RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOUR TRIP TO EGYPT
Dear TOURCOM Guest,
Below you will find a few tips and general information on Egypt.
We hope they will be useful.
Have an enjoyable and safe trip!
1. VISA
American visitors must hold a valid passport and a visa is required.
For travelers arriving by air, a renewable 30-day tourist visa
can be obtained at airport points of entry for $15 payable in
US. dollars. Visitors arriving overland and by sea must obtain
a visa prior to arrival.
2. HEALTH
If arriving from an infected area (most of sub-Saharan Africa
and South America), proof of yellow fever and/or cholera immunization
is required. Evidence of an AIDS test is required for anyone staying
over 30 days.
HEALTH INSURANCE . A travel insurance policy which covers medical expenses as well as loses, delays and cancellations is strongly recommended by TOURCOM. Travel insurance by Travel Guard International is available via TOURCOM.
HEATSTROKE. Upper Egypt (Luxor, Aswan, Abu Simbel) can get pretty hot in summer months. Exposure to high temperatures can leave you vulnerable to heatstroke. You should avoid excessive alcohol or strenuous activity when you first arrive in a hot climate. Don't rely on feeling thirsty, drink nonalcoholic beverages and especially water as much as possible to avoid heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Beware of salt deficiency, as well. Use a hat and sunsreeen with as many factors as possible.
FOOD & WATER. Please beware of diarrhea. Do not purchase food which are sold on the streets or in front of the open windows of stores. Do not drink tap water. Always drink the bottled water. Bring good antibiotics with you against tourist diarrhea.
PUBLIC TOILETS. Try to keep away from them. Try to use only the hotels', sites', museums and good restaurants' restrooms. If you have to use the public toilets, carry your toilet paper with you but do not throw them into the toilet. Put them in the baskets provided in the toilets.
3. MONEY
Egypt's currency is the Egyptian Pound. A pound= 100 piastres(pt).
There are notes in denominations of 25 and 50 pt and 1, 5, 10,
20, 50, 100 pounds. $1= app. 4 Egyptian Pound. Money can be officially
changed at American Express and Thomas Cook offices, commercial
banks, foreign exchange (forex) bureaus and many hotels. The most
convenient place to exchange your money is the bank located in
your hotel or the reception. Note that rates can vary quite a
bit between banks though the variations seem to be minimal on
the US dollar. Whatever method you use for changing money, make
sure you have your passport with you. It's sometimes hard to use
travelers' checks. Banks sometimes have a small handling charge
on those. Well-known brands of travelers' checks are best and,
ideally, you should back them up with your credit card.
You can obtain hard currency or travelers' checks from American
Express using an American Express Card or, with a Visa or MasterCard,
from Thomas Cook.
American Express, Visa and MasterCard can be used for purchases
in a wide range of
stores displaying the appropriate signs.
Visa and MasterCard can be used for cash advances from many branches of Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt as well as Thomas Cook. Banque Misr generally charges no commissions for cash advances, and the limit appears to depend on the terms of your particular card. Outside the big cities cash advances are often impossible, so keep some travelers' checks and/or cash handy.
4. TELEPHONES
The international dialing code for Egypt is 20. Cairo is 2, Aswan
is 97, Luxor is 95 and Alexandria is 3.
The international access code (to call abroad from Egypt) is 00.
You should always ask the reception how much you would pay in
case you make a phone call from your hotel room even if you would
like to use your calling card. The big news is that collect calls
can now be made from Cairo. However this service is limited to
some deluxe hotels and the telephone office in the departure hall
at the airport terminal.
Card phones are very good value but they are scarce in smaller
towns. You will find these orange phones mainly in telephone offices
where you can buy phone cards.
E-MAIL: Most of the deluxe hotels have an executive floor and
even if you don't have a direct internet access from your room,
you can use the internet facilities at the executive floors and
pay for this. There are also internet cafes in big cities.
5. TIME
Egypt is seven hours ahead of American Eastern Standard time.
When it's 7 pm in Egypt,
it's noon in NY.
6. ELECTRICITY
Electrical current is 220 volts AC, single phase, 50 hertz. Wall
sockets are the round, two pin European type (though for some
strange reason the socket holes are often too narrow to
accept European plugs). Bring adapter plugs and transformers if
necessary.
7. WEIGHTS
& MEASURES
Egypt uses the metric system.
Temperature: to convert F to C subtract 32 and multiply by 5/9
to convert C to F multiply 1.8 and add 32
Length, Distance & Area: in to cm multiply by 2.54
ft to m "
" 0.30
yd to m "
" 0.91
ml to km "
" 1.61
acres to ha "
" 0.40
Weight: ounces to grams multiply by 28.35
pounds to kilograms multiply by 0.45
tons to kilograms multiply by 907
Volume: gallons to liters multiply by 3.79.
8. TIPPING
(BAKSHEESH)
Tipping in Egypt is more than just a reward for having done a
service properly. Salaries and wages are very low compared with
the European countries, so baksheesh is regarded as as a means
of supplementing income. Don't be intimidated with bahsheesh.
When you consider the amount you are paying ( 50pt-1 pound for
the chambermaid of your hotel room, porter, the site guards who
whisper to you about some mummies which will be showed only to
you, etc.,) is 25 cents at a time at most. Carry lots of small
change with you but keep it separate from bigger bills.
It's customary to tip hotel personnel, guides, drivers and cruise
ship crew. Service charges are often included in tour packages.
A 10% tip is the average in restaurants. While tipping is not
mandatory in taxis, visitors are very welcomed to do so.
The average tip for a group tour (20-30 people) is $4- 5 per person per day for the guide and $2-3 per person per day for the driver. For individual travel arrangements (less people in a group) it may be better to increase this amount considerably.
9. TRANSPORTATION
Cairo is incredibly crowded and the traffic is always a nightmare.
Please be very careful while crossing the streets.
Don't even think about using the public bus. They are incredibly
crowded. Taxis are more time saving. They are very reasonably
priced in Egypt but the problem is getting on one. The taxis take
more than one party at a time who go to the same direction to
make more money. If you are traveling alone, be cautious but don't
be alarmed if the taxi driver takes other people. Before getting
on one, offer the driver more money and tell him not to accept
other passengers if you feel scared. Try to fix the amount of
money before you get on a taxi. Tell the driver where you want
to go and show him on the map in case he does not understand you.
Then fix a price and give him some extra tip. There are not taxi
meters in the taxis. You would better let the people call a taxi
for you from your hotel and tell the driver where you would like
to go and set a price for you.
10. WHAT
TO BRING
Number one not to do is not to wear shorts and sleeves attire
to the religious places in Egypt. Dress quite conservatively at
your visits to mosques, churches, synagogues and bazaars. Especially
women should be more careful about that. In places less used to
tourists, you should even more careful.
You must pack:
-Hat
-Sunglasses
-Sun screen above factor eight
-Scarf for head and shoulders for the ladies
-Crease-free, comfortable clothing
-Sweater, jackets, coats and umbrella for the winter traveling
(Alexandria, Cairo and night time desert can be quite cold and
rainy in winter months such as December, January, February, March
and April)
-A torch for the tombs and temples
-Your prescription drugs
-Sanitary pads and panty liners for the ladies.
-Good walking shoes.
-Swimsuits if you are planning to swim.
11. THEFT
AND ROBBERY
Take precautions. Besides having an insurance, put your wallet
in a safe place of which you can keep track. Do not carry your
passports with you instead use your hotel safety boxes for them
and for your valuables. Pay extra attention in crowded places
such as the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar and Midan Tahrir (and all the
crowded areas). Do not wander around empty and dark side streets
at night.
12. BUSINESS
HOURS
Banking hours are from 8 or 8:30 am to 2 pm from Sunday to Thursday.
Many banks in Cairo and other cities open again from 5 or 6 pm
for two-three hours, largely for foreign
exchange transactions. Some of them also open on Friday and Saturday. Banque Misr at the Nile Hilton and Shepheard Hotel in Cairo are open 24 hours, and there are 24 hour banking services at Terminal II of Cairo Airport. During Ramadan banks are open between 10 am and 1:30 pm.
13. SHOPS
Shops have different hours at different times of the year. In
summer most shops are open from 9 am to 1 pm and from 5 to 8 pm.
Winter hours are from 10 am to 6 pm. Hours during Ramadan are
from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm and from 8 to 10 pm. There are no real
hard rules however, and even on Fridays, it is not uncommon to
see shops open for much of the day.
Especially in summer, most of the shops are closed during the
day in Luxor and Aswan and you can see only the tourist around.
After the sunset, though, when it's cool enough to go shopping,
all the shops are open and the dead city of the day time comes
to life. This goes on till midnight.
14. WHAT
TO BUY
-JEWELRY: A cartouche with the name of a friend or relative in
hieroglyphs makes a great gift. Make sure to see the hallmark
contains a standard mark showing where a piece was assayed and
a date mark in Arabic.
-PAPYRUS: Beware of poor quality or even banana leaf substitutes.
Good papyrus will not be damaged by rolling and the quality of
designs varies from the sloppy machine print to masterful hand
painting.
-TAPESTRIES AND CARPETS: Best buys are the kilims showing the
daily desert life in natural colors.
-Leather, copperware & brassware, basketware, inlay &
woodwork (of course, not all of them are done with mother-of-pearl!),
perfumes, fezzes, cotton goods, spices, musical instruments and
onyx (carved into vases, spinxes, cats, etc. For the real black
marble cats: turn the back of the statuette and check it with
your fingernail. Don't show this to the shopkeeper!)
15. PHOTOGRAPHY
Egypt is full of opportunities for great photography. It is allowed
in many of the ancient sites, however, flash is banned in most
of the tombs. At an increasing number of sites, the government
charges fees for photography and taking videos. It is forbidden
to photograph bridges, railway stations, anything military, airports
and other public works. Signs are usually posted. Ask first if
you want to take photos of people. Some Muslims don't allow their
photos taken. And some others may ask for tips.
16. USA EMBASSY
AND CONSULATE IN EGYPT
EMBASSY: 7 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo (Phone: 355-7371):
Open Sunday to Thursday from 8 am to 4:30 pm.
Consulate: Unit 64904, 110 Tariq al-Hurriya, Alexandria (Phone:
482-1911) Open from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Sunday to Thursday.