Food & Drink

Egyptian Cuisine🔗

All over Egypt — and especially in Cairo — you will find an enormous range of high-class restaurants serving international cuisine: Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Indian, French and Lebanese, alongside international chains such as TGI Fridays and JW Steakhouse. Fruit, vegetables and seafood are all excellent.

Egyptian food shares much with other Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines: stuffed vine leaves, grilled meats, and an array of dips traditionally scooped up with pitta-style bread. Rice with vegetables in tomato sauce and baked pasta dishes similar to lasagna are both common, alongside spit-broiled pigeon, lamb shish kebab, and small grilled lamb kebabs called kofta. Seafood is a highlight, from Red Sea prawns and Mediterranean sea bass to tilapia from the Nile.

Egypt’s national dish is arguably Foul Mudhammas — fava beans cooked in olive oil and garlic, flavored with lemon, cumin and parsley, and often served with an egg for breakfast. A wonderful way to sample the range of local flavors is a mezze — a selection of small dishes such as Babaghanoug (smoky mashed eggplant with sesame taheena paste), Falafel/Taameyya (deep-fried spiced fava-bean patties), Waraq Anab (stuffed vine leaves), Turshi (spicy pickled vegetables) and Leban Zabadi (thick, creamy yoghurt).

For dessert, look for honey-soaked Kunafa (shredded pastry with rose water and nuts), Basbousa (semolina cake with almonds, lemon and vanilla), and the uniquely Egyptian Om Ali — a warm baked pastry with milk, nuts, raisins and spice. Most Nile cruises include at least one themed Egyptian night with a buffet of local specialties, and fresh fruit — mangoes, pomegranates, dates, figs, apricots, melons and citrus — is abundant year-round.

Non-Alcoholic Drinks🔗

Traditional options range from chilled carob juice and hot licorice infusion to the thick, nutty, spiced milk drink sahleb. Two favorites with visitors are karkady, a rich, sweet infusion of dark red hibiscus served hot or cold, and limoon, a frothy, tangy fresh lemonade made from small local yellow limes.

Alcoholic Drinks🔗

Alcohol is available in all Egyptian hotels and most restaurants, and bars are commonplace and popular with locals and visitors alike. Alongside familiar international brands, it is worth trying Egyptian-made wine and beer — both are pleasantly drinkable.

• Wine🔗

  Obélisque — made with imported Italian grapes: a tannin-rich red (Rouge des Pharaons), a light rosé (Rosetta) and a dry white (Blanc d’Alexandrie)
• Gianaclis — made from Egyptian-grown grapes: a fruity red Cabernet Sauvignon (Omar Khayyam), a delicate rosé (Rubis d’Egypte) and a fresh white Pinot Blanc (Cru des Ptolémées)
• Château Grand Marquis — Egypt’s premium range, produced with French expertise: a crisp white, an aromatic rosé and a rich red

• Beer🔗

  Stella Local (regular lager), Stella Export (stronger), Stella Premium (dark, Belgian-style)
• Meister (regular lager), Meister Max (stronger)
• Sakara Gold (regular lager), Sakara Premium (stronger)
• Löwenbräu — the famous German beer, brewed locally under license✦Heineken

Weather🔗

Egypt enjoys year-round sunshine and almost no rain, except in Alexandria, which has a more Mediterranean climate.

Daytime temperatures run from pleasantly warm in winter to very hot in summer; northern cities such as Cairo and Alexandria are typically about 5°C cooler than southerly Aswan and Abu Simbel. Desert nights can turn extremely cold, even in summer.

Average temperatures (°C):

Average temperatures (°F):

Time Difference🔗

Egypt is GMT +2 in winter; clocks move forward one hour in summer.

Documentation🔗

Travelers to Egypt must carry a valid passport with at least six months’ validity beyond the end of their stay, and containing at least two blank pages.

Check with your closest Egyptian embassy or consulate for exact visa requirements at the time of travel. For most North American and Western European nationalities, a tourist visa can typically be purchased on arrival at any Egyptian international airport; We Travel can also arrange pre-purchase of visa stamps on request. Requirements can change, so please reconfirm the latest visa rules with your We Travel representative before departure.

Security🔗

Keep travel documents, traveler’s cheques, cash, passports and other valuables in your hotel or cruise-boat safety deposit box. Street crime is minimal, but as anywhere, use common sense: avoid ostentatious jewelry and carry only small amounts of cash.

In general, you will find people hospitable and friendly — Cairo is considered one of the safest major cities in the world, and visitors can comfortably walk main city streets at night. Keep a closer eye on bags and wallets when wandering the bazaars, and women in particular are advised to dress more conservatively out of respect for local customs, especially in more traditional areas and small towns.

Health Matters🔗

Get the latest health requirements from an authorized medical source, such as your doctor, before you travel. At the time of writing there are no mandatory vaccinations for Egypt, however:

• Make sure Tetanus and Polio boosters are up to date
• Yellow Fever: a valid inoculation certificate is required if arriving from, or via, an infected or endemic area — check with your travel clinic or doctor if unsure

To help avoid getting sick during your stay, follow these golden rules:

• Drink only bottled water — never tap water
• Avoid ice in drinks
• Eat only vegetables that have been cooked
• Avoid salads and any fruit that cannot be peeled
• Avoid food that may have been sitting out, especially meats or dressings containing mayonnaise

Money Matters

The unit of currency is the Egyptian Pound (£E), divided into 100 piasters. Notes come in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pounds, and coins in 5, 10, 20, 25 and 50 piasters. It is useful to carry local currency for tipping and for smaller souks or local restaurants; US dollars are widely accepted at major tourist establishments, hotels and souvenir shops.

There is no restriction on the amount of foreign currency or traveler’s cheques you may bring into the country; however, at the time of writing, travelers carrying Egyptian currency in excess of 1,000 USD-equivalent must declare it on arrival. Limits can change — please confirm the current threshold with your We Travel representative. We suggest changing only small amounts of money as you go, to avoid being left with a large sum of Egyptian currency at the end of your trip.

Currency Exchange🔗

One government-controlled exchange rate applies across the country, set daily and available at every bank. You can exchange currency at banks or currency exchange houses (usually open 10am–9pm daily) in most major cities; all major hotels exchange foreign currency at the same rate as banks. Keep your exchange receipt — it allows you to convert Egyptian pounds back to foreign currency at the airport, along with hotel bills, shopping and other exchange receipts as evidence of official transactions.

Banking Hours🔗

Generally 9am–2pm, Sunday through Thursday, closed Fridays and Saturdays. Cairo Airport and most major Cairo hotels offer 24-hour banking services. Bring your passport, as it will be required for any transaction.

Credit Cards🔗

MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted at major restaurants, almost all hotels, and many shops. American Express is accepted at major hotels but less widely elsewhere; Diners Club is rarely accepted.

Departure Tax🔗

At the time of writing, the airport departure tax is already included in your ticket price.

Clothing🔗

As with any country whose customs differ from your own, it is polite to dress respectfully, particularly around religious sites and while a service is in progress.