Cairo & the Pyramids

Currency

The pound has devalued repeatedly, so exchange in small amounts as you go. Bank branches and hotel desks give the official rate; the airport gives the worst. Bring clean, unmarked dollar or euro notes, because torn ones are refused.

ATMs & cards

CIB, Banque Misr and QNB machines inside bank branches. Machines at the pyramids and in Khan el-Khalili charge heavily and run empty. Carry small notes — tipping (baksheesh) is constant and nobody has change.

Use machines inside bank branches. Ask for small notes — baksheesh is constant and nobody has change for a 200.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety

Violent crime against visitors is rare and the tourist sites are heavily secured. The daily friction is relentless hustling at the pyramids — unofficial guides, camel handlers who take a photo then demand payment, and drivers who take you to a papyrus shop instead. Book official guides, agree every price beforehand, and be firm rather than polite. Women travelling alone report persistent harassment.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa

Health & emergencies

Required to enter

• Yellow fever certificate, but only if you are arriving from a country where yellow fever is present

Worth having

• Hepatitis A
• Typhoid
• Tetanus up to date
• Rabies for longer stays
• Hepatitis B for extended stays

Getting treated

Private hospitals in Cairo are decent and cheap by European standards, and the international ones have English-speaking staff. Public hospitals are basic and overcrowded. Insurance is worth having; private facilities want payment up front.

Do not drink the tap water and avoid ice outside good hotels — stomach illness affects a large share of visitors. Summer heat at the pyramids is a genuine medical risk. Rabies is present in street dogs.

Orientation, not medical advice. Entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history and where you have been — check with a travel clinic or your national health service four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Koshari is the national dish and costs almost nothing — Abou Tarek is the famous one. Ful and taameya for breakfast. Skip anything raw and unwashed, and drink bottled water only.

Getting around

• Uber and Careem — cheap, metered and the simplest way to avoid the taxi negotiation entirely
• Metro — genuinely fast and costs pennies; there are women-only carriages in the middle of each train
• Taxi — white cabs have meters that drivers often refuse to use; agree the fare first
• Walking — fine in Zamalek and around the Egyptian Museum, brutal elsewhere in traffic
• Airport: Cairo (CAI) is 45 min to an hour from the centre, longer in traffic, which is most of the time

Must-see

Things to do

• Go inside the Great Pyramid if you are not claustrophobic
• Spend a full day at the Grand Egyptian Museum
• Walk Islamic Cairo from Bab Zuweila to Al-Azhar
• See Saqqara and Dahshur, quieter and older than Giza
• Take a felucca on the Nile at sunset

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

Arabic

• Helloمرحبا — MarhabaMAR-ha-ba
• Pleaseمن فضلك — Min fadlakmin FAD-lak
• Thank youشكرا — ShukranSHOOK-ran
• Yes / Noنعم / لا — Na’am / LaNA-am / la
• Excuse meعفوا — AfwanAF-wan
• How much is it?بكم — Bikam?bi-KAM
• The bill, pleaseالحساب — Al-hisabal-hi-SAB
• Welcomeأهلا وسهلا — Ahlan wa sahlanAH-lan wa SAH-lan

Inshallah, meaning God willing, follows nearly any statement about the future and is conversational rather than religious.

Religion

Sunni Muslim, with a Coptic Christian minority

Around 90% Muslim and 10% Coptic Christian, one of the oldest Christian communities on earth. Cover shoulders and knees at mosques and churches alike; women cover their heads at mosques.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Use your right hand for eating, greeting and handing anything over
• Dress modestly away from resorts — shoulders and knees covered, and a scarf for women entering mosques
• Agree a price before accepting any service, including a photograph with a camel
• Carry small notes for baksheesh; it is expected constantly and is part of how the economy works

Don't

• Do not photograph military or police installations, bridges or airports — this is taken seriously
• Do not show the sole of your foot to anyone, or point with your feet
• Do not show public affection beyond hand-holding; it is illegal in some readings and always poorly received
• Do not accept an unsolicited guide at the pyramids who then demands a fee — say la, shukran, firmly and keep walking