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Cairo Life and Cairo Visitor Travel Tips
(Cairo, Egypt, EG)



When visiting Cairo, a useful phrase to practice before arriving is 'la sukhran' - a fairly polite way to say 'no thanks!'

Locals are always attracted to tourists, whether they are touting for hotels, tour operators or simply trying to entice you into their bazaar. However, this is all part of the fun and the rather colourful day-to-day life in Cairo.

An excellent way to travel around the city is by the subway, which avoids having to endure the busy streets and roads around the city centre.

Built in the late 1980s, the Cairo subway connects most points of interest around the city.




Another top travel tip is to avoid taking photos with locals in or asking them to take your photograph. Many will ask to be paid for the privilege. Here are some useful travel tips about life in Cairo.

Cairo Life and Travel Tips: Useful Contact Details - Cairo, Egypt, EG
Internet cafes are widespread in Cairo and dotted all over the city. Some of the most popular include:

4U Internet Cafe - First Floor, 8 Midan Talaat Harb, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Internet@Cafe - Sharia Ismail Mohammed, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Internet Egypt - Basement, Nile Hilton Mall, Cairo, Egypt, EG

Here are some other useful contact details:

Tourist Police Office - Next to main Tourist Office, Sharia Adly, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 395 9116 (for emergencies, simply dial 126)
Tourist Police Office open: daily

Main Post Office - Midan Ataba, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Main Post Office open: Saturday to Thursday - 07:00 to 19:00, Friday - 07:00 to 12:00

Cairo International Airport Tourist Office - Oruba Road, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 265 3308

Cairo Main Tourist Office - 5 Sharia Adly, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 391 3454
Cairo Main Tourist Office open: daily - 08:30 to 19:00

Pyramids Tourist Office - Pyramids Road (opposite Oberoi Mena House), Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 385 0259
Pyramids Tourist Office open: daily - 09:00 to 17:00

American Cultural Centre - 5 Sharia Latin America, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 794 9601
American Cultural Centre open: Sunday to Thursday - 08:30 to 16:30

British Council and Library - 192 Sharia el-Nil, Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 452 3395
British Council and Library open: daily - 09:00 to 21:00

Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation - 11 Sharia Shagaret ad-Durr, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 736 5410
Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation open: Saturday to Thursday - 10:00 to 15:00, 16:00 to 21:00

Goethe Institut - 5 Sharia al-Bustan, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 575 9877
Goethe Institut open: Monday to Thursday - 13:00 to 19:00, Friday - 08:00 to 12:00

Great Cairo Library - 15 Sharia Mohammed Mazhar, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 736 2280
Great Cairo Library open: Saturday to Thursday - 09:00 to 16:00

Cairo Life and Travel Tips: Visa Information - Cairo, Egypt, EG
Visitors arriving in Cairo will need to bring a valid visa, unless they are citizens travelling from Guinea, Hong Kong or Macau. The relevant visa must be acquired from your home country's consulate or alternatively from an overseas Egyptian embassy. Visas may also be purchased at Cairo Airport for some nationalities, including travellers from the UK, America, Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe, amongst other locations. This process lasts around 15 to 20 minutes and is relatively inexpensive. It may be possible to extend your visa in Cairo by paying a visit to the Passport Office on the first floor of the Mogamma, along the Midan Tahrir. Most visa extensions are relatively straightforward and are processed overnight, ready for you to collect the next morning from 09:00.

Passport Office and Visa Extensions - Mogamma, Midan Tahrir, Cairo, Egypt, RG
Passport Office open: Saturday to Wednesday - 08:00 to 13:30

Cairo Life and Travel Tips: Language and Dialect - Cairo, Egypt, EG
Arabic is the native language of Egyptians and your holiday experience will certainly be enriched if you can learn just a few basic words and phrases. If you decide that you would like to study Arabic, Cairo offers two main options, which can be contacted as follows:

Arabic Language Institute - 113 Sharia Qasr al-Ainy, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 797 5055

Arabic Language Institute - 4 Sharia Mahmoud Azmy, Sahafayeen, Mohandiseen, Cairo, Egypt, EG
Tel: +20 02 346 3087

Cairo Life and Travel Tips: Drinking Tap Water - Cairo, Egypt, EG
When in Cairo and Egypt as a whole, avoid drinking any tap water unless it has be completely sterilised by either boiling, filtering or chemical treatments. Travellers from outside of Egypt will not be used to the high levels of bacteria found in Cairo's tap water and will be sure to suffer from diarrhoea when drinking local water. Therefore, it is essential to stick to bottled water when in Cairo, which is readily available at most grocery stores - although do make sure that the cap is sealed. Also worth noting, avoid any uncooked fruit or vegetables, including salads, in case they have been washed with tap water. Food from restaurants is safest when piping hot.

Cairo Life and Travel Tips: Tourist Traps and Scams - Cairo, Egypt, EG
Beware of tourist traps and scams when visiting Cairo - they are extremely varied and practiced all over the city. When arriving here, you will find many touts telling you stories about your hotel in an attempt to make you switch to their choice, so that they will benefit from a hefty commission, something that you will end up paying. Be sure to stick to your guns and simply say 'Thanks, but no thanks!', with a smile to keep things amicable.

Other notable scams in Cairo include taxi drivers pretending that they know where they're going when they clearly don't, taking the long way round, stopping outside of their friend's shop, or even charging you waiting time when you arrange a return. When you arrive at your accommodation in Cairo, never book a tour through the actual hotel, since you will be severely overcharged. Instead, if you make your own arrangements you end up saving a significant amount of money, which you can put towards something else.

 
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