Money in Egypt: Cash, Cards, ATMs and Egyptian Pounds

The official currency is the Egyptian pound (EGP, often written LE). In practice, a smooth trip uses a mix of three things: a Visa or Mastercard with no foreign-transaction fee, Egyptian pounds from bank ATMs for local spending and small tips, and clean US dollar bills for your airport visa and larger end-of-trip tips.

One important rule change: all Ministry of Tourism ticket desks at the Giza pyramids, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Aswan are now 100% cashless. When you book a guided tour or package with us, your listed entrance tickets are already included and bought by your guide, wait-free. If you want an extra ticket on the day — such as going inside the Great Pyramid or Tutankhamun’s tomb — bring a physical Visa or Mastercard to tap at the window.

Wait until you land in Egypt to get Egyptian pounds; exchange rates at home airports are poor. There are official bank ATMs (National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, CIB, QNB) right in the arrivals hall at Cairo Airport and outside major hotels. Withdraw 3,000–4,000 EGP at a time and ask your hotel reception or guide to help break 200 EGP notes into 20s and 50s for small tips.

If you bring US dollars, euros or British pounds in cash, make sure every bill is clean, crisp, untorn and printed from 2013 onwards — Egyptian banks and exchanges routinely reject older or marked notes.