Travel Tips for Egypt

The best travel tips tend to come from the foreigners who actually live in the country. They know the in-s and out-s of the land and one had best pay them heed, if an enjoyable vacation is what you are after!

Here is a list of travel tips from an American student studying in Egypt.

Her blog is at http://aliainegypt.muslimpad.com. Visit it, especially if you are interested in reading about life as a foreign student in Egypt.

Travel Tips for Egypt

1. Don’t wear big fancy handbags that attract attention/ that are easy to grab.

2. Don’t take your wallet with you every where. Only take as much money as you think you’ll need and a little extra in case of emergency. Always leave your Bank cards and passport at home (unless in case of necessity)

3. Don’t bring a fancy mobile phone/cellphone with you - come with a simple unlocked quad-band phone that will serve it’s purpose and not attract attention

4. Don’t wear gold on the street

5. When walking on the street, walk as far away from the cars as you can and stay closer to the buildings.

6. Be aware of your surroundings, keep a hand on your bag and make sure it’s always closed tight and close to you.

7. Walk with confidence, don’t look vulnerable. Avoid speaking other languages loudly (apart from Arabic). Don’t tell people you’re lost or that you don’t speak Arabic. It’s better if they just assume you’re a rude snob who doesn’t want to talk to them vs. them figuring out you’re a foreigner. It is crucial to familiarize yourself with some local words…which is why I highly recommend buying the Lonely Planet’s Egyptian Phrase-book before coming.

8. Don’t give money to any random beggar. This may surprise you but trust me, some of them will stalk you or send their family members to follow you home and harass you for more money (this has happened to me and many people I know) - So since you will be unable to distinguish the good from the bad, just avoid it altogether. There are other safer ways to give charity (such as to the Egyptian National Food Bank, Masjids, Islamic Relief.)

9. Don’t DRESS like you’re in your home country. Come on, you’re in Egypt. Do you really want to wear clothes that say “Hi, I just arrived from America and I’m loaded with dollars. Come mug me.”

10. Don’t pull out your camera everywhere you go and look like a tourist.

As for food and drink, this is what she had to say:

Lesson #1: Don’t drink the water

It makes you very, very sick. I stuck to Aquafina bottled water (you can buy it by the carton, 12 bottles for 16-20 LE) until I was able to stomach other brands..even Egyptian mineral water takes time getting used to. When people ask me if it’s worth them coming to Egypt to study for a month I usually tell them no. That’s because from my experience and the reviews of those around me, everyone usually ends up sick their first month here and you need to give yourself some time to adjust. It’s not likely you’ll be well enough to study intensely for such a short period of time if you’re sick the whole way through.

Lesson #2: Do not eat at small Egyptian joints on the side of the road

I had the worst case of food poisoning ever from one of those places. It felt like someone was carving up my insides with a knife and it took me a full 6 days before I was recovered. If you happen to be near Serag mall however, there is a small Ta’miyyah (Egyptian Falafel) joint next to the Juice Bar across the road. That’s safe to eat at, I’ve had Ta’miyyah sandwiches there many times and have never been ill, alhamdulillah

Lesson #3: Keep track of your food spendings

If you’re like most foreign students, you’ll go crazy with all the halal fast food places in your first month(s) but soon enough you’ll realize that it’s far to expensive and unhealthy to carry on like that for the remainder of your stay. When you go shopping, remember that things like fruits and vegetables are cheaper to buy from the side of the road (just soak and scrub them at home and you’ll be fine insha’Allah) whereas everything else can be found at the grocery stores like Mahmal, Spinney’s, Awlad Ragab (Ragab Sons), and Metro Mart