obviously the best answer is the one that gives me the most info-so i welcome detailed answers-thankyouHow much do things cost in egypt-im going soon and would like to know what ill get for my money-thanks a lot x
I go to Egypt quite often ,at least once a year for the past 4 years,going again in May!
You will love it.Its safe ,the people are so lovely and the history is incredible.
But you want to know about the costs of things,enough of that!
It is very cheap by comparison with any Western country.
I am from Australia,there are 4.7 AUS $ to 1L.E,Egyptian pound.
So here goes,the taxi from the airport (around 35k)by yourself, should cost you 40-50L.E. no more!
The taxi drivers will quote you very high prices,hold your ground, and try another.A good thing to say is,';I was here last year and it only cost me 40LE';?
You will get it,but you have to bargain with all non fixed prices.
Or anything that hasn't got a price marked on it.
Even if it has, then you can say ';what's your best price';, and usually get 10% off ,at least.
With straight out bargaining ,if they say 170L.E. if you bargain right , you should pay only around 80L.E.in a market or shops. Smile say no and walk away if they won't come down much..
They usually come running after you ';Okay,Okay, 80LE';.
Don't feel rude or bad this is expected.
You are actually respected more if you drive a hard bargain with them.
Prices vary a lot for tourists.Examples,2lt bottle of water should be 2LE.Coke or Miranda,(Fanta)2.50L.E.,a large bag of potato crisps,2.50L.E.Supermarkets are cheaper than corner shops, same as at home.
A good meal at a restaurant 65L.E.inc service tax,but you should personally tip the waiter on top of that.
A taxi trips works a lot on the amount of people,so if you are on a tour go out in a group of 3or 4,then a trip anywhere in Cairo will be around 8LE each.
If you want the taxi to wait an hour or so,it will be approx.50-60L.E for the total trip The driver usually has a sleep or does a couple of short fares.
But they are always there at the time you arranged.
Peak hour is the most expensive time for taxis. The traffic has to be seen to be believed, and its the hottest part of the day in the afternoon.
Keep plenty of small denomination in your wallet for tips,you will go through a lot.
When you are shopping don't put all your big notes together. Or they will see you have plenty to pay higher prices. Trade is thousands of years old in Egypt as is tourism.The Romans and Greeks came to see Egypt's wonders and its been going on ever since.
Avoid buying things at sites such as Giza,Karnak and The Valley of The Kings. You will pay much less and get better choice and quality in Khan el Khalili or Luxor Bazaar.
Take plenty of water with you as if you by a bottle at The Valley of The Kings e.g. a 2lt bottle will cost 6L.E.,thats three times the normal price.
Try and tip the Guardians,they are mostly elderly men who check no one goes writing graffiti and such in the temples and tombs,they wear grey.They get the lowest wages and rely on your tips to make life livable.
At the Luxor Bazaar and Khan el Khalili you have a huge range of every thing Egyptian and some that are not. Take care,check the quality and workmanship.
Also make sure you get the article you checked wrapped not a substitute.
Shoes in Cairo are great ,thousands to choose from and so cheap,you will want to get a suitcase full.
Books are a lot cheaper too.Especially books on Egypt and
Egyptology.
Post card are everywhere begin at 50 piastres(100=1L.E.)
Gold and silver are a good buy if you know the real thing.
Look for the hallmarks, if there are none don't take the risk.
You only pay for the weight,so watch the scales .Get them to let you see it weighed. If they are honest they will and there are plenty of honest dealers around.
Accommodation is cheap if you prebook it,$35 gets a 4star hotel.
Entry fees to sites are between 20L.E. and 50L.E.At some you have to pay extra to take photos or film.
If you need above factor 8 sunscreen take it with you, as it can be hard to find.
Even if you do get occasionally ripped of by a few pounds,don't get hung up about it.
The experience you will have and the memories you will keep for ever are priceless.How much do things cost in egypt-im going soon and would like to know what ill get for my money-thanks a lot x
Information about Isreal isn't very useful - Israel is one of the most expensive countries in the Middle-East - on par with Lebanon.
Jewelry is often cheap by western standards - but I personally don't think it's worth the risk since the international gold market is so well connected.
The best place to shop is at markets and bazaars (that are not too touristy!).
Egypt is in general pretty cheap. Colourful lamps and well made boxes (with mother of pearl) are typical good quality but inexpensive souvenirs. You shuold go to a spice market - the prices and quality are much better than you will find in the west.
You need to know how buying works in the Arab world though. First, shopping is much more fun (at least for me!) there. Whenever you are thinking about buying anything over $10, you will be offered a cup of tea - it's very good and very safe. Next, barter, barter, barter! You should be able to take at least 30% off. If it's a dead season, you might get away with 50%. The key is to be enthusiastic about something until you hear the price and say ';thanks anyways...'; or something of that sort. They will offer a lower price, respond with your own. You can throw in little extras without increasing the price.
Also - be courteous of Arab customs. You will be treated much better if you say ';assalaam 3aleikum'; or even ';merHaba.'; Dress modestly (at least have pants on - shorts aren't usual even in the hottest time). Don't show the bottom of your shoes to anyone (sounds weird, I know, but it's very offensive if you do).
Also - be adventurous and try some desserts and juice from street vendors - it's really cheap, really good and really safe.
Try to stay away from really ';touristy'; souvenirs - e.g. something featuring the pyramids w/ EGYPT written on it. These are in general low quality.
Good luck!
i've been to israel 5 times and things cost about the same in the uk. 拢2-3 for a sandwich, pop about the same, acohol was a little cheaper. i'd work out how much you'd spend in the uk and take roughly the same. depends what you're going to be doing.
u know what would really help..... if someone native could show you around, take u to all the interesting places and make sure u get value for your money....egypt is a great place if you know what youre doing.............im egyptain, send me an email and ill be glad to help when you arrive.
how lucky are you been there wore the T shirt wish I could go back hope to soon ,,,,as to how much do things cost as much as you want to be riped of ...as much as your prepared to pay ..spent 3wks there ...1st week spent on cruise getting ripped of 2nd week resting in hotel couldn't face going out couldn't cope with all the banter bactish or whatever the word is ...3rd week come near me wont buy anything .. so offer ..3rd of price or lower wouldn't pay higher ...nice people but be prepared to banter for everything start low culture shock but loved the country its cheap so don't pay over the odds Egyptian booze is naff ..take your own look out for camel as beef go to restaurants were own use ... and watch the tours its sometimes cheaper to book when you get there than to prebook and the banter it will start as soon as you land have fun great country just be aware they like to banter its their culture ...have fun learning experience...ps if you want to see the pyramids if your going to luxer will cost several hundreds more but worth it just take mega bucks with you and vice a versa if you go to cairo and want to see valley of the kings or queens
everywhere u can go there r the good and the bad and i also say there are the cheap and the expensive so is difficult to talk about things in general but we can talk about the food and drinks cause it is the most important thing during your trip to here. as example to have a nice hot meal in a good touristic restaurant could cost around 50 Egyptian pound - food in hotels bit expensive than that price- 1 liter of mineral water about 2 Egyptian pound, 1 bottle of beer in a bar could be around 10 Egyptian pound, 1 glass of wine could be around 20 Egyptian pound. so this all consider average about the prices u can find some cheaper and some higher.
1 $ = around 5.5 Egyptian pound
1 拢 = around 10 Egyptian pound
all the rest of things like souvenirs or extra trips could be in different prices depend on so many other things.
if you would like to know any more info u can contact back at any moment.
wish u a nice trip
What you get for your money depends on how you travel
I have been to Egypt 3 times and have been on tours, independent and lived with locals and hence the amount things cost will vary greatly.
Egypt is cheap! Just remember though there is a reason for this and always be greatful and pay what you think something would kind of be worth when haggling at markets (as they need to make a living too!)
Transport is very cheap. You can go from Cairo to Luxor by bus (about 12 hours) for LE90 (90 egyptian pound) (which is about 9 UK sterling or AU$22) which I think is really cheap - and all buses are around the same cost for distance
Accommodation is really cheap if you want to hostel it - you can get away with about AU$7 a night and the places can be quite nice - even on the water in Dahab.
Food is cheap, cup of tea is about LE2, chicken about LE15 for a whole chicken!
Really it all depends on how you like to travel - but Egypt is very very cheap ( but as I said, don't be mean and nasty - my egyptian mates only earned 100 bucks a month for managing a hotel in Dahab - so just keep it in mind)
oh and also, you will generally pay more than locals when you buy things to eat as they take the opportunity to make some more money - even taking this into account - it is still very inexpensive!
Have fun
I am Egyptian. Egypt is cheap. Some mean people here always say that you have to barter and bargain and that Egyptians are greedy. The thing is the economy is bad and the people are trying to make a living. So they do that. You will be asked to tip everybody you see. You will be over charged as a foreigner.However, you DON'T have to do any of that.
1- Tip only who you think deserves to be tipped. And always carry small amounts of Egyptian money; like single-Egyptian pound-bills, or half a pound. They will ask for more. Don't give more. It's like a game. Be willing to play it and smile about it. Just talk nicely with the people. Say you are poor or anything and start a small talk. We Egyptians LOVE nice people. So if you are nice to us , we will treat you so well.
2- Always always always bargain -or barter, I don't know which word is right. When you are buying souvenirs or antiques you have to bargain. This is sad I know but as I said the people are trying to make a living. And bartering here is like a big game that u have to learn. You need to learn how to say '; too much'; and how to walk away if u don't like the price. A helpful hint would be to ask a local to help u, someone who seems genuine and honest.
As for the prices in Egypt , somethings are cheap and somethings are expensive. 1 dollar equals 5.73 Egyptian pounds; that's 5 pounds and 73 piasters.
mmmm let me see. 1 litre of gasoline equals 1.4 pounds. A webcam equals 50 pounds. A bike equals about 500 pounds. You can buy a good computer with 3000 pounds. A can of coke equals 2 pounds. A doughnut equals 0.5 pounds.
I think the previously mentioned prices can give you an impression about how things r in Egypt.
i went there 3 years ago and everything is really cheap but the problem is as soon as they see you're a foreigner they'll try to reap u off as they try with us, luckily my husband is an Arab and we got across pretty well. The first day a taxi driver charged us 拢10 to get us to the hotel but soon after we discovered we should have been charged 拢0.50!!!!. My advice is always ask the price before and negotiate it as much as possible don't worry they will come after you in the end. I hope you enjoy it, it is a gorgeous place to go. If possible visit Luxor
I went in 2001 and thought it was fairly cheap for what you get, as it is a poor country for most part. Sorry for lack of detail : (
Must add, wear a wedding ring and/or a fella on your arm. Some of the men there harrass you for marriage if you even look slightly their way! They also wear you out by wanting you to buy their goods, and the kids in the street will ask for Bacish? (tips/money). Give them a pen instead. They love pens.
We just visited Egypt with a tour company. Cost us $3000 US per body. Felt reasonable to start with but it is exhorbitant for a 10 days trip, a fact we realized after the fact. If you go through tour agencies in US they have tie up with local egyptian travel companies.
Your best bet is to hook up with travel agency in Egypt.
People can sell you same thing for 1 EGP or 100 EGP. It is completely up to you to know the value and bargain. You got be careful about everything while you are there...you cannot take the price for granted in any shop...even the extremely high end shop. There is no such thing as fixed price in egypt.
The quality of service is definitely below par even in places designated as five star. We were told by people there and was also pretty apparent that people manage to get their hotels, cruises etc as five star not by being five star but by paying up the right people.
Also if you go with tour companies you might end up spending lot of time away from the real thing (monuments etc) unless you understand your itinerary and ask for changes. For example in the two days we spent at Luxor collectively only half day was spent rushing through the gorgeous Karnak and Luxor temples, Valley of kings and queen hetshepsoots temple. The rest of the time was meant to be idle time on (what turned out to be a beaten up) cruise.
Be very careful going to the stores recommended by tour guides and local travel agencies. Apparently they get upto 60% cut in the sale price so you can expect to pay exhorbitant prices.
Be careful when buying the souveniers ...the alabaster (local name for plaster of paris) ones are extremely brittle and are of poor quality. This may not be apparent when you look at them.
