Traveling to Egypt on our own was the best decision we could have made.. Taking a cruise on the Nile has always been our dream, but we found more disadvantages than advantages, especially when visiting tourist sites. By traveling on your own you will avoid crowds! If you are planning to take a route through the African country on your own, We tell you how much it costs to travel to Egypt on your own with advice and our detailed budget. This way, you can compare it with the price of cruises and/or organized trips to decide which option is best for you.
Contents of this article
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO TRAVEL TO EGYPT ON FREE: BUDGET AND TIPS
1. How much does it cost to sleep in Egypt: Hotels
Hotels are one of the first things you should book when planning a trip to Egypt. Booking hotels was the second most important expense in our budget for traveling to Egypt on our own.
We stayed in mid-range hotels., neither the cheapest nor the most expensive. And in general we ended up happy! However, it is important that you keep a couple or three things clear when booking your hotels.
Book in advance
Once you have all the flights, leave the hotels reserved. Note that Egypt is a very destination popular, so hotels fill up quickly, especially in high season. If you want to find good prices, book months in advance.
Sleep in safe, tourist areas and in reliable hotels
In general, Traveling to Egypt is safe, as long as you sleep in the tourist areas. In these areas, there is much more security and you will be with other tourists. Check hotel reviews carefully, since in some cases the photos do not correspond to reality. Always make sure that there are many opinions and that the majority are from foreign tourists.
Never drink tap water
Most hotels will leave you a complimentary bottle of water for each guest so you can avoid drinking tap water. Please note that it is heavily chlorinated., so it is better to avoid scares. It even smells very strong!
💰 Total price for 9 nights in Egypt: 14140EGP (€420)
2. How much does it cost to eat in Egypt: Restaurants
If you are wondering how much does it cost to travel to egypt and you are worried about food, don’t waste any more time! Eating in Egypt is not expensive at all, although obviously, it all depends on where you do it. We share a couple of tips and what we spent on food so you know what to expect.
Lots of variety of food
In the main tourist destinations of Egypt such as Cairo, Aswan or Luxor you will find restaurants for all tastes and budgets.. So you don’t have to worry too much about the food issue! Eating cheap in Egypt is not complicated, in addition to having many options.
Review reviews carefully
Of course, you must take the opinions into account. It is quite common that in some restaurants, they “buy” your opinions by giving you a dessert in exchange for giving them 5 stars.. That is why you should always look at more than one source, or trust the restaurants that we try and recommend!
💰 Total price of food for 10 days: €150 (€15 per person per day)
3. How much does it cost to get around in Egypt: detailed transportation
One of the main challenges when traveling to Egypt on your own is arranging all the transportation. Obviously, if you hire a cruise, you won’t have to worry about anything, but if you do it on your own, it will take you more time. And money!
By asking you how much does it cost to travel to Egypt, note that Transportation was the main expense we had when setting up our route through the African country.. But she was worth it! Especially because by going on our own, we were able to avoid going to the temples when groups of cruise passengers visited them.
In total, we use three different types of transportation: planes, private taxis between cities and Uber or taxis, to move around the interior of cities.
3.1. Planes
Egypt is a fairly large country. Bigger than it looks! The distances between the main tourist destinations are considerable, so If you want to optimize time, flying is the most practical option.
We took two flights, both with Egyptair. One to go from Cairo to Aswan and another to close the trip from Luxor to Cairo. The prices seemed similar to those of the trains, so due to time we decided to cover the longer journeys by plane.
- Cairo – Aswan: 3000EGP (€89)
- Luxor – Cairo: 2800EGP (€86)
💰 Total price of the planes: 5800EGP (€175)
3.2. Land transportation between cities
If you choose not to go on a cruise, in some cases you will have to hire a private car to take a tour. We used it to go from Aswan to Luxor, in this case, hiring a trusted driver from the hotel. There are also transfer options shared with other tourists, but you will not have as much freedom.
- Aswan – Luxor with stops at Kom Ombo and Edfu: 3800EGP (115€)
💰 Total price of the transfer between cities: 3800EGP (€115)
3.3. Transportation in cities
To move within cities, We resort to using Uber or trusted hotel drivers. We read that there were a lot of taxi scams, so we avoided it. There they go some advices What you should know when hiring this type of services.
Uber does not work in Luxor or Aswan
Getting around by Uber is practical and safe. Of course, keep in mind that it only works in Cairo and Alexandria, so you will have to use another type of transportation in the other destinations. In our case, we ask trusted drivers in our hotels.
If you order Uber, be patient, pay by card and do not give a euro more than what the App indicates
Many drivers will persuade you to give them an extra amount than what it says on the App because there is traffic or other reasons. Never do it. Always enable card payment and tell them you don’t have cash. Others are going to cancel you directly when they see that you are a tourist and are going to pay by card, so taking an Uber in Cairo is not the easiest task in the world.
- Uber El Cairo: 1563EGP (46€)
- Daily driver in Aswan: 850EGP (€25)
- Transportation from Aswan airport to the hotel: 450EGP (€13)
- Conductor diario en Luxor (West Bank): 1250EGP (35€)
- Transportation from hotel to Luxor airport: 400EGP (€12)
💰 Total price of transport inside cities: 4513EGP (€134)
✅ TOTAL PRICE OF ALL TRANSPORTATION IN EGYPT (plane, between cities and within cities): 14113EGP (424€)
4. Excursions
In our case, we only booked one excursion during our route through Egypt. And it was to see Abu Simbel! We booked a private driver who took us at the times we requested to avoid crowds.
- Abu Simbel – 3800EGP (115€)
💰 Total price of the excursions: 3800EGP (€115)
5. How much does it cost to enter temples and monuments in Egypt: ticket prices per person
You will see that An important part of your budget to travel to Egypt on your own is going to be allocated to tickets to temples and monuments. But in Egypt there are so many things to see! Keep in mind that the prices are not cheap at all, although it is totally worth it.
- Pyramids of Giza: 360EGP (11€)
- Egyptian Museum in Cairo: 300EGP (9€)
- NMEC: 500EGP (15€)
- Cairo Citadel: 300EGP (9€)
- Temple of File: 300EGP (9€)
- Abu Simbel: 415EGP (12€)
- Felucca ride at sunset: 300EGP (9€)
- Come Ombo: 240EGP (7€)
- Edfu: 300EGP (9€)
- Luxor Temple: 260 EGP (8€)
- Templo de Karnak: 300EGP (9€)
- Luxor Museum: 200EGP (6€)
- King’s Valley: 400EGP (12€)
- Tutankhamun’s Tomb in the Valley of the Kings: 360EGP (11€)
- Hatshepsut’s funerary temple: 240EGP (7€)
- Medinet Habu: 140 EGP (4€)
- Ramesseum: 120EGP (4€)
- Valley of the Queens: 120EGP (4€)
💰 Total tickets: 5155EGP (€153)
To “save”, the Egyptian government put the “Cairo Pass” and the “Luxor Pass” on salealthough if you want to enter the monuments that we entered, it is not worth buying either one or the other.
They can be purchased at the ticket offices of the main monuments, although you would have to go to almost everything to make it work for you.
6. Travel insurance
Knowing how much it costs to travel to Egypt to plan your trip is great, as long as you don’t forget to include travel insurance in your budget.. You should ALWAYS travel with insurance, but in countries like Egypt it should be even more important, where you will be exposed to various risks.
Keep in mind that hospitals in Egypt do not have the same quality standards as in Spain, so by taking out insurance you will ensure that you will be treated in good clinics if necessary.
In our case, we recommend hire the IATI Backpackerthe most suitable for traveling to Egypt.
💰 Travel insurance price: 1460EGP (€43)
7. eSIM
And finally, we also recommend include an eSIM in your budget to travel to Egypt. Keep in mind that in 2024 there is no company selling eSIM in Egypt, so we decided to buy the Holafly unlimited eSIM.
Having data is very important to review restaurant reviews and check prices before purchasing certain items. And also for any emergency! We are sure that when you are in the Pyramids you will want to share that moment with your closest people.
💰 Price of the Holafly eSIM with unlimited data: 1245EGP (€37)
Ultimately, HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO TRAVEL TO EGYPT FOR FREE?
It is budget to travel to Egypt on your own It reflects what we spent during our 10-day route through the country. Prices are per personalthough keep the following in mind:
- Excludes international flights (to and from Egypt), as your airport of origin may be very different.
- The price of the hotels is for a double room with breakfast included (it is not a single room).
- Regarding ground transportation and excursions, the price we pay is per vehicle (not per person). One person pays the same as three (as long as you contract the service with the same drivers). So if you travel with more people, you can divide it and it will be cheaper.
🏨 Hotels (9 nights): 14140EGP (420€)
🥙 Food: 5050EGP (150€)
🛫 Transportation (plane and land): 14113EGP (424€)
🚎 Excursions: 3800EGP (115€)
🎟 Appetizer: 5155EGP (153€)
✅ IATI Backpacker travel insurance: 1460EGP (43€)
📱 eSIM de Holafly: 1245EGP (37€)
TOTAL BUDGET PER PERSON TO TRAVEL TO EGYPT FOR FREE 10 DAYS: 44943EGP (1342€)
Source: https://lostraveleros.com/cuanto-cuesta-viajar-a-egipto/
