Currency To Take To Egypt

by **Sekhmet** on Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:53 am

He will probably take sterling but you stand less chance of being ripped off &/or perceived as a walking bank if you take a little local currency. Why not contact the hotel & ask for them to arrange a transfer & to quote the price? You could even ask for a price in both currencies, then it should be sorted.
Re: tipping; some staff / taxis are happier than others to accept �1 coins until you get your local currency small denominations sorted, as they save them up & ask a tourist to swap them for a note.
As an additional tip, check out the Tips for 1st Timers thread on the Sharm forum.

by **Sekhmet** on Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:56 am

Just to pick up on the visa point made by Iain, don't go to the tour op queue in Sharm, don't be herded to follow the Thomson / Thomas Cook lot. Go to the far left & you should get it a bit cheaper (some have paid as little as �8.40 for it). Give a �10note & receive change in Egyptian LE.

by **Hudstar** on Wed Oct 03, 2007 10:03 am

I did contact my hotel and ask them to arrange a transfer but they came back with a price of �50 return!! Being that my hotel is only around 8/9km from the airport, I'm sure a local taxi would be cheaper.

Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure I have some currency for the taxis

by **Andy 01** on Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:49 pm

well I am confused now. you say take � but on speaking to the Egyption Embassy they are saying that the � coin is not accepted by the banks etc only UK paper money �5 etc.

by **Andy 01** on Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:41 pm

sorry, they also said that they would recommend tipping with US dollars as unfortunately the UK pound was not popular with the Egyptians ????

by **HW iaintwoeyes** on Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:32 pm

Andy....believe us please....take �� notes and coins.

I will try to explain what happens to all the �1 coins that the Egyptians get in tips

Boy gets �10 in �1 coins. He exchanges it for a �10 note. Some tourists want to change various LE (Egyptian Pounds) notes and coins back to �� before they leave Egypt.

Where do they go to do that.....they see the boy who gives them a poor rate of exchange because
a) They are perhaps a bit naive to the exact exchange rate
b) They are happy to get rid of the currency prior to departure.

This is all part of the "under" economy that goes on in Egypt. It's not official and so the Embassy will know about it but not endorce it!

As for $$.....they are a bit out of date as the $$ is a week currency on the world markets at the moment!!....LOL

by **phaser** on Wed Apr 02, 2008 4:29 pm

We left Manchester with just some english cash and some cash cards in our wallet.
We spent 15 days in Egypt and had no money problems at all, just use a ATM when you need some cash just as you would at home.

by **Petrafyde** on Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:03 am

As far as I remember, they don't take pound coins (don't hold me on that though!). However;

English paper money, US dollars and Egyptian pounds are always welcome - but if you want the best service pay in GBP. Expect an exchange rate (in person) of 10 EGP to 1 GBP instead of the usual 11 EGP we get to the pound at exchange. Please remember these people are not ultra wealthy, and the extra 10% means a lot when it all adds up.

Of course it is better in your pocket, but I do think the best of service during a holiday can turn it from a mediocre beach trip to the holiday of a lifetime.

by **phaser** on Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:26 pm

We had no problem using pound coins, suppose it depends where you are.
Pound coins at least come in handy for tips. Talking about tips we found giving the barman a good was well worth it.

by **kiyan** on Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:09 pm

Hi all,

When you say take �� - do you mean cash or traveller's cheques?

Thanks