Changing Money in Egypt

Hi all,
Heading to Egypt soon and am starting to plan the budget/money part.

A few questions...

1. How easy is it to change money at Cairo airport?....I've heard you can change money when you pay for your tourist visa, however, I already have my tourist visa and will just need to change some money. Is there a special place, queue, etc to go to?

2. ATM access, are there ATM's at most banks?....do the machines there take 4 or 6 digit pin numbers?.....

3. Are Canadian dollars easy to change? Or is it better to bring UK Sterling, US $ or Euros?

4. Anyone have recent experience using travellers' cheques in Egypt? I've heard many different tales about travellers' cheque, some say they're not easy to change (even in banks) and others say there's no problem using them.

5. Cash advance on credit cards? Do most banks do these?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I believed I got my first Egyptian money at the airport when I got my visa. If I recall the place selling the visa was a bank. In fact there were three different "banks" right next to each other so I don't think this will be a problem for you. I only used ATMs on the street. There was one right across the street from my hostel that was convenient. On my first day in Luxor, a Sunday, I couldn't find a working ATM. I went to about 5 of them. Thankfully come Monday they were working again. I am not sure if this is a common occurrence. Luckily I had enough funds with me to get me through my first few nights.

I only used US currency when I first arrived. Again I used an ATM card my entire trip so I just withdrew in local currency.

Can't help you with 4 or 5.

there are banks open 24 hours at the airport. there are ATMs in most banks.

Dubai airport might be better than Cairo, for changing money. ATMs are a problem if you use a password rather than a PIN no, as the local ATMs don't have letters. I used Yank currency most of the time....however, don't use AMEX, as many merchants don't accept it, as I found out the hard way.

The ATM at the airport is in the baggage pickup area. Last I saw it was to the right of the customs clearance area. (Ask while you wait for your bags, someone will point it out to you.) You do run the risk of the machines not working, but they always did whenever I used them.

In the city its a bit trickier. Some machines work, some don't. I had a 4 digit pin, it always worked. I lived in Cairo for two years and did have expat friends who had their cards arbitrarily "retained" by the machine. No reason for it. Getting your card back can be a bit of a hassle. Also heard stories of being charged twice for a single transaction. (i.e. withdrawing 500 pounds, then getting a statement saying 1,000 pounds was taken out.)

Be careful with your cards. We moved from Egypt in 2006. Both my wife's personal debit card and our joint debit card were used after we left. First my wife's about six months after leaving, then our joint card about a year after leaving. Fortunately our bank was on top of it and stopped payment and got us new cards.

I never used traveler's checks while living in Cairo, but did when I traveled through the country many years ago. I found cashing them to be a complete hassle. I once spent 3 hours in a bank in Hughada trying to cash a 20$ check. You used to be able to get cash advances on credit cards at the fancy hotels along the Nile in downtown Cairo. Not sure if that's still the case.

Hello....

It is a pity that you ahve already your visa, because you certainly paid much more than the rate at the airport.....

No need to search the change office in the hall of the airport : they find you ! Just go and change some money, and check amount anyway. No wait, no problem.

You can use ATM in Cairo ; prefer the largest ones, if possible near a bank when the bank is open, or for example HSBC on Talaat Harb street, where a guard can help you to call if trouble.

Forget travellers.

Michel

Thanks for the advice everyone!

There seems to be so many different takes on the money thing when travelling, it's good to get a variety of opinions before leaving.

About the necessity (or not) of getting a visa in advance....visas obtained at the airport are single entry and good for only 30 days, at least for Canadians like me....I wanted a mutiple-entry visa and as I'm staying more than 30 days getting one in advance just made sense.

I wanted to avoid wasting time getting a visa extension and such...the Egyptian embassy in Canada has very quick and friendly service with nearly same day turn around for tourist visa requests.

Hello.....

You can get as many tourist single entry visa as you like, so no real need to get extension ...... Every arrival, one 15 US$ visa...... ;-)
Maybe still the cheapest way !

Michel

So is the ATM in Cairo airport before where you get a visa?

I'm planning on using only ATM withdrawals, although I'm not thinking it would be prudent to take some cash as well.....If I am to take cash (I'll also be visiting Jordan) what is the best currency to take?

Do you pay for the visa in US$?

No. The visa you get before immigartion (obviously), while the ATM is either in the baggage claim area or the arrivals hall just before you get out, sorry, can't remember exactly.
For the visa you pay in US$ or another "hard" currency (EUR, GBP).

The ATM machine(s) are after immigration/visa, in the baggage claim area.

Dollars or Euros will work fine as far as cash.

If you can't find an ATM and no banks are around or open, you can almost always change dollars into pounds through local businesses. I used to exchange dollars with a local pharmacist. There's at least one pharmacy on every block in Cairo.