Independent travel to Egypt: how to organize your trip in 2021, how to get a visa, what are the prices for hotels, food and transportation? Advice and reviews of tourists, safety recommendations.
In Egypt, as well as in Turkey, they prefer to travel on a voucher. Due to the events at the end of 2015 and the temporary suspension of flights, many tourists thought about how to travel to Egypt on their own. We have highlighted the main points of an independent trip.
Exchange rate: 10 Egyptian pounds (EGP) ≈ 48 RUB.
Visa to Egypt for Russians in 2021
A tourist visa to Egypt for Russians in 2021 can be obtained upon arrival for a month at any border crossing, except for the checkpoint with Israel, where only the Sinai stamp is put. The cost is $ 25. You need to have a passport (valid for more than six months), a return ticket and a completed migration card. Payment is at the checkout. In the migration police, the visa can be extended for another month or turned into a double visa.
The Egyptian government plans to change the visa regime: a visa upon arrival will be issued only to package tourists, and independent travelers will be able to obtain an e-visa. However, while this system is being developed, the old rules remain in place.
A free stamp is put to visit the Sinai Peninsula, but it limits the stay in the country: the period is 15 days, you cannot leave the South Sinai.
How to get to Egypt on your own
When will travel to Egypt be allowed? But nobody forbade them. The Russian Foreign Ministry only recommended refraining from traveling in connection with the terrorist attacks. Now there are direct flights only from Cairo, and the resorts can be reached with only one or two transfers.
Tickets are expensive. The cheapest way is to fly to Egypt from Moscow on your own: direct flights to Cairo in 2021 cost from 23 thousand rubles in both directions, with a transfer - from 16 thousand. Tickets to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh cost from 19 thousand rubles round trip (for example, from Pegasus via Istanbul).
A flight from St. Petersburg to Sharm el-Sheikh costs from 22 thousand rubles, to Hurghada - from 20 thousand, to Cairo - from 19 thousand rubles.
Inexpensively you can fly to Egypt from Sochi, Krasnodar and Mineralnye Vody - from 19 thousand.
For most cities in Russia, a flight to Egypt is expensive (25-35 thousand rubles), since you need to fly with transfers through cities in Europe or Turkey.
How to book a hotel in Egypt on your own
There are many good hotels and hostels in the country - in the range of $ 10-30 per night for two in the center of Cairo (for example, Kings Palace Hotel Cairo 4 *). In Hurghada, prices start at $ 12 for two, but there are many more hotels in the $ 19-30 range (for example, Triton Empire Inn 2 *). In Sharm El Sheikh, you can find a room at a discount for $ 8, but mostly good rooms cost $ 16-40 (Falcon Hills Hotel 3 *).
Tips on how to choose and book a hotel in Egypt yourself:
- Remember that Egyptian hotel ratings do not match European ones.
- If you are offered the wrong number that you booked, ask to change it.
- Before check-in, make sure that everything is in order in the room so that you will not be presented with an invoice.
- Book only hotels with good reviews - look for them on Roomguru.ru.
- Lock your valuables in the safe.
If you want home comfort, rent a room, an apartment, or a house on Airbnb - there are a lot of interesting and sometimes even exotic offers! This is especially beneficial for families or groups of friends. In Cairo, you can rent an apartment from $ 12 per day for two, there are many good options for $ 20-35 (the average price is $ 78). In Hurghada there are apartments from $ 20, in Sharm el-Sheikh - from $ 13, but this is rare, mostly for $ 40 and more (average price - $ 59). Long term rentals are usually cheaper.
Transport
You can travel between cities by plane, bus and train. There are also fixed-route taxis, where when boarding you need to negotiate the fare (bargain), it is better to write it down. But on buses, prices and schedules are usually fixed.
According to reviews, the train is the most convenient way to travel independently in Egypt. Get air-conditioned first class tickets. Buy them in advance. Remember that trains are usually not punctual. Railways website.
There is a subway in Cairo. You can sail along the Nile by boat, there is also a ferry between Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
Decided to rent a car? Be attentive and careful - the concepts of driving in Egypt are peculiar. Asphalt leaves much to be desired, warning signs are not everywhere. Find out all the nuances of car rental abroad.
Transport prices in Egypt:
- minibuses in Hurghada - about 1 Egyptian pound;
- metro in Cairo - $ 0.11;
- bus from the airport to the center of Cairo - $ 0.22-0.34;
- 3 km taxi in Cairo - from 0.80 to 1 $.
Taxi drivers in Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are arrogant: they don't use the meter, and prices are 2-3 times higher. In order not to be deceived, use trusted companies, for example, KiwiTaxi.
Food prices in Egypt in 2021
If you are going to travel to Egypt on your own, it is important to know the food prices. Local fruits and vegetables are cheap, imported ones are more expensive. If you love and know how to bargain well, you can buy food in the markets. In shops and supermarkets, food prices are reasonable: for example, a carton of milk (1 liter) costs about $ 1, a loaf of bread - $ 0.5-0.7, a kilogram of oranges about $ 0.5 per kg.
You can eat at an inexpensive cafe for $ 3-5 per person, lunch at a restaurant - from $ 10. In cafes for locals, you can find very cheap food - from $ 1 to $ 5 per dish (in Cairo, for example). But in Sharm el-Sheikh it is more expensive, since the city is focused on vacationers.
Travel tips and reviews, safety
If you are going to Egypt on your own in 2021, remember the terrorist threat. According to reviews, you also need to be careful with the Arabs - they like to breed vacationers. Here are travel tips for a safe holiday in Egypt:
- Always count your change.
- Pay only after the provision of the service or receipt of the goods.
- Keep money and documents closer to your body.
- Bargain desperately - the seller will not be at a loss.
- Put your valuables in the safe (at the same time, there are reviews that the staff replaces the money in the safe with fake ones).
- Watch out for towels and things left by the pool and on the beach - the staff can steal them (a fine will be charged for a lost towel).
- Women and children in the streets are asking for "baksheesh" - a donation. Don't give.
- If a seller invites you to have a cup of tea or asks to translate something into Russian - with a probability of 99.99% he will persuade you to buy something. Don't waste time on it, politely refuse.
- How to deal with taxi drivers: negotiate the price in advance and write it down on paper, pay in local currency. A taxi driver can press on pity and beg for money, take it to the wrong place, try to cheat - in this case, threaten with the police (in especially difficult cases, call). Personally, we never had any problems with taxi drivers.
- Arabs on bikes rip bags off their shoulders. Our bag was almost ripped out.
- Collect a tourist's first aid kit before traveling. Wear a hat, dark glasses, and sunscreen.
- For the sake of safety and peace of mind, we advise you to take out insurance. Travel insurance →
- Girls are better off not wearing open clothes. We also do not recommend walking alone.
