Egypt Travel Info and Tips
Egypt, a land steeped in ancient history and breathtaking landscapes, offers a truly unforgettable travel experience. From the towering pyramids of Giza to the serene temples along the Nile, the country is a treasure trove of cultural wonders. To ensure a smooth and enjoyable trip, it’s essential to be well-prepared. This guide provides key travel information and practical tips to help you navigate your journey. We cover everything from visa requirements and safety guidelines to cultural etiquette and local transportation, ensuring you can focus on making lasting memories in this enchanting destination.
Fast food restaurants
There are many fast-food restaurants everywhere in Egypt in the major cities like Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada, Sharm El-sheikh, and in all the other Governorates.
Fast food restaurants in Egypt
International chains
- Pizza hut: Tel: 19000
- Roma Pizza 2 Go: 19914
- La Cassetta: Tel: 02-22618151
- Little Ceaser : Tel: 02-6074
- Fish Market: Tel: 02-35709694
- Dominos Pizza: Tel: 19223
- Chillis: Tel:02-761 7004
- T.G.I Fridays: Tel: 02-761 1113
- Fuddruckers: Tel: 16226
- KFC: Tel: 19019
- MC Donald’s: Tel: 19991
- Hardees: Tel: 19066
- Burger King: Tel: 02-24802474
Egyptian Chains
- Pizza king: Tel: 19519
- Pizza Alex: Tel 16008
- Cook Door: Tel: 16999
- MO’men: Tel: 16600
- Smiley’s: Tel: 02-692 30 71
- My Queen: Tel: 02-37491655
- Wessaya: Tel: 19303
- Tomatoes: Tel: 16999
- Al-Tazaj: Tel: 19018
- Shawerma El Rim: Tel: 02-22755115
- Jaar Al kamar: Tel: 02-37499460
Tranditional Egyptian food Restaurants
- Abou El-sid: Tel: 02-23805050
- Citadel View Restaurant, Cairo: Tel: 02-3467757
- Akher Saa: Tel: 19550
- El-Tabie El-Domyati: Tel: 16015
- FelFela: Tel: 02-3761234
- El-Shabrawy: Tel: 16919
- Egyptian food bank: Tel: 16060
Korean, Thai, Chinese, and Japanese food restaurants
- Koloon Korean, Chinese: Tel: 02-25759831
- New China: Tel: 02-9 228-9939
- Bua Khao Thai: Tel:02-23783355
- Mori Soshi Japanese: Tel: 02-33023871
Egypt Climate & What To Take
Egypt Climate: Is continental, Mostly fine, with some heat in the summertime especially in the southern cities like Luxor and Aswan. In winter it is cool that is to say 20 to 25 Celsius in the day time and it goes down to 10 to 15 at night time.
The best time to travel Egypt is winter (September to May), but still an option to travel Egypt in Summer when Cairo is comfortably warm and dry, and you can do sightseeing of the southern cities in the early morning as it gets extremely hot by noontime. Red seawater is lovely in summer, even in winter it does not get so cold.
What to take:
Gel cologne for a quick freshening up. Wet wipes. Hand sanitizer, or Gel disinfectant. Sunscreen. For outside city, tours pack Mosquito repellant. Imodium. Flashlight. Sunglasses. All to be packed in your handbag with your travel medication of pain killers, anti-bacterial, and aspirin.
Happy Travel!!
Water, Drinks, And Food
Water: It is not advisable for a tourist to drink the Nile water in Egypt, it is very well treated that is to say safe for the Egyptian people to drink, but for a tourist, you need to get used to it even before thinking of using it for a maker of a cup of tea or coffee. You do not have to worry as you can find mineral water bottles everywhere in Egypt for cheap prices.
Drinks:
While in Egypt try the Egyptian drinks like Sugarcane juice, Hibiscus (Karkade) tea, and Doom juice, they are very tasty and healthy. Be aware; all drinks and water are usually not included with the meals you order all over Egypt except tap water if you have decided to use it as it is completely free. Tea and coffee are served with breakfast in the hotels included as part of your meal.
Food:
Beef, chicken, or fish are the main content of Lunch and dinner meals as main daily meals in Egypt add to them Rice, pasta, or fries to give it the complete shape of a meal with your favorite salad all served in the hotels and in the Nile Cruises. For breakfast in hotels, they serve cheese, honey, boiled eggs and Omelets, beans, Yogurt, Green salad, bread, Pita bread, and fruit salad. For Egyptians, they mainly eat brown beans, falafel, eggplants, green paper, chips, Green salad, and Pita bread.
To mention the Egyptian food, it is wise to know that the Egyptian cuisine is very poor as we have some few inventions in this field like Koshari which is a mix of pasta, spaghetti, rice, fried onion, chickpeas, and lintel, add to them tomato souse, salt, and vinegar altogether. And one of our popular dishes is Mah’ shi or Dolma which is simply Cabbage, or grapes leaves, or eggplants, or even green paper stuffed with rice, you will see it as part of your salad choices in the tourist restaurants or on the Nile cruise. Shish Kebab and Shish Tawook are very common here in Egypt, locals consider them Egyptian, but they are originally Turkish.
Shops & Pharmacies
Shops: Most of the shops open from 10:00 am until 11:00 pm. Sunday is off for Downtown and Khan El-Khalili Gold and Silver Shops. The shops owned by Muslim people are closed at the time of Friday prayer until the end of the prayer. For the shops owned by Coptic Christians, they are closed on Sundays for the whole day.
Pharmacies:
Open from 10:00 am until 12:00 midnight, few of them remain open 24 hours especially the ones in the main streets and those located in the busy areas.
Currency, Banks, & Credit Cards
Currency: The Egyptian official currency is the Egyptian pound (“EGP” stands for Egyptian pound, or “LE” stands for the French term” Livre Egyptian”.1 EGP is 100 piaster. It is not recommended to exchange your money in a bank at the airport as the rates are slightly lower than it is in the city banks. Bear in mind to carry some one-dollar bills as they proved very useful almost everywhere in Egypt.
Banks:
Banks are closed on Fridays and Saturdays, except they are open for five days from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Credit cards:
You can use credit cards almost everywhere in the major cities. Most shops and all hotels accept them. However, you might find an exception with American Express, as Nile cruises in Egypt do not accept it for any extra charges.
Happy Travel!
