Cairo, Egypt and airport experiences

I will be flying out of JFK but my trip is on 3/13/18. When you get back would appreciate feedback on your Cairo Egypt airport experiences. Have a wonderful and safe journey.

What was your experience like? I'm booked for a Oct/Nov 2018 trip and will be landing in Cairo at 11pm! I'd love some advice.

My sister-in-law is Egypt right now and gave the exact same advice about vendors! But then she followed it up with "The locals can be lovely, often the stall people in the souk just want to joke with you, while they take you cash of course, but haggling can be a serious matter! The taxi guys can be the most annoying, but ..... revised the 'no smiling'. It's best to smile say no and add 'but have a nice day'. Seems to finish the exchange."

Our guide gave us bottled water every morning. I also carried my own bottle with a filter straw. I like to drink a lot. Bottled water is available at most sites. Very few of the hotels had shampoo etc. We brought our own. I don’t recall seeing hair dryers, but I don’t use one, so I wasn’t looking for them. We never wore dressy clothes. Some folks changed for dinner, but that’s a lot of clothes to pack!

Elena, I hate to bother you again. I am wondering about the baggage restrictions on the smaller airlines that will take us to Egypt and around Egypt. We will take AirFrance from Paris to Cairo and EgyptAir (170) from Cairo to Luxor to Aswan to Cairo. It appears that Egypt Air only allows one carry-on for economy flyers and no personal item.
I'm wondering if this was your experience and if you have any advice on luggage.

We each had a large suitcase and sizable backpack and had no trouble on the interior flights. We paid no additional costs. EgyptAir checked the large suitcase at no charge and we carried on our backpacks. Just like other airlines. As a side note - You will go through metal detectors and be searched at every stop. That includes hotels, museums, archaeological sites, etc. I bought an ornamental dagger for my husband and almost didn't get it home because the hotel in Cairo would not let me bring it into the hotel. Road Scholar staff saved it for me and gave it to me on the way back to the airport.

Thanks much. I can’t tell you how helpful and reassuring this is. Is there anything you took that you didn’t need and wished you had left home?

I checked the weather every day for week before I left, so I was pretty well-prepared. I went in January and wore jeans and short-sleeved shirts the whole trip. Alexandria was cooler, but we weren't really out in the evening. I tend to run hot, so I didn't need anything more than one long-sleeved shirt the whole time. I can't remember if I took a jacket or not. If I did, I probably didn't need it. The days are long, take comfortable shoes; a good hat; plenty of sunscreen and good sunglasses.

I'm back with a couple more questions! In addition to the $25 for a visa at the airport, how much US cash did you take/spend. What did most people do on their "at leisure" evenings?

I didn’t take any money. I used the ATM at the airport so I could get Egyptian pounds. A lot of the vendors will take American, but some won’t. We had from about 4-6 free each evening. Some folks went to the bar, so went out shopping. I generally went back to my room and relaxed until dinner. You get up really really early and it’s hot. I needed to wash up, hydrate and check my emails. Dinner doesn’t end until 830 or nine and after that it was bedtime for me!

Again, thanks so much

I think I am on the same trip with a friend. Meeting at JFK. I am a bit worried about safety. But I tell myself that things happen in my own city as well.

I'm on the Best of Egypt .... trip. Is that the one you are going on?

Yes Oct 24 to Nov 6. Leaves JFK. At 12 :10am!

In Cairo, the RS bus is always escorted by a police car, and an armed guard rides on the bus with us. At other major sites (Luxor, Aswan, etc.), guards are always present. I never felt unsafe. Egypt is hungry for tourists and makes every effort to protect them. If you want to avoid all possibility of terrorist attack, you must go live in a cave. Just enjoy the beauty and fascination of Egypt, bone up on the history and art before you go, and be polite to all the folks who constantly pressure you to buy something. Learn a few words (Thank you, Excuse me, How much does it cost?) on the Internet, and enjoy your wonderful trip! You don't really need to take any money with you (outside the $25 for the Visa); there are ATMs in the hotels. (Be sure you know your pin number, even for 'travel' cards with chips). Dollar bills are often accepted by souvenir vendors, but they are difficult to convert; banks won't take such small bills.

Thank you for taking the time to respond!

We went last December. We took $50 in ones, and used almost all of them paying to get toilet paper as we went to the bathroom. You will want this, in my opinion. Also, we were cold one or two early mornings in Cairo. I ended up buying a scarf from the ever available vendors.

We went last December. We took $50 in ones, and used almost all of them paying to get toilet paper as we went to the bathroom. You will want this, in my opinion. Also, we were cold one or two early mornings in Cairo. I ended up buying a scarf from the ever available vendors.

Hi, I’ve heard of paying for the bathroom but not toliet paper. Do you really need to pay for it? No problem I will pay for it, it’s just..I’ve never heard of that. But I’ve never seen the Pyramids either. LOL, How much is it to buy a wad each time? I’m not going to buy a roll and drag it around town with me, lol.