Money, Tipping and the Visa on Arrival

Almost everything written about money in Egypt is either out of date or written by someone who has never had to tip a porter. Here is the practical version.

The visa on arrival

Most European and North American visitors can buy a single-entry tourist visa at Hurghada airport on arrival. It is a sticker you buy at a bank desk before passport control, and it is valid for 30 days.

It costs $30 as of March 2026. It was $25 for years, and a great many pages still say $25 — in practice you get the $25 sticker plus a $5 surcharge sticker next to it. Bring the extra five dollars.

Bring US dollars in cash, in small notes. This is the single most useful thing on this page. The visa desk is where people come unstuck: card payment is unreliable, and turning up with a €50 note and no dollars turns a two-minute stop into a long one.

The order at Hurghada airport is: visa desk → passport control → baggage → customs. Buy the sticker first. People who join the passport queue without one get sent back.

The currency

Egypt uses the Egyptian pound (EGP, sometimes written LE). That is what the country actually runs on, and it is what you should have in your pocket.

Can you pay in euros?

Often, yes — and it will usually cost you.

In Hurghada, plenty of shops, restaurants and tour operators (including us) will take euros, dollars or pounds sterling. But when a business accepts a foreign currency, it sets its own exchange rate, and that rate is set in its favour, not yours. You are paying a convenience fee you cannot see.

The sensible approach: withdraw Egyptian pounds from an ATM. ATMs are everywhere in Hurghada and they give you the official rate, which is better than the rate any shop will offer you. Keep a modest amount of euros or dollars as a backup and for the visa.

Cash or card?

Cards work in hotels, the bigger restaurants and the malls. They do not work in the souk, in a taxi, at a beach kiosk, or for a tip — and those are exactly the moments you need money.

Carry cash. Egypt is still a cash country outside the resort bubble.

Tipping — and the mistake everyone makes

Tipping (baksheesh) is a normal, expected part of life here, for porters, drivers, guides, housekeeping and the man who helps you find a parking space you did not need help finding. It is not a scam and it is not optional in spirit, though it is always optional in fact.

The mistake: tipping in foreign coins. Euro, dollar and sterling coins cannot be exchanged in Egypt. Not "at a bad rate" — at all. A handful of euro coins is, to the person you just handed it to, a handful of metal. People do this constantly, believing they have been generous.

So: tip in Egyptian pounds, in cash, in small notes. Get a stack of 5, 10 and 20 EGP notes early and keep them somewhere separate. You will use them constantly, and nobody ever has change.

Rough guidance, and it really is rough — Egyptians will tell you different numbers and all of them are right:

• Hotel porter: a small note per bag.
• Housekeeping: a small note per day, left daily rather than at the end.
• Restaurant: round up, or 10% if service is not included.
• Excursion guide and driver: at your discretion, and only if you thought they were good.

What this means for booking an excursion

We take no deposit and no card details. You pay the guide in cash on the day — euros, dollars or Egyptian pounds, whichever you have. Nothing is charged when you book, so there is no card to be skimmed and no prepayment to argue about if the sea is too rough to sail.

If you would rather pay in Egyptian pounds, tell us and we will quote in pounds. What you should not do is arrive with nothing but a card and assume it will be fine.

The short list

• Bring $30 in USD cash, small notes, for the visa.
• Withdraw Egyptian pounds from an ATM on arrival — better rate than anywhere else.
• Keep a stack of 5/10/20 EGP notes for tips.
• Never tip in foreign coins. They are worthless here.
• Assume cash everywhere except hotels and malls.