb to surf the Internet (depending on the option you choose), they will send it to you for free at home, you will keep your WhatsApp number and you will have assistance service in Spanish. You can buy your Holafly prepaid SIM card here with a 5% discount for being our reader.

More information on the Holafly post, the best prepaid SIM card for travel

8. Travel to Egypt for free or with agency

Egypt is one of the few cases where an agency trip can be much cheaper than going free. Keep in mind that the prices that travel agencies in good hotels, transport and guides get in this country, can hardly match a particular.
Saving in time is also one of the main reasons to take an agency, not having to worry about all the logistics of transfers and hotels. Think that when you go on your own you will have to invest time in looking for a taxi or a reliable driver in each city to take you to the temples and hotels, with the usual bargains and anger. You will also have the difficulty of finding a good guide, to be an Egyptologist, in Spanish, if you do not speak English, taking into account that in a country like Egypt, it is essential or highly recommended, to be accompanied by an expert to understand the history of each temple and know how to decipher the interesting hieroglyphs.

The experience during our organized trip to Egypt was positive and we recommend it, although some aspects for us are improvable, such as the little time we spent in one of the most important places in the country such as the Pyramids of Egypt and the Valley of the Kings. For this reason it is advisable before hiring any trip, read the itinerary carefully, see the hotels it includes and the times you will spend in each place.

If you decide travel to Egypt with agency, we recommend you book one of the best rated circuits by travelers with a guide in Spanish:

Visit the Pyramids of Giza, one of the best tips for traveling to Egypt

9. Visit all your essentials

The list of essential places to visit in Egypt is endless, especially because of the large number of temples that were built on the banks of the Nile at the time of the pharaohs. Among the most prominent are the Karnak Temple, with huge columns full of hieroglyphs, the Hatshepsut Temple dedicated to the only woman Pharaoh and Abu Simbel, with two temples in honor of the great pharaoh Ramses II and his favorite wife, Nefertari.
Keep in mind that this temple is 3 hours from Aswan and for safety you must go all cars and buses together in a convoy, which leaves at 4 in the morning.
A good option is to book this excursion to Abu Simbel with a guide in Spanish, which includes tickets and transfer to the hotel.

In addition to visiting all these impressive temples, during a cruise on the Nile, you can see other interesting ones such as the Temple of Horus, the Temple of Kom Ombo, the Temple of Filae and the Temple of Luxor.
On the banks of the Nile is also the Valley of the Kings, which was the cemetery of the great pharaohs, where in 1922 Howard Carter discovered the famous tomb of Tutankhamen. Near the Valley of the Kings are the Colossi of Memnon, two gigantic stone statues representing Pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Although no temple or monument can shade the only one of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World that is preserved today, the Pyramids of Egypt. Located less than 20 kilometers from Cairo, the 3 great pyramids with the tombs of the pharaohs Cheops, Chephren and Mycerines, will always be the great dream of any traveler where you can also see the beautiful Sphinx, more than 20 meters high, and another reason to travel to Egypt.

You can reach the Pyramids of Egypt from Cairo by taxi, Uber, bus or book this guided tour in Spanish with which you will be picked up at the hotel and that is the most comfortable option. This tour also includes two other essential places such as the Step Pyramid of Zoser, the first one built in Egypt and Memphis, the ancient capital of Egypt.

A route through Egypt ends or begins in Cairo, a chaotic city in which we recommend getting lost in the endless Khan Al-Khalili market, visiting the Egyptian Museum, climbing up to the Saladin Citadel and entering the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, between Many other things. A good option to not miss anything about the city and know its interesting history is to book this visit with a guide in Spanish.

10. Take a cruise on the Nile

One of the best tips for traveling to Egypt It's a cruise on the mythical Nile, the second longest river in the world. Keep in mind that most temples, except Abu Simbel that moved it, are located on the banks of the Nile, so in addition to enjoying navigation you will have incredible visits every day. Most boats make the route from Aswan to Luxor in 3 or 4 days, sailing at night and stopping by day at the most interesting points.
If you travel by agency, the cruise will be included, and if you do it for free we recommend you book it in advance, since it is an experience that we would say, 99% of travelers going to Egypt make it.
Approaching the port to hire a cruise can be a haggling odyssey and in the end you can get an unpleasant surprise as the excursions or the guide are not included or the boat does not have the comforts that you had been assured.
Therefore, a great option, if you travel for free, is to book this 4-night cruise from Luxor to Aswan or book the 3-night cruise from Aswan to Luxor, both with good opinions and recommended by travelers.

The Nile

More tips for traveling to Egypt

Other of the best tips for traveling to Egypt They are:

Haggle for every item you want to buy or service you want to hire. In tourist markets like Khan Al-Khalili they can multiply up to 10 the real value. In these cases, a good option is to ask the guide, if you are organized, for the price range in which they move to have a reference.
After this, you also have to be cautious and maintain a line that never tries to make the seller lose money. In the end the bargaining is also a game and it is best to take it easy and above all, education.
In Egypt it is usual to tip, in addition to restaurants that can reach 10%, any help that a local gives you at a tourist site will be accompanied by a request for money.
It is important to wear a dress adequate, especially if you are a woman and in the special case of visiting a mosque.
Remember that you do not need to carry adapters for the plugs, since these are the same as in Spain.
Do not forget to try some of the most delicious dishes of Egypt such as baba ganoush, kebab, mezze, shawarma, tabbouleh or fetir, among others.
Buy some beautiful souvenir like an Anj or key of life, papyrus or a chilaba, forgetting about some classics such as perfumes, which usually do not end up as expected.

Papyrus

Do you want to organize a trip to Egypt?
Get it here:
The best offers of Flights to Egypt here
The best hotels at the best prices in Egypt here
10 essential places to see in Cairo
Get € 35 for your reservation with AirBnb here
Book your travel insurance with a 5% discount here
Book the best tours and excursions in Egypt in Spanish here