Questions for 1st time in Egypt for a U.S. diver

[ronscuba]

My group and I leave for our Red Sea trip on Monday. This will be our 1st time to Egypt. A few basic question if someone could answer would be appreciated.


We arrive and stay in Cairo for a few days before flying to Hurghada. We buy our tourist visa at the airport before going through immigration ? Visa paid by credit card, US dollars, Egypt currency ? If Egypt currency, is there and currency exchange booth near the visa booth ?

Our hotels and diving have been prepaid. So we were not planning on bringing much cash. Speaking of cash, are US dollars accepted or should we exchange to Egypt currency when we get there ? Can I assume ATM is readily near the tourist hotels in Cairo and Hurghada ?

Tipping. Excluding the boat crew, is tipping expected for hotel, taxi, tour guides ?

Clothing. We are going to see the pyramids while in Cairo. Any clothing restrictions to respect the local culture ? Some of us have tattoos and we have 2 women.

Thanks if people could answer some of these questions.

 

[rayaa3]

Hi - I'm a US diver - who went to Hurghada last May for the first time:

1) visa - I did mine online in advance - it's too late for that now (Monday departure) I can't speak to the question of currency/atm/ for visa on arrival.

2) Using US dollars in egypt - I paid for most things with credit card - as my cards do not have foreign transaction fees. However, I do recommend taking out some egyptian currency from an ATM when you get to the hotel (and yes, my hotel had an ATM on site I believe (Hilton in Hurghada)... Some things you simply will not be able to use a card for (taxis) or the street exchange rate is awful. Plus I like to leave room service a tip. In general local currency is easier for locals to deal with - so you'll always do better dealing in it. I wouldn't take out more than the equiv of $20 USD in local currency.

In fact - quite regularly I would run into a local who would ask me if I would like to buy english pounds from them, because it's hard for them to deal with them.

3) tipping
I tip hotel maid anytime I'm in a developing country. In my experience the hospitaly industry pays terribly and the equivilant to 1-2 USD left for them can be more impactful than it was for me...I don't know that it's expected.

tipping taxi drivers - most of those guys will end up overcharging you anyway - so no. I do tip anyone who handles my bags...dive bags are heavy.
If you only have USD - tip in USD - it's better than not tipping at all.

tour guides - sorry - outside of the liveaboard I have no idea. didn't do any touring on land.

Travelling with cash: I don't travel with cash either, unless I know I'm bringing some for a specific purpose (dive tips, I usually bring cash for that so I don't scare my bank by taking out a lot of $$ in a foreign country). I would simply get their and ATM out what you think you need. Don't overdue it...outside of spending it, no one is going to readily swap you back - unless you run into someone looking to swap something they were tipped...but again, that's usually english pounds since the english are easily the majority tourist in the area.

Have fun with the diving!

 

[runsongas]

1) yes, at a bank kiosk before customs. you will need cash (25 usd iirc) and you can also exchange currency right there. i only exchanged 20 dollars to cover cab fare and then exchanged the rest at a smaller bank once in town because the rate was better.

3) yes, egypt is a tipping culture. google baksheesh. i didn't tip cab drivers because even after haggling for a fixed rate on the ride, i knew i was overpaying. weirdly, you tip the DMs and boat crew separately in egypt. I dunno why they don't just do a split like in other places, but you can just put more into the boat crew portion so it ends up evening out on a per person basis.

i would highly recommend bringing a bottle of bourbon or scotch unless if you like skunky local brew. and a bottle of sriracha or sambal if you are going with one of the UK operators.

 

[ronscuba]

I forgot to list, we are staying at the Marriott Mena house in Giza, which is approximately 60km from the airport. Recommended transportation to/from is taxi, private car service ? Since we have dive luggage, I prefer not to take public bus. If car service is this reserved in advance or there are kiosks at the airport after we arrive ?

 

[runsongas]

hotel can arrange airport pickup i imagine. other option since it is cairo would be uber.

 

[Lorenzoid]

For the visa at the airport, I believe they post the price in US dollars.

For spending cash and tips (apart from the liveaboard), exchange some dollars for Egyptian pounds (LE) at the airport currency exchange. There are probably ATMs that work as well. I am not of the opinion that it is worth my time looking for a better exchange rate when the cost of everything is so low from an American perspective. I have wasted hours elsewhere in the world searching for the "best" rate, walking around in sweltering heat, all to save a few dollars. Not the best use of my vacation, I decided.

Tipping in Egypt is a much-discussed topic, and @runsongas hit it on the head. As I see it, "baksheesh" is the practice of giving a little something to pretty much everyone who does pretty much anything for you. It is the grease that keeps everything moving. And I mean LITTLE. Five LE, 10 LE, etc. Maybe 20 LE (that's like one US dollar) for someone who went out of their way to do something, like showed you a secret tomb in the basement of his house. At archaeological sites there is often a fee of some number of Egyptian CENTS ("piasters") to use the restroom, so try to hold onto some coins. My guide simply handed me the right coin when I needed to use the restroom, because he knows most tourists can't be bothered to carry Egyptian coins. If you happen to have a bunch of coins but don't know the right one, just hold out your hand to the person at the restroom door, and I suspect they will be honest enough to take the right coin. Egyptians can be very aggressive when trying to sell you something, but I believe most are genuinely honest and are not out to seriously rip you off.

Taxi drivers or other people whom you are paying directly for a service don't expect a tip on top of that.

I don't recall exactly what the practice was for restaurants, but I seem to recall doing whatever Tripadvisor or my guidebook said was the thing to do. (Surely Google can help.) I suspect it was to leave a modest tip of (at nicer restaurants) maybe 10 percent at most. I do recall tipping the waitress who served us drinks at the pool area at our hotel around 10 percent. International hotels like that, where alcohol is served, etc., are a different animal from ordinary Egyptian places, and the expectations are different. I probably left 5LE on the table when we had afternoon tea at some hole in the wall.

 

[Darnold9999]

Visa is in USD or was six months ago.

USD or Egyptian currency works pretty much anywhere a tourist might be. I just use ATM’s - cost is a bit higher but is convenient.

Just FYI tourism in Egypt is down about 80% so there is a combination of aggressive sales and some degree of resentment that this is all “unfair”. The non aggressive sales people just don’t survive. Enjoyed my trip there just be aware that times are tough right now.

 

[moorish8idol]

For clothing, outside the marina areas and boat, a bit more conservative wear is probably best (especially in Cairo). Ensuring you cover shoulders and knees is a good rule (for both men and women) so t-shirts and capri pants/skirts and maxi dresses are good. I also usually carry a thing, light-weight scarf with me so I can wrap it around my shoulders or legs in any given situation (especially if I have a sleeveless dress or shirt on). At least on my dive boat, it seemed that almost every Egyptian man had a tattoo so not sure that is a huge deal. My clearly visible tattoo (as a woman) didn't seem to gather any stares either.

For tips, yes to the above re: baksheesh. You gotta tip everybody - even the bathroom attendants at tourist sites and the airport (small change is fine for those purposes).

For cash, to be extra careful you might want to have a reserve of US cash with you upon arrival (to either use directly or change once there). We encountered a lot of ATM problems in Marsa Alam/Hurghada - some machines may be out of service, out of cash (I guess this happens a lot at the marinas) or just scam you (we encountered one ATM that refused to process any of our cards, all from different countries, but actually registered as giving cash out to one person who then had to spend a lot of time and energy on the phone to his bank from Egypt...).

Have fun!

 

[Sunn]

I suppose you are now in Egypt...
Feedback ? I think it's interesting to have the point of view of a 1st timer....

 

[ronscuba]

Just got back. Trip was awesome.

Can answer specific questions if people have any. Value of the US Dollar is strong. Around 19 Egyptian Pounds to 1 US Dollar.

Summary

Flew NYC direct to Cairo. Spent 1 day site seeing in Giza. Site seeing pyramids, sphinx, etc. Stayed at Marriott Mena House.

Flew Cairo to Hurghada, stayed overnight at Marriott Hurghada. Dove 1 week on Blue O Two, Blue Fin. Itinerary was supposed to be, "Simply the Best", Brothers, Daedalus, Elphinstone. Winds only allowed Brothers, then headed over to Safaga.

Stayed in Hurghada after to site see in Luxor before heading back to NY.