Egyptian pounds?
Discussion
You better rates over there. Think its about 1 english to 10/11 Egyptian at the minute. But I would recommend changing a small amount first. Most banks should stock it in small quantities. But if you take sterling and even Euros they will except that over there. Plus plenty of cash machines in Luxor, Cairo and Red Sea resorts.
Probably best to get it there. I have a feeling they fix the rate there across the country and don't update it too frequently, so given that the pound's tanking you might get more for your money out there.
Don't forget to ask for some small amounts for any tipping. Get a range of amounts generally - a lot of shopkeepers, taxi drivers, etc mysteriously have never have change over there so if you can haggle towards an amount you can pay exactly it'd make life easier.
Don't forget to ask for some small amounts for any tipping. Get a range of amounts generally - a lot of shopkeepers, taxi drivers, etc mysteriously have never have change over there so if you can haggle towards an amount you can pay exactly it'd make life easier.
Edited by cs02rm0 on Sunday 16th November 21:03
When I went (3yrs ago) I was advised to take US Dollars as they (at the time) were the most popular currency in Egypt. Everyone expects a tip and a 1$ bill is an easy way to do it. That was in Sharm El Sheik where we were told the average weekly wage is £20 so a 1$ tip is (was)actually generous. I did take a small amount of Egyptian money but they preferred the US$!!
If you get a taxi from the airport or anywhere whilst in Egypt beware of this typical scam.
Taxi man asks if you can change $100 dollars into different notes and before you know it he's thrust said wad of notes into your hand. You say no thanks and try to give the wad back at which point he counts them and bugger me it's $20 short and he accuses you of theft, gets upset and it then goes either way.
This has happened to me on one visit and then on another whilst I was telling the story to a friend actually in the taxi. The driver tried the same trick so I took the money from him and counted it in his face and it was of course short. My mate is a Geordie, well over 6ft tall, built like a brick s
thouse and not known for his patience so we offered him the choice of taking us to the nearest police station or a free ride to our hotel.....
We didn't pay the fare
Taxi man asks if you can change $100 dollars into different notes and before you know it he's thrust said wad of notes into your hand. You say no thanks and try to give the wad back at which point he counts them and bugger me it's $20 short and he accuses you of theft, gets upset and it then goes either way.
This has happened to me on one visit and then on another whilst I was telling the story to a friend actually in the taxi. The driver tried the same trick so I took the money from him and counted it in his face and it was of course short. My mate is a Geordie, well over 6ft tall, built like a brick s
thouse and not known for his patience so we offered him the choice of taking us to the nearest police station or a free ride to our hotel.....We didn't pay the fare
We got ten to the £ a few months ago ,I changed up £100 at Gatwick just to cover us and got 9 to the pound so for a small amount not much in it ,make sure you get a few of their smaller notes though as no one seems to have change of the larger ones
Side note their cash stinks and would hate to think where half of it has been so invest in some antibacterial hand wash
Side note their cash stinks and would hate to think where half of it has been so invest in some antibacterial hand wash
Vron said:
When I went (3yrs ago) I was advised to take US Dollars as they (at the time) were the most popular currency in Egypt. Everyone expects a tip and a 1$ bill is an easy way to do it. That was in Sharm El Sheik where we were told the average weekly wage is £20 so a 1$ tip is (was)actually generous. I did take a small amount of Egyptian money but they preferred the US$!!
We went to sharm el shiekh 3 years ago,then it was like 10p to an egyptian pound,and the local food was good value for money,not sure about the exchange rate now though.A mate of mine was asked a similar question the other day;
[quote]Take Egyptian £ - you can get money out there easily enough but tell your bank you're going to Egypt otherwise chances are the machines won't give you any cash.
There's one cash machine in arrivals but it's notoriously unreliable so pretend it doesn't exist. Get some Egyptian £ before you go
With the visa when you go in the main arrivals hall don't join the big queue of sheep. Go to the desks to the RIGHT of the big queue and you'll get your visa for 10/12/15GBP (depends on who's on the desk ) and you don't have to queue. You only need this visa if you're going OUT of Sharm so say Ras Mo etc. For the money I'd get one - you can't get them once you've left arrivals, so you're stuffed if you change your mind.
[/quote]
HTH
[quote]Take Egyptian £ - you can get money out there easily enough but tell your bank you're going to Egypt otherwise chances are the machines won't give you any cash.
There's one cash machine in arrivals but it's notoriously unreliable so pretend it doesn't exist. Get some Egyptian £ before you go
With the visa when you go in the main arrivals hall don't join the big queue of sheep. Go to the desks to the RIGHT of the big queue and you'll get your visa for 10/12/15GBP (depends on who's on the desk ) and you don't have to queue. You only need this visa if you're going OUT of Sharm so say Ras Mo etc. For the money I'd get one - you can't get them once you've left arrivals, so you're stuffed if you change your mind.
[/quote]
HTH
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