How much cash in Egypt?

[MoneyGuy]

We leave for Egypt in four days. We'll be in Cairo for four days, boat cruise up the Nile and some related sidetrips. How much money should we take on average per day? Should we take u.s. currency, Egyptian money or can we use mostly credit cards? If anyone knows this and can post soon, it would be appreciated.

[Saga Ruby]

We leave for Egypt in four days. We'll be in Cairo for four days, boat cruise up the Nile and some related sidetrips. How much money should we take on average per day? Should we take u.s. currency, Egyptian money or can we use mostly credit cards? If anyone knows this and can post soon, it would be appreciated.

 

I have just returned from Egypt in December. In the 3 days I was there (Cairo and Luxor), I used my credit card for meals and hotel, US dollars for tourist geegaws. The Egyptians are happy to have US dollars as are most other locals in Asian countries.

 

One note - I paid for lunch in Cairo with US dollars and was given change in Egyptian pounds. The US dollar is happily accepted in the Middle East and Asia at tourist spots. On the flip side, travelers cheques are not the easily accepted currency they used to be.

 

I gave a boatman in Phuket Thailand a tip in US dollars and he was thrilled. Anyone dealing with tourists knows exactly how to change the foreign currency into their own local currency and the US dollar is welcomed.

 

Happy sails!

Ruby

[ChefPeg]

I have just returned from Egypt in December. In the 3 days I was there (Cairo and Luxor), I used my credit card for meals and hotel, US dollars for tourist geegaws. The Egyptians are happy to have US dollars as are most other locals in Asian countries.

 

One note - I paid for lunch in Cairo with US dollars and was given change in Egyptian pounds. The US dollar is happily accepted in the Middle East and Asia at tourist spots. On the flip side, travelers cheques are not the easily accepted currency they used to be.

 

I gave a boatman in Phuket Thailand a tip in US dollars and he was thrilled. Anyone dealing with tourists knows exactly how to change the foreign currency into their own local currency and the US dollar is welcomed.

 

Happy sails!

Ruby

Hi there,

Thank you for posting this very useful information. We'll be in Alexandria/Cairo in June and I was wondering about traveller's checks. Credit cards it is and cash for tips.

Thanks again,

Peggy

[MoneyGuy]

I have just returned from Egypt in December. In the 3 days I was there (Cairo and Luxor), I used my credit card for meals and hotel, US dollars for tourist geegaws. The Egyptians are happy to have US dollars as are most other locals in Asian countries.

 

One note - I paid for lunch in Cairo with US dollars and was given change in Egyptian pounds. The US dollar is happily accepted in the Middle East and Asia at tourist spots. On the flip side, travelers cheques are not the easily accepted currency they used to be.

 

I gave a boatman in Phuket Thailand a tip in US dollars and he was thrilled. Anyone dealing with tourists knows exactly how to change the foreign currency into their own local currency and the US dollar is welcomed.

 

Happy sails!

Ruby

 

Very useful to me. Thank you so much. Someone had read somewhere that we can't buy Egyptian pounds in other countries, but we've now found out that we can buy it. Do locals also accept Egyptian pounds as tips (if not as happily as U.S. dollars, at least they accept them)? It's good to know that travelers' cheques are less easy to use because we had considered using them.

 

Ruby, I'd like to use credit cards for most spending but I know that durrency will also be required. Please tell me how much I'll likely need for discretionary spending where credit cards cannot be used - maybe an estimated amount per day. We currently have about $30 in u.s. cash now per day but I was thinking of doubling it, maybe adding some Egyptian pounds to the mix. I just don't know how much to have in actual currency. Would about $75 per day be enough or some other amount be prudent?

[Saga Ruby]

First, let me say that I am the world's worst shopper. So I don't think of taking "souvenir money" on port excursions. I am, however, a very generous tipper to the right person, so I try to give USD as an added advantage to the tippee. Therefore, I am carrying $20s and $50s for tour guides, not much extra for souvenirs or impulse shopping.

 

I am confident that in Middle East and Asian countries the governments encourage a harvest of US dollars that are more valuable to Egypt than local currency.

 

On a given day in port, I carry $20s in the amount of at least $100, then a single $50, and sometimes a single $100 but the $100 bill can be a financial albatross. I know that I'll be receiving local currency in change which I keep as, uh, souvenirs of that country (I have quite a collection which includes countries that no longer exist).

 

How much should you carry? I had an outstanding lunch in Mumbai for two people that was a total of USD$19.59. If I had eaten at the Hotel Taj Mahal, that same delish lunch would have cost USD$200. In Egypt, the prices were a bit more expensive than India but you get the idea.

 

It all depends on your wants and wishes on your visit - if you like to buy souvenirs and the price is a large one, charge it. Try to tip in cash if you have it while protecting your supply of US dollars. I think USD$100 in small bills per day would be fun - I was able to bring home a decent amount of the dollars I took. You can't lose with cash on hand.

 

But, above all, enjoy your wonderful trip.:)

 

Ruby

[MoneyGuy]

Thanks for the info so far. Today I bought about $50 u.s. for every day we'll be in Egypt and Kenya, plus the equivalent of $450 in Canadian dollars in Egyptian pounds. I figure this should do us for awhile for tips and non-credit card purchases. The lady at the currency exchange advised me to be prepared for a huge culture shock. We've never traveled to a country like Egypt before I know it will be like a new world. Any other currency advised appreciated. We leave in less than two days.

[Saga Ruby]

Thanks for the info so far. Today I bought about $50 u.s. for every day we'll be in Egypt and Kenya, plus the equivalent of $450 in Canadian dollars in Egyptian pounds. I figure this should do us for awhile for tips and non-credit card purchases.

 

I don't carry a lot of cash. To a large extent, I depend on my debit card overseas for ATM machines. However, I have a PIN that is 4 digits; if your PIN is more than that, no foreign ATM will work. I've used ATMs all over the world with 100% success. And nowadays, the ATMs let you pick a language; back in the 90s in Hong Kong, I had to guess what function I was performing.

 

The only precaution is to be careful when using a streetside machine because in some places like Paris, the Montmartre area, the bad guys watch us at the ATM and make a decision whether to rob us or not. Since you say "we" are leaving soon, your Significant Other can be the look-out at the ATM. In Egypt, the poverty is so pervasive that desperate people might be on alert for a tourist at an ATM.

 

My advice is to steadily dump the Egyptian pounds early on, use them for everything, then use an ATM to bulk up as necessary if you have a good PIN number. Nobody will want your Egyptian pounds as soon as you leave their borders so the pounds will become useless script upon your departure.

 

On an individual basis, I was surprised and appreciative of the Egyptian people who were hospitable and open-minded to tourists. Unfortunately, the stories you hear about the ghastly vendors at Giza are all true. I had a vendor jam a sheik headress on my head, saying "gift, gift, one dollar, one dollar." I was in high dudgeon because no Muslim man would touch a Muslim woman like that. I told him I'd give him a dollar to leave me alone and he did.

 

The joke about camel riding is that you get to ride them for USD$10 but it costs USD$150 to get back down. You need to know that all metropolitan cities of Egypt are quite trashy with plastic bags and general junk blowing in the wind everywhere. You will be on a freeway driving fast, passing donkey carts and pedestrians in the middle of the road. It's not anarchy, it's just Egypt.

 

The interest you show about "on the ground" information bodes well for a successful trip - information is indeed power and helps keep you from being ripped off.

 

Enjoy!

Ruby

[MoneyGuy]

Excellent post, Ruby. thanks. I didn't know we could use ATM cards in Egypt. My card has a four-digit PIN.

[MercedMike]

Credit cards are great for major purchases, hotel bills, meals and so on. US$ work fine in all the tacky tourist shops and the "guantlet" of vendors outside every major antiquity site. About the only need you have for US$ will be that kind of souvenir shopping. Only you can judge how much you might want to buy. Have small bills -- $5 probably is best -- as they can never make change! Haggling and running back and forth is part of the fun.

 

Be sure to have a BIG stack of $1 bills as everything in Egypt runs on Baksheesh -- that is tips. Somebody helps you up the steps in a Temple -- $1 baksheesh. Somebody in a galabyia poses for a picture -- $1 baksheesh. Guy puts a cobra around your neck -- $1 baksheesh. In every restroom, some enterprising guy has torn the wires out of the hand dryer and hands you a paper towel -- $1 baksheesh. Take a carriage ride as part of your tour -- ride paid for by tour company, but driver gets $1 baksheesh and then asks for baksheesh for the horse too! At the tourist sites are the white uniformed Tourist Police with their assault rifles guarding you! But they have plenty of time to pose for a picture -- $1 baksheesh! It is all part of the culture of the country -- relax and get a kick out of it!

 

I sat on a camel at Sakkara and got my picture taken. I had offered the guy LE10, which is about $2. But when I got off he said, "NO NO, 10 US!" so I handed him $10. That is the picture of a lifetime and one that I will always treasure. Did he cheat me out of $8?? Heck, no, the picture was worth it, I show it to all my friends, and the story is fun to tell!!

 

You will love Egypt! (As long as you don't sweat the baksheesh!)

 

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The Halls Go To Egypt

[Joyfredsblondecruiser]

We found it easy to get our US bills exchanged at the bank in our Ramses Hilton Hotel. They also had a ATM machine there. I did use a ATM machine somewhere else on a Sunday when the banks were closed and I thought it had swallowed my card. What a scare but I did get my card back and the money I wanted. One thing if you have any leftover egyptian money, spend it or give it as tips because you cannot exchange it after leaving Egypt. Happy Sailing, Joy