Every tourist should know some valuable tips before traveling to Egypt. As a native, I know exactly how traveling to Egypt can be challenging, especially due to cultural differences. In this article, I collected eight MUST-KNOW tips to follow before traveling to Egypt, which will make your life much easier. These tips work as a golden short guide to visit Egypt. If you have never traveled to Egypt before, then this guide is for you. Make sure to visit my blog for other interesting and useful articles about Egypt and Egyptian Arabic
Tip 1 Choose the Time Wisely
Overall, you can visit Egypt and enjoy it anytime in the year. However, I highly recommend that you choose autumn and winter for your visit. This is because Egypt, except for the north coast, is mostly hot during summer, especially in July and August. This is one of the most valuable tips before traveling to Egypt because it will let you enjoy the good weather as well.
Therefore, try to shoot for August to March. During this time of the year, so you can enjoy most touristic places in Cairo, South of Egypt and red sea
Tip 2 Visit These Destinations
So, what should you do in Egypt? As I hinted in the last paragraph, there are many destinations waiting for you in Egypt. Egypt is a huge country and if you plan to visit all destinations, then you need at least 1 month.
While you plan your travel to Egypt, I highly recommend that you start with destinations like the Pyramids of Giza and Sphinx, Old Cairo, and the Cairo Tower. There is also the castle of Saladin in old Cairo, with the beautiful mosque of Mohamed Ali.
Don’t forget to take a Nile River cruise to upper Egypt, where you enjoy an unforgettable view of different Egyptian towns on the banks of the Nile.
Are you a big fan of diving and snorkeling? Do you want to enjoy the beautiful shades of blue? Then go directly to the red sea. Towns like Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, and Marsa –Alam are wonderful diving and snorkeling destinations.
If you are into the wonderful Ancient Egyptian history, then you should visit Luxor and The Valley of the Kings. There you can see the beauty and glory of the Ancient Egyptian monuments and tombs.
Don’t miss other destinations like Sinai and Siwa oasis.
Tip 3 Buy a SIM Card
It is meaningless to talk about the valuable tips you need before traveling to Egypt while ignoring the value of an Egyptian SIM Card. Buying a sim card the moment you arrive in Egypt will save you a lot and make your life much easier.
Cell-Phone service shops are located everywhere in Egypt and the SIM card prices are very low. You can choose from a variety of brands like ‘We’ and ‘Vodafone.’
Tip 4 Know Egyptian Phrases
Phrases like ‘salamualikom’ (hello), ‘ezzayak’ (how are you?) and ‘ana esmi’ (my name is..) will help you a lot in Egypt. Generally, Egyptians really appreciate talking and helping tourists speaking some Egyptian. If you speak English, not all Egyptians can understand you.
It is also preferable to speak the Egyptian dialect rather than Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). That is because MSA is a written language. We Egyptian, communicate in our Egyptian dialects, not MSA.
Tip 5 Dress Conservatively
Egypt is safe as long as you know what you are doing. Like anywhere in the world, no one expects safety in the back streets at 3:00 am. Stick with main roads and move at a reasonable time.
Also respecting the dress code in Egypt is very important, and reflects your respect for the culture. For ladies, I highly recommend dressing conservatively on the street. In many hotels throughout Egypt, it is ok to wear the bikini only for swimming not walking. Dressing hot shorts in the streets of Cairo may bring you many unwanted gazes.
The Egyptian culture may be strange at first, but the more you stay the more you realize how amazing the Egyptian Culture is really is
Tip 6 Enjoy Egyptian Food Specialites
The Egyptian cuisine is a marvelous experience on its own. There are many wonderful specialties in Egypt waiting for you to taste. I recommend the kabab and kofta (grilled lamb meat) and Koshari.
Tip 7 Bargain in Street Shops
This is a golden piece of advice that I keep sharing repeatedly with my student. If you are planning to buy something from street-sellers or souvenirs do not forget to bargain. The price is usually high because the seller takes the bargaining into account. So if you visit ‘Khan El-Khalili’, the most famous souvenir market in Egypt, bargaining will get you reasonable prices.
Tip 8 Don’t Forget to Tip
In my Egyptian Arabic courses, my students always ask me about his one. My last tip to you in this article is to tip in restaurants and hotels. Tipping in Egypt, like many other countries, is a favorable practice. Just make sure you tip with reasonable amounts (usually about 5 to 10% in restaurants). In hotel room service, you can tip as much as you want, but preferably not less than 3 dollars
Hope you liked this article. Start a wonderful journey to learn Egyptian Arabic online by enrolling in my Egyptian Arabic 101 course. This is a course that I tailor-designed to give you the foundation for this amazing dialect.
You can also watch my related YT episode about this topic watch
So tell me, are you planning to visit Egypt soon?