Egypt

Travel Guide: Things to See and Do, Language, Currency, Weather, Safety, Best Time to Visit, Transfer from Airport to City

Egypt is the perfect tourist destination for travelers looking for a treasure trove of history and culture. If you are curious to explore spectacular ancient attractions, you must visit Egypt at least once.

Egypt tourism offers much more than anyone expects. The tourists with historical interests, love to visit this place due to the iconic ancient attractions. If you are a historian and want to compile & summarize the rich history of the world, you should spend some time exploring Egypt that is the home of the most significant civilization in the world.

Egypt is one of the top 30 largest countries in the world with 1 million square kilometers of land. This historical country is located in the north-eastern corner of Africa. The Egyptian landscape is considerably amazing as most of the part is composed of sand and dust. The River Nile, the longest river in the world, adds to the beauty of this amazing country.

While planning a trip to this historical country, Egypt travel guide will help you to get the best out of your trip. I suggest you start your travel from the capital of Egypt, Cairo. Before starting your trip, you should go through the list of guidelines for Egypt tourism to ensure you are aware of the essential information.

Best Egypt Travel Guide 2020

Things to See and Do in Egypt

• Giza Necropolis
• Great Sphinx of Giza
• Djoser Pyramid
• Saqqara
• Egyptian Museum
• Cairo Tower
• Valley of the Kings

• Luxor Temple
• Islamic Cairo
• Abu Simbel Temples
• Abydos Temple
• Karnak Temples
• Siwa Oasis
• White Desert

• St. Catherine’s Monastery
• Alexandria
• The Nile
• Thistlegorm
• South Sinai

“Explore Iconic Ancient Attractions”

“Learn While Traveling”

What is the Best Time to Visit Egypt?

Time and weather are the main concern for many tourists while visiting Egypt. The best time to visit Egypt is the winter or early spring i.e. October to April. During this period, you would enjoy the outdoor attractions more because of the lower temperature.

The peak season of Egypt tourism is December and January when the travelers experience a huge crowd at famous historical places of Egypt including Great Sphinx of Giza, Pyramids of Giza, Saqqara, and Egyptian Museum.

Language of Egypt

Egypt is the tourist destination where you would hear several languages while passing through different places. However, you would not find it difficult to communicate with Egyptians while visiting different places.

The official language of Egypt is Standard Arabic hence almost everyone in Egypt communicates in Standard Arabic language. You can notice that the Standard Arabic language is used in the government official matters, speeches, newspapers, televisions, and written documents. This is the first language of every Egyptian hence it is taught in the schools.

After the official language of Egypt, you would hear Egyptian Arabic which is a local dialect. Egyptian Arabic is the most commonly spoken language in Egypt.

Other than these two languages in Egypt, there are several Arabic variants spoken in Egypt including Sa’idi Arabic, Sudanese Arabic, Ta’izzi-Adeni, Gulf, Algerian, North Levantine, and Moroccan.

Most of the educated Egyptians speak English and French. So, travelers do not find difficulty while communicating with others.

Moreover, learning new languages is becoming a trend in Egypt as Egypt is the tourist destination that attracts from different corners of the world.

In the coming period, the Chinese language will also gain popularity as some of the people related to the tourism profession are learning the Chinese language in Egypt so that they can host Chinese people and help them during tourism.

Weather of Egypt

The climate and weather in Egypt impact tourism therefore it’s essential to know about the major factors of Egyptian weather. The average temperature of famous areas of Egypt varies, but here’s the general information about the weather of the entire Egypt country.

Summer in Egypt: While during the summer (May to October), the weather throughout Egypt is hot and dry, there is humidity in Delta and along the Mediterranean Coast.

Peak summer months in Egypt (June to August) are difficult to bear because of the average temperature between 30 to 40 degrees Celsius, sometimes it goes up to 50 degree Celsius.

Winter in Egypt: The winter in Egypt (November to February) is mild with some rain. During these months, the days are usually sunny and bright while the nights are a bit colder. The travelers enjoy exploring Egypt during this peak season due to the moderate temperature. Winter in Egypt is not chilly as the temperature doesn’t drop below 8 degrees Celsius.

Safety in Egypt

Egypt is a safe country for tourism if you are a smart traveler. There’s a little crime rate but more deceptive activities for the sake of money.

Whether you are traveling alone or in a group, you must be careful and attentive at all the time while being in Egypt. You should be aware of a bitter truth that many Egyptians try to get benefits in one or another way.

The story just starts from the Airport when you are looking for a cab. You can’t believe anyone blindly as the drivers or cab owners confuse by offering prices with a noticeable variation.

During your Egypt holiday trip, you would experience lots of different activities from the natives. Some of the Egyptians greet you and try to make you a friend. Others offer you free services like capturing photos, helping in tourism, meals or more. An artist wants to show you a collection of his work, hence offers you to visit a particular place. A business person is interested to take you with him and discuss your country, your personal or professional profile, the purpose of your travel, and more. They also try to impress you by praising your physical look, your way of talking, or your profession.

All of the Egyptians do not have the same intension when they try to talk with you and offer you something. Some of the people are pretty genuine and friendly, they just like to build a good relationship with tourists. On the other hand, some people keep an eye on your wallet. You would be unable to understand their motive immediately, so your smartness is essential during the entire trip.

In short, you can enjoy your stay if you take extra care while visiting Egypt. Now you can better understand the answer to “Is Egypt Safe for Tourism?”

Currency Exchange in Egypt

The official currency of Egypt is the Egyptian Pound (EGP). One Egyptian Pound is equal to 100 piastres. The coins and banknotes both are accepted widely in Egypt. The amazing thing about Egyptian currency is that you would be able to find banknotes of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 denominations.

You can find money changers throughout the country. When you arrive in Egypt, you can exchange money at the airport for the initial transactions. The local currency of Egypt is widely available in banks, various hotels, and money exchanges. You can use Google Maps on your phone to reach a particular location. Google Map App is available for iOS and Android devices.

Keep in mind that at most of the places only local money is acceptable therefore, you should have the Egyptian Pounds if you go out for visiting attractions in Egypt. On the other side, some of the hotels and tourist guides prefer to take USD rather than Egyptian Pounds, so, keep some USD or other renowned currency notes.

Your international debit card and a credit card are also useful while being in Egypt. You can withdrawal money from the ATM and even pay bills using a credit card.

It’s a good idea to use an online currency converter tool XE to know the latest conversion rates. Download the XE app for iOS or Android to quickly check the conversion rate of Egyptian Pounds to another currency.

You can also find some currency exchange machines in tourist places. For instance, there are about three (at the time of writing this guide) currency exchange machines in the Egyptian Museum. So, if you need to exchange the currency you can operate this machine by following on-screen instructions. The standard currency exchange rates are applied.

How many days do you need for Egypt Tourism?

If you want to cover most of the major tourist attractions during your trip to Egypt, you should plan a trip of about 2 weeks, but if you have a low budget or restricted time, you can explore Cairo, Aswan, and Alexandria in 10 days.

Depending on certain circumstances and preference you can increase or decrease the number of days to explore top attractions of Egypt.

Best Way to transfer from Cairo Airport to City

If you are visiting Egypt for the first time and do not know how to communicate in Arabic, the best way to get to the city from Cairo airport is a pre-booked cab or taxi.

Egypt is the place where you need patience and negotiation skills to book a taxi at the airport. You will be offered different taxi fares by lots of drivers around you. To avoid a stressful experience, you are suggested to go for a pre-arranged taxi.

The mobile phones with international roaming facility can ease your work. You can download Uber Egypt, signup, and book cab easily and get to the city. I would personally recommend using Uber for making your travel safe and smooth.

Depending upon the different purposes, you can book Uber Scooter, Uber Tuk Tuk, Uber X, and Uber Select. You can find detailed information about these services on the Uber blog.

At Cairo International Airport, the shuttle busses service is available as public transportation. You can board the bus from the outside of the airport. The schedule of buses is fixed at a regular interval of time.

Choose the best transportation means in Egypt and enjoy safe & pocket-friendly tourism.

Do let me know, do you find this Egypt travel guide helpful for visiting Egypt and explore popular places in Egypt? I would love to hear from you and your companion about the experience of Egypt tourism.