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Money & duty free for Egypt

Currency information: 

Egyptian Pound (EGP; symbol E£) = 100 piastres. Notes are in denominations of E£200, 100, 50, 20, 10, 5, 1, 50 piastres and 25 piastres. Coins are in denominations of 25, 20, 10 and 5 piastres.

British pounds sterling, Euros and the US Dollar are accepted everywhere although change may be given in Egyptian pounds.

Credit cards: 

American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted in all but the smallest hotels and restaurants throughout the country, except in the Western oases.

Travellers cheques: 

These are becoming less useful now that international ATMs are prevalent throughout the country. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in US Dollars, Euros or Pounds Sterling.

Banking hours: 

Sun-Thurs 0830-1400.

Currency restriction: 

The import and export of local currency is limited to E£5,000. The import and export of foreign currency is limited to US$10,000 or equivalent.

Currency exchange: 

Available at banks, official bureaux de change and most hotels. Banks often have better exchange rates than bureaux de change or hotels. All common international currencies are accepted.

Egypt duty free

The following items may be imported into Egypt by travellers over 18 without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 25 cigars or 200g of tobacco.
• 1L of alcoholic beverages.
• 1L of perfume or eau de cologne.
• Gifts up to the value of E£500.

Note: Persons travelling with valuable electronic equipment such as cameras, video cameras or computers may be required to list these in their passports to ensure that they will be exported on departure.
All cash, travellers cheques and gold over E£500 should be declared on arrival.

Banned imports: 

Narcotics, firearms, cotton, gold and silver purchased locally unless for personal use only and in small quantities; for a full list, contact the Egyptian Commercial Office, 23 South Street, London W1L 2XD (tel: (020) 7499 3002).

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