The Cost of Travelling in Egypt

We recently spent just over a week travelling in Egypt and it was amazing to finally be able to see the Pyramids, satisfy my inner history geek and tick off so many bucket list experiences. Here is a breakdown of our expenses from our time in Egypt which will hopefully assist with information about the cost of travelling in Egypt and help with planning your trip to Egypt.

We’ve broken down our cost of travelling in Egypt below into each day. We converted all the prices into Australian Dollars at the time and so please note that all of the below prices are in AUD and will need to be converted into your own currency.

Pre-Arrival

Intrepid Egypt Adventure tour ($1,335 each) – $2,670
Egyptian Visas ($25 USD each) – $72
Total = $2,742

Day One – Cairo

Flight from Beirut to Cairo with Middle East Airlines ($181.51 each) – $363.02
Sim card – $15
Uber from Cairo Airport to King Hotel Cairo – $15
Uber to downtown Cairo – $3
Entrance to Bab Zuweila tower – $8
Our lunch (khoshari) and a tip for unofficial tour guide – $20
Uber from downtown Cairo to hotel – $6
3x Papyrus artworks – $67
Bottled water – $3
Drinks at cafe in Khan el Khalili – $9
Snacks and water from supermarket near hotel – $3.50
Total = $512.52

Day Two – Cairo

Cost to go inside the Great Pyramid (Dan only) – $36
Lunch (falafel, shawarma & soft drinks) – $10
Toilet at lunch stop – $1
Water & snacks for train at supermarket – $13
Beers at hotel rooftop bar (approx 8) – $45
Tea & chips at train station – $2
Total = $107

Day Three – Aswan

Tipping kitty – $100
Entrance to Philae Island/Temple of Isis, boat trip & transport – $120
Ice creams on Philae – $10
Lunch (khoshary and soft drinks) – $7
Beer at hotel pool – $8
Laundry at hotel – $27
Water at shop – $3.50
4 pack of beers from shop – $20
Total = $295.50

Day Four – Aswan

Abu Simbel tour, transport & entrance – $370
Toilet – $1.50
Lunch at hotel (burger & chips) – $10
Beers at hotel – $15
Dinner in bazaar (shawarma) – $7
Soft drinks, water & snacks from supermarket – $10
Total = $413.50

Day Five – Felucca

Drinks (water, fresh juices, beers and bottle of gin) – $67
Total = $67

Day Six – Luxor

Toilet & chips at roadside stop – $3
Lunch in Luxor (shawarma, chips & falafel) – $8
Cold drink at Karnak Temple – $2
Bottled water from supermarket – $5
Dinner (mixed grill, moussaka & fresh juices) – $28
Total = $46

Day Seven – Luxor

Icy pole at Valley of the Kings – $5
Hatshepsut temple – $60
Toilet – $1
Donation to ACE animal hospital – $20
Tea & shisha in Luxor – $8
Water and snacks at supermarket – $7
Dinner (juices and mezzes) – $15
Total = $116

Day Eight – Cairo

Tour guide tips – $100
Lunch (falafel) – $2.50
Uber from hotel to airport – $18
Food at airport – $24
Flight to Amman, Jordan ($275.62 each) – $551.24
Total = $695.74

We spent $4,995.26 in total for both of us on our Egypt trip, inclusive of our flights to and from Egypt and the cost of our Intrepid tour.

Our tour was really comprehensive and included all sightseeing (except the few additional extras which I listed above), accommodation, transport and all meals not listed above.

Our guide also recommended that we all put in money at the beginning to create a tipping kitty which made our lives so much easier as culturally you pretty much have to tip every single person you come into contact with and it can get really confusing about who to tip and how much to tip. Having a tipping kitty meant that our guide tipped everyone who needed it and it was so simple for us.

We found that everyday expenses in Egypt were really cheap. Alcohol however was more expensive which is understandable as Egypt is a predominantly Muslim country.

Doing a tour isn’t always the cheapest way to travel and we usually like to travel independently but we were so glad that we did choose to do a tour in Egypt. Egypt wouldn’t be an easy country to travel independently in and I feel you would get hassled a lot as well. Intrepid had the best of both worlds and we felt we got good value for money on our tour.

We’ll be sharing an article about our tour soon!