You get a much better exchange rate in Egypt than you do if you
change money before you go. You do not pay commission if you change your money in Egypt. We prefer to come with some English, Euro or USA currency (all very acceptable and easily changed) and to get Egyptian cash on arrival. You can change money at the visa offices in the airport arrival hall, so there is no need to come with any at all, even to pay for porters, taxi to the hotel etc. There are also ATM machines in the arrival hall at the airport.
Officially, when you change or draw money you should be given a receipt,
which you are told to keep for inspection or in case you need to
change Egyptian notes back into another currency. We have never
had a receipt checked, but if you get one it is best to hold on to it to cover the amount of Egyptian cash you have, just in case.
When in Luxor
For information about the coins and notes themselves, about changing cash or drawing money when in Luxor,
see the Money page.
Credit Cards and travellers cheques
Credit cards and travellers cheques are widely accepted.
However, not all hotels or cruise boats will accept them
for settling final bills.
We
are not financial advisors
The
advice we offer about money, when and where to get it and
about the exchange rate, is based on our own experience
and on currency rates provided by banks and other foreign
exchange bureaux. We are not financial advisors, we do
not provide qualified financial advice and we have no links
with any financial institutions.
Value of the Egyptian pound
The Egyptian Pound (LE) has been worth between about 8p and 14p in recent years. Throughout 2007 and for most of 2008 the exchange rate was around 10 or 11 Egyptian pounds to one English pound but in 2009 fell to less than 8 Egyptian pounds to one English pound before recovering. (These are local rates, the pound fell to less than LE7 if you change currency in the UK).
The pound is closely aligned to the dollar, so when the pound falls or rises against the dollar, it tends to fall or rise about as much against the Egyptian pound.
For ease of calculation we usually
work on the rough rule of thumb that LE10 is worth very roughly £1
sterling or LE1 is 10 pence (English), sometimes 2p more, sometimes 2p less, but it works as a quick rule of thumb for small-scale spending.
Some examples of today's currency exchange rates appear
below. These are commercial rates. You can expect to get
very close to these rates if you draw or change money in
Egypt and if you draw money from an ATM. You will usually get quite a lot less if you buy Egyptian
pounds in another country before you go. This list is kept up
to date and may change several times a day. It fetches today's currency rates from coinmill.com.
