What You Need to Know

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Everything you want to know to be ready for solo feminine journey in Egypt – together with security ideas and journey recommendation.

Egypt generally is a little trickier to journey than many different countries- particularly for those who’re going alone. But it’s additionally a heat, fascinating, and unbelievable nation with a lot to uncover, and it ought to undoubtedly be on each traveller’s listing.

Cairo specifically was overwhelming and chaotic – however great. And regardless of seeing a thousand images (and climbing them in Assassins Creed!), nothing ready me for the magic of seeing the pyramids in actual life.

I do know that travelling to Egypt solo can appear daunting. I’ve been travelling the world solo for over a decade, however I used to be nonetheless nervous earlier than visiting Egypt for the primary time this yr.

Below, you’ll discover all my journey ideas for solo feminine travellers visiting Egypt for the primary time. Use the contents menu beneath to skip to the sections you want – and be at liberty to ask questions within the feedback.

Is Egypt Safe for Sole Female Travellers?

The brief reply is YES: general, Egypt is protected for solo feminine travellers. However, there are some things to concentrate on, which I’ll define beneath.

No matter which nation you’re visiting, my recommendation to all solo feminine travellers is to stay vigilant, apply frequent sense, and keep away from harmful conditions. I’ve included some extra particular Egypt solo journey ideas later on this article to assist out.

Crime and Terrorism

Egypt’s crime price is mostly average, however crime nonetheless happens. Scams and pickpocketing are the commonest crimes towards vacationers, however there have additionally been studies of armed robberies, muggings, sexual assaults, and break-ins. Remember that these are the exception, not the norm: most travellers to Egypt don’t expertise any issues.

READ MORE: Tips to Avoid Being Robbed While Travelling

Since the Arab Spring in 2011, there was vital political turmoil in Egypt. Protests and demonstrations happen throughout the nation and have turn out to be violent from time to time. Avoid any demonstrations and marches.

As of October 2024, the UK authorities’s Foreign Travel Advice web site states “Terrorism is a risk across Egypt, particularly in North Sinai.” It’s value noting, nonetheless, that they are saying the identical factor concerning the USA, and that there’s “a high threat of terrorist attack globally”.

In Egypt, there have been cases of terrorist assaults in recent times, and the authorities have elevated safety measures at vacationer websites and necessary journey checkpoints. Always examine the most recent scenario through your native authorities earlier than you journey.

There are some areas in Egypt the place the FCDO advises towards all or “all but essential” journey. However, these are very distant areas such because the Egypt-Libya border, the place vacationers are extremely unlikely to journey. Click right here for extra particulars.

Hassle and Harassment

One of the key issues with travelling solo in Egypt that I skilled was trouble from distributors (and infrequently from males) – a lot of whom merely wouldn’t depart me alone regardless of what number of instances I stated no.

This was notably rife in Giza, across the pyramids, since there are such a lot of vacationers visiting. We should look like “easy prey” to individuals promoting souvenirs!

People adopted me for up to twenty minutes attempting to get me to purchase one thing. There have been a couple of males who did the identical attempting to get me to select them as my “Egyptian boyfriend”!

Most of the time, these conversations have been lighthearted – however the relentless promoting/following/pestering did really feel aggressive at instances. I discovered that the perfect tactic to take care of this was to merely ignore them and preserve strolling. It felt impolite, however I felt higher after my native information assured me it’s not.

Top Tip: If you need to go to a bazaar or market like Old Cairo Bazaar, it may be value reserving a tour. A information may also help you keep away from harassment from distributors – and make it easier to haggle for a greater worth!

Unwanted consideration

As a solo feminine traveller, undesirable consideration from males was an occasional drawback. Thankfully, this was additionally fairly lighthearted more often than not – however I do know that harassment could be a difficulty. Avoid going to bars solo or strolling alone at evening: Uber from door to door is the most suitable choice after darkish.

There have been plenty of sexual assaults reported to the British Embassy, mostly within the touristy Red Sea area and infrequently dedicated by somebody the sufferer had already met.

When I used to be in Sharm el Sheikh, a couple of guys messaged me on Instagram attempting to get me to meet up with them. I strongly suggest that you just say no to anybody who does this. Some extra ideas:

Avoid sharing your reside location on social media: put up your Instagram tales on the finish of the day.
Don’t meet up with anybody you don’t know.
Don’t permit lodge employees to enter your room when you’re alone.
Avoid travelling in taxis alone. Use Uber or activate location sharing through WhatsApp for those who’re ever involved.
Use respected suppliers for excursions and excursions.

Check critiques earlier than reserving. Get Your Guide are my favorite place to discover excursions as a result of the critiques are verified – search for excursions which have excessive rankings from over 100 reviewers.

Health and Hygiene

Beware the “Pharoe’s Revenge” – aka “traveller’s diarrhoea“. This is certainly not particular to Egypt, however the nation has a repute amongst travellers as a spot the place getting hit with a tummy bug is frequent.

The principal tip is to keep away from ingesting faucet water. Use bottled water to brush your tooth, keep away from domestically made ice cubes (most locations use protected, store-bought ice), and avoid sliced fruit and salad leaves which may have been washed in faucet water.

Top Tip: My Water-to-Go filter bottle was my BEST FRIEND on this journey – take a look at my assessment for a 15% low cost.

The NHS suggest that you’ve a Poliomyelitis and Tetanus vaccination for journey to Egypt. If you reside within the UK you’ve most likely already had these, however make an appointment along with your GP for those who’re undecided.

What to Wear

I like to recommend loose-fitting, snug clothes: gown in gentle layers to shield towards the solar.

If you need to keep away from attracting undesirable consideration, stick to lengthy attire/skirts and trousers and keep away from issues like scorching pants, cropped tops and really low necklines. Although a girl’s alternative of clothes ought to by no means be an excuse for poor behaviour, the very fact is that in some components of the world, sure clothes selections can entice the improper sort of consideration.

I primarily wore maxi attire and wide-leg cropped trousers, with sleeves that coated my shoulders (largely for cover from the solar). If I wore a vest, I teamed it with a unfastened shirt or stored a shawl over my shoulders.

Comfy sneakers are a should for sightseeing, particularly on the historical websites. The floor is uneven and infrequently sandy – and also you’ll be doing lots of strolling. Closed-toe, snug trainers or strolling sneakers are your finest wager. In cities, I wore my Converse trainers – in Sharm el Sheikh, flip flops and sandals have been high-quality.

Top Tip: Cross-body baggage are often the most secure possibility. Consider an anti-theft bag made with slash-proof supplies – like those from Travelon.

Tips for Solo Female Travel in Egypt

Get a Local SIM or eSIM

Get an area pre-paid SIM card or an eSIM so you may keep on-line when you’re in Egypt (helpful for on-line maps, translations, ordering Ubers, and so forth).

The principal suppliers in Egypt are Vodafone, Orange, Etisalat and WE. You should buy a pre-paid SIM at most airports, together with Cairo and Hurghada. Orange’s Holidays plan begins from 200 EGP (roughly £3 / $4).

Personally, I desire eSIMs: you may obtain them to your cellphone so there’s no want to change SIM playing cards over. They’re often a bit dearer, however you may set it up earlier than you arrive in Egypt after which activate the sim as quickly as you land – so you will get on-line immediately with none faff!

Airalo: From £5.50 / $7 (1GB, 7 days). Use code EMILY9237 to get £2.50 off your first buy.Nomad: From £4.50 / $6 (1GB, 7 days). Use code EMIL96SV to get 25% off your first buy.

Learn the native emergency numbers

Memorise or save these in your cellphone, in case of an emergency.

Tourist Police: 126Police: 122Ambulance: 123

Have good journey insurance coverage

I can’t stress sufficient the significance of journey insurance coverage. If you encounter a difficulty – whether or not it’s a cancelled flight (fairly frequent with Egypt’s inner airways) or a medical emergency – you need that coated.

I like to recommend Safety Wing Travel Insurance – they’ve insurance policies particularly for long-term travellers, digital nomads, and backpackers, and provide good cowl for extra adventurous sorts of journey.

Avoid travelling at evening

Avoid taking public transport at evening or strolling alone in metropolis/city centres after darkish. If you do journey at evening, for instance on an in a single day bus, take additional care along with your belongings and keep away from being the final particular person left on board.

More security ideas for feminine travellers

Avoid sharing your reside location on social media: put up your Instagram tales on the finish of the day.
Don’t meet up with anybody you don’t know.
Don’t permit lodge employees to enter your room when you’re alone.
Avoid travelling in taxis alone. Use Uber or activate location sharing through WhatsApp for those who’re ever involved.
Use respected suppliers for excursions and excursions.

READ MORE: How to Protect Your Valuables whereas Travelling

Use Uber to get round – particularly in Cairo

The public transport system in Cairo is fairly first rate and really low-cost – however at the same time as a seasoned solo traveller, I discovered it a little bit overwhelming. Uber is definitely extremely inexpensive and made it a lot simpler to navigate town.

You ought to keep away from taking taxis alone, particularly at evening – Uber is a a lot safer possibility thanks to its built-in security options and site monitoring.

Top Tip: Set up Uber’s Safety options upfront. You can arrange a PIN verification, change on security check-ins, and add a trusted contact with whom you may shortly share your location and journey standing for those who’re involved.

Don’t keep within the Giza space of Cairo

It was nice waking up to a view of the pyramids, however the neighbourhood felt a little bit sketchy at evening. A number of individuals I’ve spoken to have stated the identical.

I don’t assume Giza is especially harmful – however it felt a little bit extra run-down than different components of Cairo. It’s additionally a really touristy space, so all of the locals I encountered right here appeared to be attempting to promote me one thing – typically fairly aggressively.

I really spend a couple of nights in Giza with none incidents (apart from a man hitting on me in an unpleasantly “not-taking-no-for-an-answer” kind of means). But for those who’re new to solo journey or feeling nervous, I believe you may discover the neighbourhood a little bit overwhelming.

Book excursions – particularly for the pyramids and different historical websites

Usually, I’m an enormous fan of exploring by myself. That’s what I did all through most of my journey – and I had a good time discovering the nation. However, for those who’re nervous about visiting Egypt as a solo feminine traveller, reserving a couple of excursions could make exploring simpler.

It’s loads smoother to get round with a information and a driver, so that you’ll possible see extra – and have a greater understanding of what you’re . Plus, a information is often comfortable to take images of you (I’ve dozens of foolish poses with the Sphinx!)

Having a information was additionally nice as a result of the distributors at vacationer websites left me alone. When they wouldn’t, my information at all times stepped in!

Check critiques and be sure to’re reserving a tour firm with a superb repute – you desire a information who really is aware of their stuff. Get Your Guide has a couple of female-guided excursions in Egypt – these have been sensible and I’d extremely suggest reserving one for those who’re visiting Egypt as a solo feminine traveller:

Remember: it’s not impolite to be a bit impolite!

I discovered one of the simplest ways to address undesirable interactions (often males) and pushy salespeople was to say “no thanks” as soon as after which simply keep silent.

Lots of distributors like to ask questions like “where are you from”, and when you’ve engaged, they have a tendency not to cease! My intuition was to reply simply to be well mannered – however it felt like as quickly as I engaged even within the slightest, they wouldn’t depart me alone till I purchased one thing. See the above part on “Hassle and Harassment” for more information.

It went towards all of my British politeness to ignore and preserve strolling, however it was the best means to keep away from being aggressively offered to!

Book in some downtime

Travel in Egypt could be demanding and overwhelming at instances – while nonetheless being lots of enjoyable. If you might have time, I’d suggest reserving a few days at a pleasant lodge or resort for some chill time. I beloved my keep at Domina Coral Bay in Sharm el Sheikh.

Don’t be scared 💕

Even as a seasoned solo traveller, I used to be nervous about heading to Egypt alone… however I beloved it.

Most of the individuals I met have been so heat and pleasant. Tourism has nonetheless nowhere close to recovered since Covid and lots of people I interacted with, particularly in vacationer companies, have been delighted to welcome me to their nation. And it truly is a fantastic nation – stuffed with historical past, fable, and surprise.

So please don’t let the above warnings put you off. I actually imagine that so long as you make smart selections, take the proper precautions and use your frequent sense, you ought to be completely protected travelling solo in Egypt.

Quick Summary: Egypt Solo Female Travel

Get an area pre-paid SIM or eSIM (use my referral codes above for a reduction)
Learn the native emergency numbers
Have good journey insurance coverage
Use Uber to get round – particularly at evening – and wait inside till the automotive arrives.
Don’t keep in Giza
Book excursions for the key points of interest (look out for excursions with feminine guides)
Don’t have interaction with distributors simply to be well mannered. It’s not impolite to stroll away!

As I’ve stated above: don’t let the warnings make you too nervous or put you off visiting Egypt. This is a fantastic nation with a lot fascinating historical past to uncover – not to point out scrumptious meals, a singular tradition, and beautiful landscapes.

Travelling in Egypt could be trickier than different nations. The metropolis centres are chaotic, the general public transport is typically problematic (I had a number of trains cancelled), and the distributors at vacationer sights are sometimes greater than a little bit over-zealous.

But on the entire, Egypt is protected for solo feminine travellers – so long as you employ frequent sense, keep vigilant, take care, and keep away from harmful conditions!

Got a query about solo feminine journey in Egypt? Scroll down to depart a remark and I’ll strive to assist!