Tips on traveling to Egypt

Traveling to Egypt is exciting, but here are key tips for a smooth trip:

• Register your trip with your state department.
• Apply for an Egypt visa online at least 2 weeks before departure.
• Pack light to avoid extra customs charges.
• Plan your itinerary to see top sights like the pyramids and Nile.
• Arrange airport transportation in advance (taxis, shuttle buses).
• Avoid dangerous areas like the Sinai Peninsula and Western Desert.

Egypt is undoubtedly the one place you will love going to for a number of reasons. The monuments, especially the pyramids, the culture, literature, and ancient history, all make Egypt a magical place to discover. But before you get your hand on the Egyptian visa to travel to this amazing country, there are some Egypt travel tips you need to keep in mind to enjoy a memorable trip.

So, let’s begin our ‘travel to Egypt tips guide.

Register trip with your State Department

You will first need to register your Egypt trip with your state department. You can do so by going to the official website and enrolling through the given online form or phone number. Don’t forget to read any specific instructions pertaining to the current situation.

US citizens traveling in Egypt are further encouraged to get registered with their nearest US Consulate or Embassy. They can do so by going to the State Dept. travel registration website and get updated info regarding security for traveling in Egypt. US citizens not having any kind of access to the internet in Egypt may directly register with the Embassy. Through registration, the US citizens make it feasible for the Embassy to reach out to them in case of any emergency.

Apply for Egypt visa online at least 2 weeks prior to departure

Most nations are given the facility to apply for an e-visa for Egypt (the United States and 44 other states), which means nationals of these countries can apply for the Egyptian visa online. For applying for an Egypt visa online, it is essential to apply at least two weeks before departure to the land.

Get an Egypt visa online instead of embassy

Applying online will provide a quick Egypt visa application. While most countries are granted with e-visa application facility, nationals from some countries have to follow the conventional way to get their Egyptian visas processed, i.e., they have to refer to the concerned Embassy and get their applications submitted and taken note of.

Also, if the applicant wants to travel for business, an embassy visit may be a requirement.

Pack light

Your first instinct while traveling would be to take whatever you can to have a comfortable experience. Guess what? It is not always advisable. It turns out; packing unnecessarily can do more harm than good as you are at risk of added custom charges. You might also be at an undue risk of losing your valuables while traveling to another country.

So, the best course of the plan is to minimize these unwanted burdens and keep the necessary items with you only. You will be at a better place mentally as well, as you wouldn’t have to worry about all the “baggage” you would have with you to carry in the hot streets of Egypt.

Have a good travel itinerary once in Egypt

Egypt comes with a lot of sightseeing offerings to explore, such as museums, the River Nile, markets, pyramids, and whatnot. To make the most out of your adventurous trip, it is vital to have the correct travel itinerary once you have arrived in Egypt. Only a seasoned traveling agent would know how to start the tour.

Contact a good travel agent. In usual cases, your trip will start by seeing the Pyramids of Giza, and the Egyptian Museum, and then you move to the Nile cruise, and so on. However, the quality of the trip is also dependent on the number of days you have for your trip to spare.

Have transportation arrangements from and to airport

Shuttle bus taxis and public trains are essential modes of transportation for traveling from and to airports in Egypt. The transports from and to the airport have air conditioners as well as free Wi-Fi. Most of the bus tickets are super cheap, with a single ticket costing up to only 5.00 EGP. It is best to look for a bus service that is tourist-centered.

If you cannot find a tourist-centered company, you can also hire a car taxi to get around the city from the airport or vice versa. A taxi service from the Cairo Airport, for example, towards the metropolitan city will cost you around 150 EGP roughly.

Ideally, you should see a driver using a meter, but this is just an over-expectation in Egypt. Bargaining is always a better idea here. Always be clear about the price before you decide to get in the car, so you don’t end up getting disappointed by the rates in the end.

Stay clear from dangerous areas

While most of the areas in Egypt are considered safe for tourists to explore, and many people travel from far-off places to this land to witness its rich history and culture, there can be some areas that might be risky for one’s safety.

You can lose your valuables as there may be a lack of strict security checks over those places. These include places cut off from the main metropolitan areas, where the check and balances on certain things are often less than anticipated.

Areas to avoid:

• The Sinai Peninsula
• The Western Desert
• Land Borders due to military presence.

It is, therefore, advised to stay in famous cities of the country that are known to be safer for tourists, such as Cairo, and be in the form of groups. In case you are a solo traveler, make sure you have proper communication with your embassy or travel agency in the town you are staying in.

Final words

Traveling to Egypt is fun and adventurous, but there are some basics you need to cover, especially the ones related to Egypt visa application and registering for your trip. The rest of Egypt’s travel advice is pretty standard; just take care of the luggage you carry, be careful about the places you visit, and the way how you spend the trip, and you are good to go.

Have questions? Contact a Natvisa expert right away