Luxor Travel Forum

Hi,
Myself and my husband are going on a nile cruise next september and then a week in a hotel in luxor. Have never been abroad for 20 years. I am doing all the hard work on the internet forums to try to learn everything we need to know before we go. Have learned a lot but MONEY. I am at my wits end as to how much to take and how to take it as there is so many different views on cash, travellers cheques and sterling(i am scottish). Any ideas folks? It would be much appreciated

les x

Forget traveller's cheques: they are very old-hat nowadays and simply not worth the hassle of finding somewhere to change them.

Get yourself a bank account which allows free withdrawals from ATMs (cash-points): I believe the Nationwide does one.

Otherwise, take (or get) a credit card (or two, just in case) that you can use to withdraw cash from ATMs as and when you need it. You'll be charged for each withdrawl (unless you get an account which doesn't make a charge) so check out hat this will be. You'll need to tell the card provider that you'll be abroad a week or so before you go. There is so much card fraud these days that you risk having the transaction halted if you don't (embarrassing and a hassle).

Another alternative if to get one of the specific 'travelcards', which are basically debit cards. You put a certain amount of money into a specific account and draw from that. All the banks do them.

Get some Egyptian pounds from the Post Office (no commission) before you leave, so you have some ready cash to hand, and take some GBP too: it's easy enough to change this into Egyptian pounds if there are no ATMS to hand.

I'm sure you'll have a brilliant trip!

Yes, I agree with that.

Make sure you have small denoomination Egyptian notes because everyone expects a tip - it's part of the culture, for locals as well, not just tourists.

Presumably you'll have paid for your cruise and hotel in advance and the hotel bills you run up can be paid at the end by credit card. If you spend money outside the hotel it won't be much, it's very inexpensive compared to the UK, so you won't need to carry too much cash.

By far the best deal for Brits travelling abroad and wanting to use ATM's is to get a Nationwide Flex Account and use their debit card. Although there may be a fee charged by the local bank there are no transaction fees charged by Nationwide and they use better exchange rates than most other banks, who both charge a fee and load the rate to make even more money. I have a Nationwide account that I use only for travelling, It was easy to open over the Internet and you can transfer money in and out of your main bank account. They also have an e-Savings Account that pays reasonable rates so you could use that to help save for the trip and switch it across to the Flex Account online just before you go.

I also take a couple of credit cards, one Visa one Mastercard for peace of mind, and usually a small amount of local currency for convenience on arrival.

Have a great trip, it sounds exciting.

Cheers
Clive

I had been on Nile River Cruise & stayed in their hotels. No Atms in River Cruise but bigger hotels have ATMs & foreign exchange in the lobby.
I find that their exchange rate is not bad at big hotels & River Cruise.
Most merchants are more happy to accept foreign currency like USD, Euros & British pounds. Haggle & save Money.
I find that in Egypt, they don't like to give you small bills :)
There will be lots of people chasing after you for tips in bathrooms (airport & museums which tips should not be asked).
If you have no change , bring your own pocket tissues along & also bring free promotional pens or candy from your country to give as a tip for those ridiculous one. I find out they take anything :)

Thanks to everyone, great tips and better peice of mind. We have visa debit but i think i will try a credit card as well, although never believed in them before.

cheers all
les x

You don't need to use it, and if you do use it you don't need to use it for credit. Just get one from your bank, and pay it off in full when the statement arrives. You'll pay no extra charges using credit cards like that.

I use mine in exactly the same way as I use my debit card. It's just a good idea to have more than one card when you are travelling, preferably one Visa and one Mastercard (but that's not essential at all).

Keep them (and extra cash) in the safe if you don't intend to use them that day, of course.

Leics is spot on. I use my credit card as a charge card, paying the full amount as it's due. That way I get the convenience of the card, use someone else's money upfront and pay no interest.

Hi

I live in Luxor and can tell you that if you have an ATM card you can easily withdraw cash from the ATM's here. The best thing is to get your Egyptian pounds here at the airport upon arrival - on average you get a better exchange rate here than in the UK. If you haven't already been to the Egyptian consulate to get your entry visa you will get it when you arrive at the airport (which most people do). If you are flying into Luxor airport you will see the bank tellers as soon as you enter the airport from your plane. This is where you get your visa plus you can change your sterling there. You should also be able to change sterling on the boat if you really have to and most of the large hotels in Luxor have an exchange bureau. There are large banks dotted around Luxor so you can always withdraw cash from the ATM's but as others have pointed out, just be aware that your bank may charge you for international withdrawals. Also just make sure your card has Cirrus or Maestro - but then most cards nowadays do. The other thing to bear in mind regarding credit cards is that not all shops will accept cc's. All the large hotels do and your boat should also, but if you want to buy something from a small gift shop or the like just ask first or look for the sign to see if they accept Visa or Mastercard.

The pen tip is a great one - you'll even find that some police/security officers want pens so carry a few in your bag - they'll come in handy!!

I hope you have a fantastic trip - I'm sure you will!!

Ess

My only advice is to change out your sterling immediately. Use pounds everywhere. If they know you have foreign currency, that's what they will demand and it will no doubt end up costing you much more. Things are cheap in Egypt. Most of the items you buy will be less than what you're used to paying somewhere else. You do however have to negotiate price. If they say it's 100LE, I wouldn't pay more than 30LE. I know this sounds cheap, but I've lived in Egypt for 4 years now, and I've learned my lesson too many times. They always ask for about 10x what the item is worth. I give them 3x and everyone is happy. Also, I would not buy any expensive items like jewelry. I've heard too many stories about people buying gold or gems only to return home and find out they were fake. Even at the supposed "government approved" stores. Also, try to get a lot of small Egyptian Pounds (LE), when you first get there. Lots of 1, 5, 10, and 20 will come in handy more than 100LE. As you will see, nobody ever has change!