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Travel guide
Cairo
3 days · 5 things to do
Best time to go: October to March
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Welcome
Cairo, in a few days
Cairo means the pyramids and the Sphinx of Giza at the city's edge, the maze of the Khan el-Khalili bazaar and Tutankhamun's treasures at the Grand Egyptian Museum. A huge city, loud and intense, and endlessly absorbing.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 1 thing
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The pyramids and the Sphinx of Giza · half a dayThe only ancient Wonder of the World still standing: Khufu's Great Pyramid, some 4,500 years old, with the Sphinx guarding the plateau below.
- Afternoon · The Grand Egyptian Museum · 2 to 3 hNear the Giza pyramids, the world's largest museum devoted to one civilisation, displaying Tutankhamun's full treasure together for the first time.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hotel Longchamps€70 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Khan el-Khalili bazaar free · about 1 h 30A 14th-century souk of lanes selling brass, spices and lanterns, with El Fishawy café for mint tea; bargaining is expected.
- Afternoon · The Citadel of Saladin · about 1 h 30Saladin's 12th-century fortress on a spur above the city, crowned by the Ottoman-era Mosque of Muhammad Ali and its slender minarets.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Ramses Hilton€90 a night
D3
Day 3
1 thing to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Islamic Cairo free · half a dayThe UNESCO-listed medieval city of mosques, madrasas and gates, best walked along Al-Muizz Street from Bab al-Futuh to Bab Zuweila.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Novotel Cairo El Borg€85 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Koshari: rice, pasta, lentils and a spiced tomato sauce, sold on every corner.
- Ful medames: stewed fava beans, the breakfast of the country.
- Taameya: the Egyptian falafel, made with fava beans rather than chickpeas.
- Molokheya: a thick green soup of jute leaves, heavy on the garlic.
- Sugar cane juice, and karkade, the cold hibiscus drink.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Agree the price first, every time: taxi, carriage, camel.
- Turn down the touts at the pyramids clearly, and keep walking.
- Sealed bottled water, and skip washed salad outside good restaurants.
- Carry small notes: baksheesh runs through daily life here.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Arabic
| English | Arabic |
|---|---|
| Hello | مرحبا (marhaba) |
| Thank you | شكرا (choukran) |
| Please | من فضلك (min fadlik) |
| Yes | نعم (na'am) |
| No | لا (la) |
| Excuse me | عفوا (afwan) |
| Goodbye | مع السلامة (ma'a salama) |
| Do you speak English? | هل تتكلم الإنجليزية؟ (tatakallam injliziya?) |
| I don't understand | لا أفهم (la afham) |
| How much is it? | بكم هذا؟ (bikam hadha?) |
| Where are the toilets? | أين الحمام؟ (ayna al-hammam?) |
| The bill, please | الحساب من فضلك (al-hisab min fadlik) |
| Help! | النجدة! (an-najda!) |
| Cheers! | في صحتك! (fi sahtak!) |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEgyptian pound (EGP)
BudgetAbout €55 a day, mid-range
Best seasonOctober to March
PlugC/F · 220V
Tap waterBottled and sealed only
TippingBaksheesh is expected, in small notes
Emergency122 / 123
EntryVisa on arrival or an e-visa, needed by EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports: buying the e-visa online before you fly saves the airport queue.
HealthHepatitis A and typhoid are recommended. No malaria. The heat is the real risk: drink more than you think and cover up.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/cairo
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.