Egypt Currency

Irlam

Hi all

We are going to Sharm El Sheik next Monday for 2 weeks - last minute deal booked last night

We are staying AI so we won't be taking a fortune in spending money, but I hve heard various reports as to the best approach in terms of taking currency to Egypt - Egyptian Pounds/Dollars/Sterling/Euros.....

Obviously we will need some Egyptian Pounds, but can anyone advise us here? From what I have heard the locals are happier taking Dollars/Sterling/Euros, particularly when it comes to tipping?

Thanks in advance for any replies

Aberdonian_At_Heart

i would take egyptian pounds and maybe a back up of some euros as thats what they took in hurghada on the other side of the red sea.
And be prepared for haggling in the shop etc offer them under half of the asking price of goodsand meet at a reasonable price to you,if you dont like the shopkeepers price walk out of the shop,and as you get to the shop door watch the speed of them usually giving in to your price -just be firm and you'll be ok

Oh and a useful phrase to know is La Shokran which means no thank you !:D

Aberdonian_At_Heart

this might be useful to you http://www.goredsea.com/en_home.aspx

Irlam

Thanks for your help!

pin

Hi there

I appriciate you are newbie, but the question about what currency to take to Egypt seems to come up at least once a week.

I also appriciate the search function is not the best, however if you do look back to previous posts in the travel section you will know this has come up loads of times.

black-saturn

That may be because the answer is never clear. If someone was to say "yes use Egyptian pounds" or "use UK pounds" and the answer was decisive there wouldnt be so many threads about it.

So give us a clear answer now and we won't have to ask again :rolleyes:

The search function is carp anyway.

romario_2

Just come back from a holiday from Egypt. I would suggest taking a 1/3 of what ever you plan to take in Egyptian Pounds, the rest in Sterling. Take £5s and £10s in sterling as you dont want to be given lot of Egyptian in change if spending a £20 towards the end of your holiday.

Quackers

black-saturn wrote:

That may be because the answer is never clear. If someone was to say "yes use Egyptian pounds" or "use UK pounds" and the answer was decisive there wouldnt be so many threads about it.

So give us a clear answer now and we won't have to ask again :rolleyes:

The search function is carp anyway.

Maybe thats because there isn't a clear answer? :rolleyes:

Egyptians will accept any currency - they really aren't fussy :rotfl:

bbruce

If you book any trips while you're there (diving, desert safari, camel riding etc.) they're usually quoted in dollars. If you want to pay in other currencies they will convert at quite a bad rate (for you) so I advise taking a couple of hundred per person unless you plan to lie on the beach for 2 weeks.
Paying for everything else in Egyptian Pounds is fine.

black-saturn

I'm taking Egyptian Pounds and no other currency. Will this be OK? A simple yes or no answer

pin

black-saturn wrote:

I'm taking Egyptian Pounds and no other currency. Will this be OK? A simple yes or no answer

You will be fine. From my experience, I had Egyptian Pounds and didn't have a problem paying for anything, including expensive stuff like a week worth of diving.