Visitor Hints

Visit the pyramids at opening time. The heat and the crowds increase quickly after ten, and early light is the best for photographs. Arranging the trip through the hotel travel desk with a licensed guide avoids the camel and horse touts, who can be very persistent near the entrances.

Ask for an upper floor room far from the nightclub when booking, and repeat the request at check in. Guests who received such rooms report quiet nights, while those near the entertainment area were disturbed by music.

About connectivity: buy a local SIM with data at the airport arrival hall, where Vodafone, Orange and Etisalat have counters. Registration requires the passport and takes a few minutes. With mobile data, Uber, maps and translation apps work everywhere, and the weak hotel wifi stops being a problem.

Try dinner in Mohandessin instead of tourist restaurants in Giza. Koshary, fiteer, grilled kofta and Syrian shawarma cost very little here and are cooked for local customers who would not accept poor quality.

Carry small notes of Egyptian pounds. Tipping, called baksheesh, is part of daily life, from the sayes who guards the car to the toilet attendant at the museum. Having ten and twenty pound notes ready avoids awkward situations when nobody has change.

Check out is at noon, and reception keeps luggage for guests leaving later. With night flights common from Cairo, the last afternoon can be used for Zamalek or the Cairo Tower before collecting bags, but leave very generous time for the airport road, since evening traffic toward Heliopolis regularly doubles the journey.