This section describes my experience in November 2022. Is Egypt currently safe? Overall, I think it is.
On the safety and security side, fortunately Egypt does not currently have any serious and well-publicized issues. No safety events involving foreign tourists lately. Overall, my perception is that the country is under strict supervision. However, the current situation is relatively relaxed. The road check points are everywhere but controls are lax. If that continues, it is unlikely you will encounter any serious safety issues.
However, in addition to Egypt’s security, there is one more important thing to keep in mind. Unfortunately, daily hassle for tourists is currently wide spread. Maybe it is because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which blocked tourism and severely reduced tourist dollars in 2020 and 2021. If it is, hopefully, 2023 and beyond will only get better.
It is also a difficult section for me to write, as little fun or positive personal memories.
However, when I return to Egypt (yes, I still want to go back), I will definitely read all this in detail again. I also hope you will find it useful.
And I also sincerely do hope that you will not be exposed to any of the stories below.
Overall, this article has the following sections below.
- Safety
- Hassle Factor
- Be early and mention Arabic words
- Tale of calculator errors
- Famous 50 or 100 pounds
- Always lovely taxi negotiation
- Minibus ticket
- Train ticket
- Sellers bombarding you with goods
- Tour / boat / camel / restaurant / hotel commission
- Everybody is your guide
- Backsheesh
- More Information about Egypt
- Useful Arabic Words
Safety
Overall, given the importance of the tourism economy, all corresponding areas are under strict and constant supervision. You will go through tens of police road checkpoints. You will see soldiers in full gear with guns watching you. You will see armored military vehicles with machine guns.
All this is normal.
In more supervised areas (e.g., Sinai, close to Libya), your driver will leave your name and country, and his license plate in some checkpoints. You will be tracked while travelling, especially if at night. When at a checkpoint, a simple “hello” or “salam” (same in Arabic) to the border security is usually sufficient.
When going to the desert in Sinai, or the west or the south of the country, you will absolutely need a guide. Non-negotiable for many reasons.
You probably do not want to make history and news headlines for any wrong reasons.
Hassle Factor
Unfortunately, this will be a longer section of this Egypt travel guide given the number and sophistication of different scams. Honestly, I was surprised by the frequency and sophistication of those techniques.
For Egypt overall, the hassle factor is 10/10. Egypt has been a big tourist destination for decades. However (or maybe because of that), you will be constantly a target for scams and just plain squeezing a few extra dollars out of you every day.
However, this hassle factor does differ across cities. Cairo and Luxor are probably 10 out of 10 (or higher if it were possible).
Aswan is probably 5/10 with most incidents around the promenade along the Nile, and the boats and feluccas there.
Abu Simbel is more relaxed with 3/10, where a polite “thanks”, “shukran” (the same in Arabic) or “la shukran” (“no, thanks”) will probably be sufficient.
Similarly, Dahab in Sinai is quiet and nobody will bother you much.
Be early and mention Arabic words
If you want less of this delightful exposure in Giza, Luxor or Aswan, travel early before the main tourist tours. At 6-8am there will also be fewer hawkers and potential guides.
As an additional remedy, please also learn a few words in Arabic. Some, which I found useful, are below.
In my experience, sellers would immediately become less pushy if you say something in Arabic, however mispronounced that might be (as in my case).
Thirdly, always carry a lot of EGP 1 / 5 / 10 / 20 notes.
Overall, no matter your nationality, language spoken, age or gender, you will be a target. You will be viewed as a rich tourist and a source of instant money.
In any case, some of the routine techniques are alive and well in 2022. Those are the main ones I have encountered. After reading them, hopefully you will not fall prey, as I did to some of them.
Tale of calculator errors
When paying for your accommodation, there will be frequently incorrect change given to you. Surprisingly, ALWAYS to your disadvantage.
If you point it out (as you should), another calculator will be taken and another calculation performed. It will generate a more correct amount, but still not 100% correct. And, yes, again, to your disadvantage. After a few cycles, especially after a long flight or drive, you will probably give up and expect it to be paid during your stay.
If you pay in foreign currency (pretty much all of them are being accepted in tourist centers), the exchange rate will be up to 10% worse than the market. You might want to avoid accommodations, which take payment on the premises. Most professional lodgings allow you to pay directly through the reservation website or app. Also, credit cards are accepted in higher-end properties.
Famous 50 or 100 pounds
In addition, all this might look a bit hilarious, except it might be pretty difficult to accept. “Hello, you still owe me 100 Egyptian pounds (about $4.50) when I booked the tour and you said you did not have change.” “Yes, I will give it to you”.
Next day. “You still owe me those 100 EGP.” “Of course, I will give it back to you.”
The moment of your departure from the city or even leaving Egypt. You guessed it. “Yes, I will give it back to you.”
Always lovely taxi negotiation
Ah, the lovely taxi price negotiation game. And I think this is truly a game. Overall, please do not pay inflated prices. Obviously, it will be better for your wallet. Secondly, you will do a favor to other tourists who visit in the future by not increasing the price levels. Thirdly, it seems that the Egyptian sellers invest much of their energy and skills in haggling with you, and do not want to lose their face. It seems they have to win in this game and squeeze even EGP5 ($0.20) to feel victorious.
During your stay you will probably take a taxi. Usually a quick Uber, Lyft , Grab or Yandex Go app order taking a few seconds. In Egypt this is a multi-hurdle process. In the end, you will probably pay a fraction of the initial quote, but also accept that you will pay more than the fair price paid by the locals.
INITIAL PRICES
NEVER enter a taxi and start the drive to your destination without agreeing on the price first.
Never accept the initial quote
Firstly, pretty much always, the initial price quoted will be 2-5 times too high (and sometimes even more). Secondly, the driver will ALWAYS ask you where you come from. Of course, he will want to greet you warmly on behalf of the whole population in Egypt.
In addition, after you reject the first exorbitant quote, he (I have not encountered any women taxi drivers on our trips in Egypt) will also ALWAYS ask you how much you want to pay.
Based on those things, he will try to evaluate your willingness to overpay. If your counteroffer is around the true cost, he will probably drop the price to your level plus around 50%. In other words, you are already making good progress.
Set your budget in advance
Unfortunately, the worst response is “I do not know”. Your negotiation opponent will conclude you are easy prey, and it will be harder to reduce the price. In other words, please ask a local in the airport arrivals hall or in the passport queue, or another passenger on the plane, train or bus. Any benchmark, however off, will be helpful.
Hotel vs driver payment
Another cute trick. When booking your taxi in advance through your hotel, your taxi driver might try to charge directly once again (“give me money now”).
Please do NOT pay. The best approach is to arrive at your hotel, go to the reception and ask who to pay. You booked your car through the hotel, so there is a paper trail. Secondly, you might have booked your hotel online and each reservation site has a ratings section.
In addition, you can always post a comment on Google or Yelp. Each hotel is interested in getting a good (or at least not a terrible) review from you. And all of us, your fellow travellers, will read your review carefully, because we want a trusted opinion.
I did pay the driver once in the car, and then got charged by the hotel again. Of course, the driver had absolutely no memory of receiving any money directly. Do not repeat my mistake.
DRIVING BEGINS BUT HAGGLING STILL ON
Let’s assume you have agreed on the final price for all passengers, all your luggage, and all tickets and permits. Congratulations, this has probably cost you a few minutes of agitated discussions and other usual taxi driver pleasantries (“the official fixed price at the airport arrival hall is old, don’t believe it”, “gas got much more expensive”, “nobody else is going in your direction”).
However, the driver might, as happened twice during our last Egyptian trip, try to renegotiate the price while driving.
Door handle screeching
Now, things are getting a bit iffy. He has gained some control of the negotiation as the vehicle is moving. However, when it stops (and if you have no luggage in the trunk), you might start opening the door. Just the sound of the door handle is usually enough. The driver might say something probably unpleasant in Arabic, but, fortunately, I did not understand it. The competition among taxis is fierce and he needs your fare. You can get off and another taxi will stop next to you, before you can spot it. Be firm with your initial driver and you will finish your journey at the initial price.
Even if you defended your initial price, at your destination the taxi driver might want to charge you for some (parking / government) tickets or permits (especially when your trip commences or finishes at an airport). It seems, the defended price is still considered as flexible in this delightful negotiation game.
Also, the same scam exists among the horse-drawn carriage drivers in Luxor. Some hotels even have warnings about the low initial price of a calèche. However, then there are some unavoidable additional exorbitant charges, which make the journey expensive.
The final technique, strangely especially among the tuk-tuk drivers. After the driving starts, he might say “it is further than what I thought. You have to pay more.” No fun. And you thought at least a small tuk-tuk would be different.
(Un-)happiness level
Overall, my experience has been that if the taxi driver or the bazaar seller in Egypt is genuinely unhappy, this is probably a good indicator you got a good price. Congratulations and thank you again on behalf of the future fellow tourists.
Minibus ticket
If travelling in Central or South America or Asia, I do not remember paying a higher price as the other (local) passengers on the same minibus.
In Egypt please agree on YOUR price to YOUR destination with the DRIVER before you leave. Otherwise, you might have to pay 3-5 times more than local passengers.
Second thought: please fix the price with the DRIVER. NOT the other people who are loading the luggage on the roof. Or the hawkers just yelling the destination to attract the passengers, or their friends. They are not decision makers here, and they will probably not take the minibus anyway.
Train ticket
Now we are leaving the minibuses and cars and move to trains. Easier than the taxi drivers, but please be careful here as well.
Let’s imagine your plane, taxi or bus was late and you did not have a chance to buy a ticket at the ticket office. Or, as in our case, the booking system was down (allegedly happens on a regular basis).
A friendly gentleman in the ticket office told me in excellent English to board the train, explain it to the conductor, and pay an extra EGP20 (less than $1) to have the ticket issued in the carriage. Makes perfect sense.
However, various people dressed not as a train conductor will approach you with the usual dose of friendliness (“Welcome, my friend. Where are you from? Where are you going? Come, I show you”). He will show you the right train and the best carriage. Amazing. So what’s the catch?
In a few minutes he might appear with a used ticket and try to sell it to you. In our case, the previous owner crumpled the ticket pretty thoroughly. Moreover, the conductor crossed it when validating it. We would like to credit our helpful platform friend for carefully straightening the ticket and convincing us it is to our destination (“Look, to Aswan. Written in Arabic here.”)
Needless to say, do not buy it. You might say that you will buy your ticket from the train conductor and it will usually solve the matter immediately.
Sellers bombarding you with goods
When on a train or bus, hawkers will inevitably come and drop their goods on your lap. Snacks and beverages make perfect sense. However, a medium-sized bag of rubber bath plugs descended on me as well. Clearly I must have looked in dire need of those on this Luxor-Aswan train.
If you accept and open any of those items, you will have to pay for them. I noticed two different solutions. Firstly, ignore all of those wonderful things, and wait for the hawker to return and collect his goodies. The second one, which was pretty hilarious to watch, was a group of tourists in their early 20s, who would throw all their packages back at the sellers immediately. Not sure the best approach but definitely creative.
Tour / boat / camel / restaurant / hotel commission
Once you get to your destination, you will not be forgotten. Especially in the traditional tourist areas (e.g., major Luxor temples, along the Nile promenade in Aswan), countless people will approach you to book a tour. Or to put you on a camel or a felucca. Or to take you to a restaurant or hotel.
They will always make a commission on that. Secondly, you will probably pay a higher price than if booking directly. Thirdly, they will usually ask for a tip (“backsheesh”) as well.
Everybody is your guide
It will happen at any tourist site of any importance, from the pyramids in Giza to the smallest ruined temple around Aswan. You will be greeted tens of times, and people will start describing and explaining things around you. Even if the previous night you did read about this site. Alternatively, you might be offered a site (e.g., tomb), which is normally closed to the public.
Quickly, it will turn out it is not because of the kindness of their heart. You will be expected to pay, and sometimes significantly more that you think it was worth it. If you do not want it, a simple “thanks” in English (or even better “shukran” in Arabic) with a smile will usually do.
Backsheesh
Finally, last but not least, backsheesh. It will be an integral component of your Egyptian experience. It seems everybody expects you, as a rich foreign tourist, to tip or pay backsheesh.
Go on a tour, pay backsheesh to the drivers and the guide. Somebody shows you the way to the train station, pay backsheesh. A gentleman shows you a tomb closed off to the public, you have to pay a backsheesh. Your new friend takes you to a felucca, of course, another backsheesh to be paid. Loading your bag into the vehicle hold for your trip with Go Bus, a driver might demand a backsheesh.
All this sounds pretty annoying. And it actually is. But not much we as tourists can do about that while travelling in Egypt. Probably best to accept that this is an additional money (and mental) payment during your trip in Misr (Egypt in Arabic). Smile and move on.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EGYPT
Beyond this article if Egypt is safe, the overall Egypt information is below.
Useful Arabic Words
Those Arabic words will help on your trip.
sabah al-khayr: good morning
missah al-khayr: good evening
marhaba: hello
keefak: how are you? (what’s the news?)
shukran: thanks
la shukran: no, thanks
kwayees: good
mumtaz: excellent
miya: water
wahed: one
hamza: five
ashra: ten
ashrun: twenty
meah: hundred
WHERE TO GO NEXT
Beyond the Egypt travel guide, consider Algeria for an amazing Sahara trip around Djanet. Algeria also has almost no hassle factor, probably as the tourist numbers are much lower. Secondly, the country is a big gas importer.
Or Indonesia for a totally different experience. 17,000 islands, amazing snorkelling and diving, Komodo dragons and Bali temples.
For the ultimate remote location, fly to Easter Island with its enigmatic moai.
Another up and coming place is Uzbekistan and its stunning Silk Road cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. Combine it with mountains and lakes in Kyrgyzstan.
For a list of places with lesser crowds (and how to avoid them): Avoid Crowds When Travelling – Top 21 Tips (2022).
