The honest brief
Egypt is the country where the pyramid you came to see is closer to a McDonald's than it is to anything quiet — Giza is suburban Cairo, the camera angle that makes the pyramids look isolated is the photographer carefully framing out the highway. This is not a problem; it's information. Aswan and Luxor are the slow, Nile-Valley parts of the country, and the Western Desert is the wide-open part. A first trip that does Cairo 3 nights + a Luxor–Aswan Nile cruise 4 nights + maybe Alexandria or the Red Sea 2 nights is the shape that delivers.
It is also a country where the cultural literacy gap between visitor and local is large, and where touts have been working the trade for two thousand years (Herodotus complained). Hire a licensed Egyptologist for Giza and Luxor — the price is small, the expertise is real, and the touts leave you alone when you have one.
Weather right now
Country facts
When to visit
October–April is the season. The desert summer (May–September) is genuinely dangerous in Luxor and Aswan (50°C) — most sites close midday, you can't be outside, and the experience suffers. November–February is peak — pleasant 20s during the day, cool nights, all sites open all day.
Ramadan affects restaurant hours (most close during the day in non-tourist areas) and the cultural feel; respect it if it overlaps your trip.
Money
Mostly cash, in Egyptian pounds. Hotels and large restaurants take cards. The exchange rate has been volatile (the EGP devalued sharply 2022–2024); check the day-of rate, not the rate from the guidebook.
Tipping (baksheesh) is the operating system — small notes (5–20 EGP) ready for hotel porters, bathroom attendants, the tomb guard who lets you take a photo, the dragoman (driver) at every site. Keep a fold of 5s in one pocket. The 'free' camel ride / 'free' tea at the bazaar is never free.
Food + dining etiquette
Ful medames (stewed fava beans) and taameya (Egyptian falafel, made with fava not chickpea) are breakfast — try them from a koshary shop (carb-on-carb national dish: rice, lentils, macaroni, fried onion, tomato sauce, $1.50, the genuine local lunch). Mahshi (stuffed vegetables), molokhia (jute leaf soup), and fatta (rice + bread + meat + garlic-vinegar broth) are the household meals.
Eat with the right hand or use a fork. Bread is a utensil — you use it to scoop, you don't fold it like a sandwich. Don't refuse tea or coffee from a host; one sip is enough but the offer is a hospitality ritual.
Speaking the language
Egyptian Arabic is its own dialect — the prestige Arabic of the Arab world via Egyptian cinema. Salam alaikum (peace upon you) is the universal greeting; shukran (thank you), afwan (you're welcome / pardon me). Min fadlak (please). La — no. Aiwa — yes.
Inshallah (God willing) is the universal verbal placeholder for 'maybe, we'll see, depends.' It is not always a polite no — but sometimes it is. Reading which one takes practice.
Essential phrases
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Numbers
What to pack
Modest cover for women — long pants or skirt, sleeves to mid-arm is appropriate even in Cairo. A scarf for mosque visits (covers head). Real walking shoes (Giza's sand + Luxor's stone steps eat dress shoes). Sunblock and a wide-brim hat — the sun is Sahara-direct. Modest swim cover-ups for the Red Sea (Egyptian beaches in Sharm and Hurghada are tourist-zone permissive; outside those zones, conservative).
Getting around
Domestic flights — EgyptAir Cairo–Luxor or Cairo–Aswan in 1h. The overnight sleeper train (Watania) Cairo to Luxor / Aswan is the old-school move and works — book at official agents, not at the station counter, where the foreigner price is double. The Nile cruise itself is the transport for Luxor–Aswan — 3 or 4 nights, you sleep on the boat, the boat moves overnight, you wake up at the next temple.
Uber works in Cairo and is by far the cleanest taxi option. Don't drive yourself; Cairo traffic is the city's signature.
Where to actually go
One week: Cairo 3 + Luxor 2 + Aswan 2 (with a 3-night Nile cruise between). 10 days: add Alexandria (or the Red Sea coast). Two weeks: add the Siwa oasis or Abu Simbel as a deeper Aswan day. Skip first trip: Sharm el-Sheikh as a destination unless you specifically want a beach resort, the Sinai interior (security-cleared but research first).
Common mistakes
Going in July/August. Not hiring a guide for Giza. Saying 'yes' to any 'free' offer. Underestimating how scammy the papyrus and 'authentic' antiquity shops are. Tipping zero because tipping isn't your culture (it's the culture here). Eating from a salad bar at a tourist restaurant (the lettuce got rinsed in tap water; this is the food-poisoning pattern).
Notes for the diaspora
Coptic Christian Egyptian diaspora is sizable in the US (New Jersey, California) and Australia. If your family is Coptic, the Coptic Museum in Cairo is the trip's heart. If your family is Muslim-Egyptian, the village in the Delta or Upper Egypt where the family is from will know who you are when you arrive — Egyptian villages have long memories.
Cultural notes
- Dress conservatively — covered shoulders and knees, especially outside resort areas
- Friday is the holy day — many businesses close
- Use right hand for eating, greeting, giving/receiving
- Bargaining is expected at souks — never accept the first price
- Don't drink tap water; brush teeth with bottled water
Universal courtesies
- Try a greeting in the local language even if it's the only word you know — it's appreciated everywhere.
- Match local dress norms when entering religious sites, government buildings, or rural areas.
- Ask before photographing people, especially children or in religious settings.
- Tipping customs vary — never assume your home country's expectation applies.
- Remove shoes when entering homes if your host does; watch their cue.
- Keep voices lower than at home in temples, mosques, museums, public transport.
- Hands and gestures mean different things across cultures — observe before reaching out.
- Cash + cards: rural areas often need cash; major cities take cards. Carry small notes.
- Don't compare countries to each other in front of locals — every culture stands on its own.
- If you don't know the etiquette, watching for 30 seconds usually teaches it.