Safety and Security

You’re the one responsible for your own safety and security. Use your common sense and don’t take for granted that accidents don’t happen to you!  

Travel Insurance

Get your own travel and medical insurance. Don’t rely only on travel companies. Make your own assessment of your plans, activities and belongings, and then ask your insurance company to provide you with the right insurance. Check your travel insurance carefully.

A wise man said:” If you can’t afford to buy good insurance, you really cannot afford to travel at all”.  

Proper Conduct

Plan your trip carefully and do some research about the country that you’ll visit. What is acceptable in your country might not be tolerable in other societies.

Take into consideration that Egypt is an Islamic country and the society is conservative. It’s good to know that Muslims don’t drink alcohol. Egyptian men don't walk around wearing shorts. Most Egyptian women, especially Muslims, wear headscarves and keep their neck, ankles and wrists covered. Display of affection in public is intolerable.

As a visitor, you should respect those differences and try to behave accordingly. You don’t want to offend the very people you’re visiting!  

Visa

Most tourists and visitors can obtain an entry visa at any of the major ports of entry to Egypt. However, a foreigner arriving in Egypt for purposes other than tourism, e.g. work, study, etc. is required to be in possession of a pre-arrival visa.

Visas may be obtained from Egyptian diplomatic and consular missions abroad. Please check with the nearest Egyptian consulate for specific details and regulations relevant to your nationality.

For additional information about consular services, visit the website of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry www.mfa.gov.eg.  

Important Contacts

Keep important contact details within reach. Useful contacts include those of tourist police, hospitals, emergencies, hotels, embassies, insurance companies, etc.

It has recently become a common practice to have a contact under ICE (In case of emergency). Save all those contacts on your mobile phone AND write them on a piece of paper that you can keep together with other important travel documents.  

Cash and Credit Cards

Do you still remember the story of all the eggs in one basket?

Never store all your money cash and credit card(s) in one pocket. Spread them between many places to minimize the chocking result of theft. Consider using safe boxes provided by hotels.

It’s also recommended to have more than one credit card in case of theft or card deactivation. Make sure that all your cards will actually work abroad. Inform your bank about your travel plans to avoid any card deactivation. Some banks may deactivate credit cards if the frequency of use increases abroad all of a sudden.

In case of theft, call your bank and deactivate your cedit cards.  

Document Copies

Scan your travel and other important documents into electronic copies.

Important documents include your passport, air ticket, travel insurance, driver’s license etc. Attach those copies to an Email message and send them to your Email address. A HOTMAIL, YAHOO or any other web-based Email system could be useful for this purpose.

In case of theft, you’ll always be able to access those documents in your Email box from any computer that has access to the Internet.

You can also save those copies on a small USB memory stick that you can keep safe. Keep also copies with your family/friends at home.  

Hygiene

It’s not uncommon that visitors to Egypt get upset stomachs or other sicknesses from eating food.

That's due to many reasons mainly lack of hygiene. Here are some pieces of advice that might help you in preventing stomach problems. Most importantly, trust your instincts:

• Eat at upscale restaurants/hotels or any other places that look and feel clean. Avoid street food.
• Wash your hands often or use antibacterial hand cleaner especially after touching money or before eating.
• Avoid drinking tap water or adding ice to your drink.
• Don’t drink directly from a can. If so, wash the can well before drinking and use a straw.
• Wash fruits that you usually eat with your hands such as apples, oranges, and bananas. Peel them yourself.
• Drink enough water to avoid dehydration.

Swimming

Is it safe to swim in the Nile?

Generally speaking, the answer is No, especially in Cairo. The Nile is polluted by many sources mainly raw sewage from cruise ships and villages, all sorts of garbage, and dead animals.

However the case is different in Aswan because the Nile water is somehow cleaner, especially south of Aswan, after the old dam.  

Sun

Egypt is know as The Land of the Sun. In Upper Egypt, especially Aswan, the sun shines 365 days a year and it’s considered one of the driest places on the planet.

Be aware and use sun cream with adequate SPF to avoid skin burn. It does happen often that tourists get sun burns.

Article written by Mofission, TripAdvisor Destination Expert for Egypt. TripAdvisor.com