December 2021
Recently, I visited the beautiful continent of Africa. This trip had been a goal of mine for the past ten years. It was a dream come true and I am sure it will be the same kind of trip for you.
Before you go, though, I have some tips for you to have the best trip possible. I learned these things after arriving in Cairo and seeing things with my own eyes.
GET THEIR LOCAL CURRENCY
Reading other blogs online I thought it was okay to bring lots of American bills, especially small bills for tipping. This is not the case. You really need to convert your money to the Egyptian pound as soon as possible. Maybe in the past, it worked really well to bring American money but now it is not accepted for tipping. There were places that accepted cards and large foreign bills but those were mainly in Cairo. I even tried paying for a tour in dollar bills and was told that their banks don't even accept them. Whenever you convert your money into Egyptian also make sure to trade your larger bills for smaller ones like 5 and 10 pounds. It is much easier to pay for bathrooms and people helping you along the way with these small bills.
2. DON'T EXPECT GREAT INTERNET
If you are hoping to get internet anywhere and everywhere you need to have an unlocked phone. In order for the local sim cards to work in your phone, you need to have some type of unlocked phone. Locked phones with a new sim card inserted will restart and have a bunch of issues so save yourself the headache and get a burner phone or ask around for wifi. Outside of Cairo, it seemed really hard to get cheap and decent internet. Another option I found to work well was having T-Mobile and opting into their international plan. When you arrive in Egypt your phone will ask you if you want to upgrade.
3. DON'T BRING SHORTS
This one is for men and women. It is the culture to be covered with either the long traditional dress or hoodies and pants. Egyptians especially in Cairo have a sense of style and it never included showing skin. Most women wear a hijab of some sort but there are some who do not. I wore a scarf on my head when we went into the mosques but in all other places, I did not. Our tour guide commented that even men's shorts needed to be below the knee to be respectful in mosques. Most tourists in touristy places are breaking the cultural customs and thankfully nobody seems to find an issue with it. I would just recommend if you are going to be on your own a lot in Egypt to be completely covered so you don't get unwanted attention.
I hope these tips helped you get started on your trip to Egypt. If you have any questions let me know if the comments and I'll be sure to get back to you!
Stay Curious,
Karli
Comments