When I started planning my trip to Egypt, I received a lot of backlash from friends and family. At one point, I had actually second guessed my decision to go and decided to do more research. Sadly, for years, terrorism has been a threat to Egypt’s tourism and economy, creating hesitation for travelers. Although the situation in Egypt is improving, it still begs the question for many tourists, is it safe to travel to Egypt? After spending two weeks traveling around, I can see how vacationing there is more challenging than other destinations, but I met a lot of friendly people and had an incredible time! To help others travel to Egypt with more confidence, I decided to create a list of safety tips based on my personal experience, so here we go!
Overview: Traveling to Egypt
Overall, Egypt is a safe country to visit; however, it is important that you make your own decision and do research on this subject before traveling due to the threat of terrorism. There are areas of Egypt that are extremely dangerous because of terrorism, such as the Sinai Peninsula and the west desert. The act of terrorism not only affects tourists, but sadly also affects the Egyptian people. The number of terrorist attacks have been decreasing over the years and finally in 2018, Egypt saw a big jump in tourism again!
The most common issues you’ll encounter are petty theft, scams, and harassment, especially if you are a female traveler. It is very unlikely that you’ll come across any serious problems, as Egyptians are extremely friendly by nature and tourism is a major source of income for the country. Although traveling in Egypt can be challenging, it can also be very rewarding! There is an incredible amount of history, amazing architecture and fantastic scuba diving! I am happy that I made the trip and will hopefully return for another adventure one day.
Here are 10 tips for staying safe in Egypt:
Check Your Country’s Travel Advisories
As life can be unpredictable at times, I recommend checking out your country’s government issued travel advisories and warnings. Travel warnings are released for a multitude of reasons, including natural disasters, terrorist activity, health precautions, unstable governments, etc. Specifically for Egypt, your travel advisory should also keep you updated on the areas with the highest activity of terrorism so you can plan your travel accordingly.
Dress Conservatively
Although Egypt is more progressive than some other Muslim countries, it is still a conservative country. It is inappropriate to wear revealing clothing and best to keep shoulders, arms, and legs (at least past the knee) covered, even for men. Wearing more revealing clothing will result in locals staring, potential cat-calls, and unwanted attention in general. The one exception we found was in the coastal cities (like Hurghada). They tend to be less strict, as they are tourist-heavy, and I felt very safe in shorts and tank tops there.
Tip: During the holy month of Ramadan, you should be extra conservative in your dress to be respectful.
Be Aware of Common Scams
Scams are common in Egypt, especially in tourist-heavy areas. While tourism is finally picking back up, it has been pretty low in past years. Unfortunately, Shop owners and companies that rely on tourism suffered greatly. The people are desperate for business, so you will need to grow some tough skin and avoid conversation with peddlers and shop owners (unless you want to buy something). While I was visiting, I had local business owners come up to me and put scarves around my neck, in attempt to get me to buy them and refused to take them back. In this situation, simply put the item on the ground and walk away. There are also a ton of shops selling cheap items, such as faux alabaster statues, cheap clothing, and jewelry and will attempt to haggle with you. If you are interested in the real stuff, there are plenty of specialty shop options (your tour guide will help you if you have one)!
A popular scam in Egypt is the “present” scam. This is extremely common in tourist areas, such as the pyramids and other temples. Locals will start by asking your name and where you are from to open up a conversation with you. From there, they will invite you into their shop to look around and will begin to give you a “present.” Some will even start writing your name in hieroglyphs on an item as a gift. It is not a gift! As our tour guide would say, “there is nothing free in Egypt!”
As you walk through the temples and various other tourist-attracting sites, you will notice people standing around, waiting for the opportunity to take your photo for you or show you something cool! While they are usually very friendly, they do expect a tip. Of course, if you don’t mind tipping in this scenario, go ahead. If not, simply answer with “la shukraan” (no thank you in Arabic) and walk away.
Keep PDA to a Minimum
Just as conservative clothing is expected in Egypt, public affection between men and women is not the norm. Avoid kissing, intimately touching and hand holding in public as it is frowned upon. With this being said, same-sex activity isn’t explicitly criminalized in Egypt, but LGBT identities are not publicly accepted. The act of same-sex intimacy in public is likely to attract a serious amount of unwanted attention.
Don’t Go Walking Alone, Especially at Night
This is a common sense rule that can apply to any country. Don’t go walking around alone at night! There is a good chance that you are going to stand out as a tourist, so it’ll make you a bigger target for scams and petty theft. There’s safety in numbers, so go out in a group if you can. Leave valuables and an extra copy of your passport in your hotel, just in case.
Be Cautious When Taking Pictures
Taking pictures of government facilities and military official installations is strictly prohibited. The Egyptian government is also sensitive about photographs of public buildings and infrastructure so be sure to get permission first!
Don’t Fly Drones
Drones are not permitted in Egypt, unless you have special permission from the Civil Aviation Authority. If you do not have permission and are caught using a drone, you can face up to 7 years in prison or a fine of £2,000! Try to be creative and use buildings to get a shot from above!
Keep the Booze Inside the Bar
Drinking alcohol is legal in Egypt, but only at a licensed bar or restaurant. Drinking in the streets or in public areas can lead to arrest. The drinking scene in Cairo has changed a lot over the years. In many areas, it has become very westernized, filled with nightlife ranging from seedy bars and flashy nightclubs.
Health Precautions in Egypt
Pharaoh’s Revenge, definitely a real thing! I highly suggest packing a little “pharmacy” bag full of medications for stomach related issues, like Immodium and Pepto Bismol. Try to avoid drinking the local water (or using it to brush your teeth) and eating fresh fruits and vegetables. A good rule of thumb is to “peel it, cook it, or leave it.” Stick to foods that are hot and have been cooked through! Traveler’s diarrhea is still the most common thing you’ll experience, due to the heat and eating different foods, so be prepared! If you have been having stomach problems throughout your trip and it doesn’t appear to be getting better, your tour guide will be able to take you to a local pharmacy to get specific medication. This is another reason I recommend going through a travel agency, leading to my next point.
Go Through a Travel Agency
As mentioned before, I highly recommend using a local Egyptian travel agency to organize your trip! I wouldn’t always advise this, but in Egypt, it makes life so much easier. Our tour guide, Hassan, was incredible and actually traveled city to city with us so we could keep the same guide the entire trip. We received daily bottles of water, personal transfers for each location, tips on scams and how to avoid them, and they were very flexible with the scheduling. The travel agency even handled the tipping by collecting it all at the beginning of the week, so we didn’t have to deal with that ourselves. Egypt has a huge tipping culture, so this took a lot of pressure off of us. If you would like to go through a travel agency to help plan your trip to Egypt, just shoot me an email and I would be happy to help!
So, is it safe to travel to Egypt?
The short answer is, yes. It is safe to travel to Egypt, as long as you use your best judgment, follow the law, and avoid known dangerous areas.
It’s important to remember that traveling to Egypt requires more vigilance than some other countries. It may also require having some thick skin, especially when locals have been trying to sell you things the whole trip! It isn’t the easiest trip, but it is definitely worth it just to experience the unique history, incredible architecture and amazing diving!
Interested in diving the Red Sea? Here are 6 reasons why you should. Our liveaboard crew was amazing (as well as the diving) and we would absolutely go again!
