Currency To Take To Egypt

by **babyirish** on Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:21 pm

Hi

can anyone advise what is the best currency to take?

Firstly are travellers cheques best? What is the best to tip the staff with?

Is is best to exchange while you are there?

Thanks!

ccasion1

by **kazl** on Fri Jul 28, 2006 19:21 pm

I found it was easiest to take sterling and change it there. The hotel I stayed in had room safes so it wasn't a problem. I tipped in �1 coins for the first day (truth being only tipped the man who brought my suitcases to the room as we arrived late afternoon) then changed some money over to Egyptian Pounds with the hotel. The rate in Egypt is higher than you would get at home.
Some people I spoke to took their bank card and withdraw as and when they wanted it (bear in mind some banks charge for this) as most hotels have a cash machine.
Kazl

by **HW iaintwoeyes** on Fri Jul 28, 2006 20:24 pm

Take � for your visas (If you intend to leave the Sinai area only)

Take a small amount of Egyptian money for your first day or so

Takes �� to change into Egyptian money in Naama Bay or othe town.

Your hotel will not give you as good a rate as the banks (exchanges) in town and these exchanges are open til late 11pm or later!

Tip your room staff �1 day or 10LE (Egyptian Pounds) for good continued service throughout your holiday.

Don't take travellers cheques

Have a good one! :thumleft:

by **kazl** on Sat Jul 29, 2006 17:38 pm

iantwoeyes my hotel gave exactly the same rate as what people were getting in Naama Bay!!! Was I lucky or is it the norm????
Kazl

by **HW iaintwoeyes** on Sat Jul 29, 2006 18:54 pm

"iantwoeyes my hotel gave exactly the same rate as what people were getting in Naama Bay!!! Was I lucky or is it the norm????
Kazl" --- kazl

Lucky I would say :thumleft:

by **babyirish** on Tue Aug 01, 2006 07:50 am

Why is it not best to take travellers cheques?

by **HW iaintwoeyes** on Thu Aug 03, 2006 13:49 pm

A. You will get less money for your travellers cheques cos Egypt is keen to get as much foreign currency as possible.

by **swisssinai** on Sat Aug 05, 2006 05:41 am

The official bank rates for changing travellers cheques is very slightly better ( i.e. in your favour ) than bank notes. Very slightly... so the question is does it outweigh the hassle. There are now ATMs in Egypt which accept foreign currency and change it into local currency.

In brief, my strong recommendation is always the following :

1 - Take bank notes from your own foreign currency i.e. Brits take sterling, Americans dollars, French & Germans euros etc
2 - Do not buy a small amount of Egyptian pounds in the UK or elsewhere before coming to Egypt unless you like wasting money - there is 10 - 15 % difference in the rates !
3 - Take one or two ATM cards such as Visa, MC etc

Thats all you need believe me.

You can buy you visa in any foreign currency and, strangely enough, I know of two seperate incidents whereby the visitors bought their visa with Egyptian pounds !

You can buy the visa stamps from the bank exchange counters located just before the passport control so you can get a little bit of Egyptian currency there at the same time.

There are banks and ATMs literally everywhere. Most large resorts have one ( a requirement of the local tourist ministry.

Its best to tip in local currency as it makes it easier for the staff to spend / use the money - instead of them collecting it and then asking other tourists to change it back for them ( in the case of Euros and Sterling ). They will nevertheless accept willingly all tips in all currencies so don t worry if you have no local currency left.

by **carrieq** on Fri Aug 11, 2006 12:23 pm

Just back from Makadi Bay. We did the same. Took a small amount of Egyptian Pounds and a larger amount of Sterling, which has to be English notes, we are from Scotland so needed to request this from bank!!
Tipped pound coins on first night until we had broken into Egyptian currency as it is hard to get low denomination notes in UK.
Paid for Visas with Sterling
Happy hols!
Carrie

by **JulesV** on Mon Oct 02, 2006 13:04 pm

�Sterling, US$, Euro and LE(Egyptian Pounds) are generally accepted in most places. Hotels often prefer bills paid in � $ or Euro, but not always, it would depend where you were staying. Traders in around busy resort accept all currencies too, but if you were off the beaten track LE would be preferable. Whichever you use, make sure you mentally convert the currency very carefully when haggling. A clever trader will try to confuse you by mixing his currencies to desguise a poor 'bargain'. I would take LE for local purchases and �Sterling for Hotels and Tour reps etc.
I don't know how widely Travellers Cheques are accepted.
Hope that helps.