Before I have visited Egypt, I imagined that it is the posh and mysterious country with luxury beaches and oldest monuments. I liked this country but on the other hand, we faced reality 🙃.
Dear reader, in this article you will find the lessons and hacks which we learnt at the cost of our time, money and spoiled mood. Please enjoy and hope they will help you in your future trip 🙏.
Be careful! ☝️
Egyptian people want money from you for everything 🤕. It seems that if you are a tourist, it is their honour to trick you.
- Ask direction – give money,
- Show place where to take a picture – money,
- Take a picture – money.
They pretend that they want to help you but they want only money💰 from you. Remember this☝️
How to get Egyptian Pounds cash?
You can withdraw cash from any ATM without a fee. You do not need to go to the exchange point. In the Cairo airport, they also have a lot of ATMs. Some swindlers said to us that it is prohibited to withdraw money for foreigners or that ATM does not work or this is not an ATM 🤯. Do not believe them and do what you need to do.
Taxi drivers tricks 🚕
Be careful
with sly taxi drivers 
as they say one price before the trip and double $ after, referring that the initial price was only for one passenger.
Or they say you the price, then you agree. When you arrive at the point they said that price was in dollars
or euros
, not in Egyptian pounds. The reason is due to you are a foreigner 
.
Cheap transport in the Cairo city
Metro in Cairo is cheap and quite big. Cost is from 5 to 10 EP depending on the distance. I recommend using the metro, it is a cheap and fast way to move around the city.
From Cairo city to Giza for 10 EP per person
From Cairo to Giza pyramids you can go by metro (red line🚇, cost 5 EP, Giza stop) and then took any bus (cost 5 EP).
How to see pyramids and light show for free?
You can see for free all pyramids and light night show from the roof of the hotel Comfort Pyramids Inn. We really recommend this place.
Despite the fact that manager tried to trick us telling, “here is a lot of scam, so I help you and sell you camel ride excursion for 600 EP per person.”
In fact we spent 100EP per person for the entrance 
. And there is no government price
This is one more way to tick you.
Pyramids in Giza are close to each other
If you want to visit pyramids and sphinx in Giza, you can do it by yourself. Everything is in a walk 🚶♂️🚶♀️distance. Do not believe that in complex pyramids are far away – it is a lie.
Ticket price to enter to the complex is 100 EP. Buy only on ticket office.
When you just enter, some guy asked your ticket and show a fake badge. Then started to sell you camel/horse/car ride or just tell that you can not walk somewhere in the complex. Do not believe, it is a lie, with ticket you can walk everywhere outside and you can manage to do it by your foot 👣 .
The way to trick you using Uber
We took a taxi through the Uber to Giza railway station. At the end of our ride, the taxi driver said that there is no railway station in Giza and we should go to Cairo. Then he started to drive around our point.
Finally, we asked to stop somewhere. Of course, he pretended that he didn’t understand us 😤.
We were charged twice more through the Uber. Obviously, there is a railway station in Giza, and the driver just tricked us on money and our time 😢.
Be careful, do not allow them to change direction. Just immediately ⛔️stop the car⛔️ and insist follow the route.
How to get to the main spots in the desert by yourself?
There are 3 different tickets office to see sightseeing in the desert. And it is not clear if you want to visit spots by yourself.
After the Colossi of Memnon, you will see the first ticket office (25.7230209,32.6047166,18). For us, there were not interesting spots, so we skipped this point.
Ticket office of the Temple of Hatshepsut is situated just near this temple (25.7365564,32.6081993,18). If you want to save money, you can take the bus near the ferry station (25.7053618,32.6342043,19). The cost is 15 EP per person, but it could be cheaper.
Ticket office of Valley of the Kings is in another place, near the entrance to this complex (25.7405015,32.6023365,18). The Temple of Hatshepsut is 5 kilometres from this point. Currently, the short way to the valley is closed due to COVID-19 and you should go by long car road. There is no transport between these points. We agreed with the guy for 15 EP per person from Hatshepsut temple to valley.
From the valley to the ferry...
… you can go to the main road (25.7378724,32.6245222,18) and catch the public bus.
Also, you can always use a taxi but at first, read our experience about them. It helps you be prepared for all the taxi driver’s tricks.
Ferry for 5 LE in Luxor through the Nile
Cheap public ferry to move on the west bank of Luxor costs only 5 LE. It works 24 hours and plies every 30 minutes. We faced that local “entrepreneurs” said to us that ferry did not work. It is a scam, do not pay attention to what they say and go to the public ferry.
Cheap vegetable shop in West bank Luxor
Local shop with good prices and quality local vegetables and fruits 
is located on the West side of Luxor. Also, near this place, you can buy fresh bread and cookies for a reasonable price.
Cheap public beach in Hurghada
All more or less equipped beaches within the city of Hurghada are paid. Prices are very high, for example, 150 EP per person.
The nice and cheap place is Social Club beach. There are showers, a toilet and their standard chairs under an umbrella for 20 LE per person. There is no cafe in the territory, but you can bring food and water with you.
The one problem is for women 😱. Due to there are a lot of local people, you have to swim in clothes.
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