Entry requirements | Organizing your trip | Visiting | Eating | Paying | Speaking |

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service

Immigration (information on residence in Egypt)
Information from the American State Department

Diplomatic representations

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

For more information

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation

In Cairo, the two best means of transport are the metro and the taxis. The metro has only two lines but a third is being constructed. Using metro would allow commuters to avoid heavy traffic of the metropolis. There are a huge number of taxis and they are convenient. However be careful, for at times the taxi meters are only for decorative purposes and also, taxi drivers have the tendancy of exaggerating the tariff. Moreover, the drivers do not speak English and do not always know the schedules. Since 2006, there is a metered yellow taxi service, the Cairo City Cab. In Alexandria, there are tramway lines and taxis. Buses and urban minibuses are not recommended.

Maps of urban networks

Cairo Metro map.

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation

There is a good railway network which serves all the cities along the Nile. There are also many buses stopping at the primary destinations of the country and notably Sinai. It is advised against taking the minibuses criss-crossing the country since they are very dangerous. Finally, there are domestic flights serving among others Sharm El Sheikh, Luxor, Alexandria, Aswan, Taba, Marsa Matrouh, etc.

Rail companies

Egyptian National Railways

Flight from Tunisia

Distance between capital cities in km: 2 089
Flight duration between capital cities: 3h10

Airlines offering direct flights from/to Tunisia

Airline	Low-cost solution	From	To
http://www.egyptair.com.eg		Tunis	Cairo
http://www.tunisair.com/publish/home.asp		Tunis, Tozeur, Tabarka, Monastir, Sfax, Djerba	Cairo

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

The major roads are convenient. It is better to avoid night driving outside the towns. There are very few gas stations. In the event of an accident, help is almost nonexistent. Hence you must rely on the help from other drivers. Only third party insurance, cheap but not of high value, is compulsory. It is advised to take additional insurance once you are in the country.

Road maps

Egypt Maps

Find an itinerary

Via Michelin

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

The city of Cairo with its historic district and the famous pyramids of Gizeh.
Luxor, Aswan and the Nile Valley cannot obviously be overlooked with their archeological sites (Valley of Kings, Valley of Queens, Temple of Karnak, Hatchepsout, Abou Simbel).

Cultural

Cairo hosts every year an international film festival in November. The city offers many cultural activities. The Ahram Hebdo proposes every week a selection of cultural events of the week at Alexandria and Cairo.

Nature

Ecotourism and desert safaris. Siwa Oasis, Marsa el Alam Park.

Religious

Religious tourism is not well developed. The pilgrimage around the St.Catherine convent can be pointed out. In the same way, the El Azhar mosque attracts many tourists.

Thermal

Spa tourism is not well-developed. It is mostly practiced around the Siwa oasis.

Beach

The Red Sea coastline is especially famous. Also the seaside resorts of Charm El Sheikh, Taba, Dahab and Hurghada have been developed to a great extent. Several tour operators offer stays in this area.

Winter sports

Non-existent

Outdoor activities

It is possible to do scuba diving, fishing and snorkeling in the Red Sea. In the same way, trekking in 4x4, on camel or on pony are possible in the desert.

Shopping

The Khan El Khalili Bazar in Cairo is part of the must-see, must-do places of Cairo. There is a trend of shopping centres multiplying, but for the most part, they have only medium range products. Some galleries of large hotels offer luxury products

Tourism organizations

Tourism Bureau
Tour Egypt

Eating

Food specialties

The main specialties are:
The fuul: a beans puree usually served in a piece of shami (bread similar to the pita).
The ta'amiya or falafel
The koshari: a platter of noodles, rice, black lentils, fried onions and tomato sauce.
The molokhia: stew of minced molokhia (Jew's mallow) leaves served in sauce with rice or bread.

Drinks

Black tea is the national drink par excellence. It is easy to buy alcohol in various local stalls or in hotels. During the month of Ramadan, it is more difficult to find alcohol. You have to be careful with the locally brewed alcohol since it could be adulterated. Egypt has several labels of local beer such as Stella or Saqqara and several wines like Omar Khayyam or Obelisque.

Paying

Domestic currency

Egyptian Pound

ISO Code

EGP

To obtain domestic currency

It is possible to get Egyptian Pounds before leaving for Egypt. It is however preferrable to get them once you get there, either in an ATM or in one of the numerous foreign exchange bureaus (there are several of them at the international flight arrival terminal).

Possible means of payment

The most widely used payment method is by cash. The small shops in major hotels, franchises, supermarkets and some stores have bank card payment facilities. There are many ATMs.

Exchange rate on

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

To find out the locations of ATMs in in Egypt, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Speaking

Official language

Classic Arabic is the official language of the State and only about 50% of the population understand it. The Egyptian arabic (Masri) is the language spoken by the entire population.

Other languages spoken

Armenian, Domari, Nubian and Dongola.

Business language

Egyptian Arabic and English. Some members of the business community also know French and German well.

Getting some knowledge

The blog: Egyptian arabic courses give the basics of the Egyptian dialect.

Free translation tools

IM translator - English-Arabic-English Translation of texts and web pages
Lexilogos - Arabic-English-Arabic Dictionary

We can translate your foreign-language documents.

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Last updates: May 2012