Cairo & Giza travel info

Cairo hits you as sound first. Horns blare non-stop on roads where lane markings are a suggestion, and five times a day the call to prayer rolls out from hundreds of minarets at once. A man at a street cart ladles ful from a huge pot, and in the koshari shop the cook bangs his steel ladle on the bowl's rim as he pours on the sauce. It's chaos, yet somehow after two days the racket starts to feel normal.

The Nile splits the city. On the east bank is Downtown, with Tahrir Square and the old Egyptian Museum, and behind it the medieval lanes of Islamic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili bazaar. Zamalek, an island in the middle of the river, is a quiet, leafy district of cafés and embassies. Cross to the west bank and about 20 km on you reach Giza, where the Great Pyramid suddenly rises above the apartment rooftops; the first sight of it tends to make people laugh. Two kilometres away, the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), officially opened in November 2025, holds the whole Tutankhamun collection under one roof.

Most visitors arrive at Cairo International Airport, often connecting through a Gulf or Istanbul hub. A visa is easy to get on arrival or online, but the rules depend on your passport. The Egyptian pound has lost a lot of value in recent years and ticket and transport prices rise often, so treat amounts here as October 2026 figures and check again before you fly.

Cairo International Airport (CAI)

• Uber or Careem (ride-hailing apps): 40–60 min to Downtown or Zamalek, 1–1.5 hrs to the pyramids (traffic dependent) · Shown up front in the app, cheaper than a taxi, no haggling. 2026 airport-to-town amounts not confirmed
• Airport limousine & shuttle (fixed-price cars): Same as Uber · Fixed per car by destination and car type; dearer than Uber. Exact fares on the booking page
• Hotel transfer: Same as Uber · Varies by hotel; ask when booking
• City bus 356 and others (Tahrir, Ramses): 1–2 hours (traffic dependent) · Very cheap; check the fare on board

Sphinx International Airport (SPX)

• Uber or Careem: Around 40 min to the pyramids, over an hour to Downtown (estimate) · Shown in the app (amount not confirmed)
• Hotel transfer or taxi: Same as Uber · Ask your hotel when booking; agree any taxi fare before you get in

• Visa: Visa needed; US$36 on arrival
• Getting there by air: No nonstop; one stop, 17+ hrs
• Time zone: UTC+2 (UTC+3 in summer)
• Currency: Pound; US$1 ≈ 52.7 EGP
• Paying: Cards in big places; cash elsewhere
• Power: 220V; Types C and F
• Language: Arabic; learn 'la shukran'
• Internet: No blocks; eSIM is easiest
• Emergencies: Tourist police 126; Level 1
• Best time: Late Oct–Apr