MissGreen

Hi fellow "Egypt lovers"...

I was wondering how much spending money is required for Egypt. I would be on a 14 day tour of the usual sites, Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria, Aswan and Nile Cruise. All breakfasts paid for, some lunch & dinners. All entrance fees would be covered and I would have my own guide and driver.

I understand I also need lots of baksheesh money!!! But just wondering for a nice trip, not budget, what might I need.

I appreciate the help and love reading everyone's comments in other posts....

Shukran!

MissGreen

Oops... error when creating this... I didn't realise my post would show twice.... it said error! Sorry all!

P_M

Hmmm, well it's hard to say w/o knowing your spending habits. I'm not much of a shopper and I rarely if ever bring home more than $50 worth of stuff. However I DO spend a lot more than that on wine, beer, great food and doing fun stuff.

On my Egypt trip I brought about $400 in US cash and a few traveler's checks as a back-up to my ATM card, but the ATM was my primary source of cash. The great thing about ATMs is you can leave more cash at the bank home and get it while traveling.

PS Mind you, the traveler's checks are to be used ONLY as a last resort. I never recommend tc's as a primary form of exchange.

mahler77

I'm having thoughts on that subject too Miss Green.I thought about 450-500 English pounds worth of Egyptian pounds????I'm in Cairo for 7 days.

sf7307

The only thing we spent any cash on at all was trinkets (and like P_M, we didn't buy much -- just the "required" payruses, and for those, we used credit cards), and bottled water and snacks. Just about everyone takes credit cards, including all the restaurants.

scotsgirl

Hi Mahler

You wont need to change it all to Egyptian Pounds before you go and to be honest I only change a little bit of money before I go. In Egypt £ and $ are widely used and so you might get a better rate over there. I paid at Philae Temple in £ for my drinks, the man was delighted to take the £ because the notes are more valuable (apparently) and he gave me my change back in Egyptian Pounds.

I also got a pre-paid Credit card and put a few hundred pounds on that. That way i knew it would be able to be used at an ATM no problem. If you are in the UK look at http://www.mycashplus.co.uk/

If you take the card that charges you per transaction rather than a monthly fee then it works out cheaper. Also, they do charge a little for withdrawal. But that way you know that your cash is safe - cos its on your card.

I also back up with my bank card which I keep in the hotel or cruiseboat safe - just as an emergency back up.

Phone your bank before you go to let them know that transactions might come out of Egypt. My bank stopped my card immediately as soon as I tried it in Egypt, and then I called them and they re-instated it right away as they thought perhaps it might be being misused. So try a bank once and dont try it again if you dont get your cash out. Call your bank.

Many of the ATM's have Maestro logo on them so you can use your british card there. Barclays also have branches you can use.

Scotsgirl

MissGreen

I was thinking $2000 US dollars..... and my partner have some. Maybe I won't need as much as I think... or, if I have to go to the bathroom lots or have the door held open every 2 minutes... I'll be using a lot of "baksheesh money"!

A friend went to Egypt and she had some cards like debit visa cards. They got 2 cards for each account in case the bank "ate" them. I must remember to ask her what brand.

Good thinking about my regular credit card scotsgirl...

Thanks.

Leslie_S

$2000 sounds like waaaaayyyy too much. Baksheesh is only baby money. You certainly don't want to be carrying that around. Take a few hundred $US then hit ATMs to get Egyptian pounds.

I think for 16 days in Egypt & Jordan I spent only $200 cash - plus charged a couple things on my c/c. Very inexpensive trip. Mainly tipping my guide and a few little trinkets.

sandi

$2K, is quite alot of cash to be carrying around. Unless you plan to buy everything, most souvenir items are relatively inexpensive, even papyrus (the good stuff, not that made on banana leaf w/ lots of gold). And, expensive items can be paid for by credit card.

Whether you obtain local currency from an ATM or the hotel's exchange window, the rate is the same in Egypt as set by the government. Besides the ATM may charge a fee or your bank will. We never used the ATM when we visited (3/days Jordan, 10/days in Egypt). We tipped generously and purchased quite a number of trinkets; didn't spend nearly $500 (probably less) and except for about $100 we changed into EL, mostly used USD.

sf7307

$2000??!!?? Cash????? Do you carry around that much cash at home, or when you travel other places?

Iowa_Redhead

Sandi, the rate is the same from an ATM or at the hotel's exchange window? That's nice to know, thanks!

MissGreen, I haven't been to Egypt yet (55 days until my departure) but I can't imagine carrying around anywhere near $2000 cash anywhere in the world. Be very careful if you're carrying around large amounts of cash and remember not to put it all in one place or bag. You might want to consider only carrying a much smaller amount of cash and having the rest available through one or two ATM accounts.

MissGreen

I was asking how much spending money I might need for my trip... I was not saying I would have 2000 in cash, I was saying I planned to have access to about 2000 in various forms cash, visa debit card, visa etc.

I like the idea I read here or elsewhere that said have 2 purses or something like that so one can hold smaller currency for tips and the other holds cards, bigger notes etc. They said give the locals a sniff of a 20 or 50 and they'll want it!!

doug_stallings

You'll spend the bulk of your cash for tips (don't change that money into Egyptian pounds; rather, bring U.S. dollars if you can because your guides, etc. will prefer that). I spent about US$400 on various things, and that seems like way too much to spend for me. I had a devil of a time finding a working ATM outside of Cairo, so don't count on that. I was able to change traveler's checks in Luxor, but I mostly changed money at the bank in my hotel (rates are the same as elsewhere). But it was hard to get small change. You need only tip 1 Egyptian pound or less at the rest room, but those trips add up quickly, and no one seems to have change. Your guide will be instrumental there. Guides seem to be able to get small change from the banks.

sf7307

<<<You need only tip 1 Egyptian pound or less at the rest room, but those trips add up quickly>>>

They don't add up all that fast! 1LE is only $.20USD, so even if you go to the bathroom 5 times a day, that's only $1.00!!

Doug, I'm not sure when you were there, but we were in Luxor in Aug. '08 and had no trouble finding a working ATM (right on the main street, but I don't remember the name of the bank -- it might have been a Paribas branch -- to use with our BofA debit card.