Tipping in Egypt: Can I tip in dollars or Egyptian pounds? Whom do I tip? How much to tip? And more!

TOUR EGYPT WITH GUS!

:53 Gus's philosophy on tipping in Egypt
2:08: Gus's personal experience with tipping
4:46: When to tip
5:44: Can I tip in local currency or foreign currency?
7:25: How much to tip
11:30: Whom I don't tip

#egypttravel #egypt #touregypt

Tipping is a very important part of travel to Egypt, so in this video, I go over all your questions on tipping. How much should you tip your driver for the day? Do you tip tour guides? Is it better to tip in foreign currency, or local currency? All these questions and more, answered!

[EgyptAdventuresTravel]

Due to the constantly changing exchange rate for the value of the Egyptian Pound, this video is outdated. For an updated look at tipping in Egypt, be sure to check out my new blog post. I also plan on redoing this video in the future to talk about tipping now that the Egyptian Pound is in flux.

[mareknowak]

You have touched on a very interesting subject. I've been to Egypt 3 times, I've also been to more poorer countries ( Laos, Zimbabwe, Burma, Nigeria )and nowhere did anyone demand a tip like in Egypt. Nowhere have I been/am I being jerked around or solicited like in Egypt. It was western civilization that got them used to it - driver said 20$ and received 30$, waiter said 40$ and received 50$ because they are poor- If they tell us a price it means it costs that much! - now they demand from everyone considering it part of their culture. Arabs themselves don't do it as often - if at all. Explaining that they don't earn enough is childish - most people in the world think they earn not enough (in proportion to the country they live in). There are people who of course need to be tipped extra, but please don't say that this should be done for everyone because many don't deserve it.
The problems with drivers in Egypt ended when I started using Uber App - seriously. I'd make an agreement with a driver for 300 pounds and at the end of the ride he'd charge me 550 and instead of having a nice time I'd have to look for the tourist police. In a restaurant I get a menu, the cost of the food is 200 pounds and the bill is 400 - every step person has to be careful how much they pay, for what and also what change they give out because they cheat too. So maybe instead of pitying them so much they should learn how to respect tourists.
Egypt is a beautiful country and I wish all of You a great holiday.

[lindagurnish]

I just got back a month ago. And we tipped mostly in US dollars. They love dollars but they must be nice. Not torn or written on because they can not exchange it. We tipped all of our guides very well. They took so much time with us. We were the only ones on our tour so we got a lot of attention. Our driver we tipped st least 20 a day or more depending on the traffic in Cairo, if the traffic was unusually crazy, as it always is it could go higher

[purpletc]

Thank you so much for this very important and informative vid about tipping in Egypt

[tracyg]

Thank you for the information - I am going to Egypt in Nov '22, with Gate1 from JFK, a 15 day tour with a tour guide. I am watching your video again bc it got a little confusing with the different currency calculations for the tipping - living in the NYC metro the standard we currently tip 25% - I plan on getting new US bills bf we leave to use for tips - I was planning on $100 in one dollar bills and at least $100 in five dollar bills for the small daily tips - totally separate from the tour guide & driver tips. I have read that ATM's are easy to locate in Egypt - so we should be fine if we need more cash. Thank you again for all of the informative video's - sad I didn't find your site until after I booked because you are a wealth of knowledge!

[chrislaska]

I’ve just come back from Egypt. People were delighted to have any money from any country. The currency is really crashing. They are happy with dollars euros dinars yen they truly are they’ll take anything and I noticed many museums will not even except the Egyptian pound they only want you to pay with a credit card or foreign currency.

[munahussain]

I’m going to Egypt soon.
Very helpful video.
You explained it well.

[yipmabaruya]

Good morning from Papua New Guinea. I enjoyed watching your contents. I liked and subscribed to your YouTube channel for more contents.

[jackjohnson]

We just got back from Egypt and found your videos to be very helpful.

[womanofgoldenwords]

I just got back from Egypt and the tipping is ridiculous.
I was at one of those small markets in Gizza and I was getting a few bottles of water out of the cooler. As soon as I grabbed the 3 bottles of water I wanted a man appeared behind me asking me to give him the bottles of water. I didn’t know who he was so I allowed him to take the bottles out of my arms. The man then took three steps from where I was to the cash register and placed the bottles on the counter so the clerk could ring up my sale. The man then demanded a tip from me.
I was like what?
Lol
They will walk up to you and take your scarf off your head then they will put it back on your head and then demand a tip. Again, it’s ridiculous.
But as long as you really want to see Egypt, it’s really not that big of a deal.
I tipped my driver just fine but for all the people just coming up to you and demanding a tip for some stupid reason, I kept small notes on me to give them.

[miamiwong]

Excellent content, I wish I’d watched your video earlier. I am currently in Cairo and I’d tipped a meet and greet person £1 coin to arrange a taxi transfer at the airport because I didn’t have any small notes. At least I know what is expected of me next when I am in similar situations.

[robertw]

Gus, I have been all over the world and have never found a place which was so expectant of tipping the way the Egyptians are. It can't be based on poverty either being Myanmar ad Laos are much poorer than Egypt. I always wondered how the Egyptian society evolved in a way that tipping almost everyone a tourist encounters happened. You have any clues to why Gus? Just curious.

[AlphaGeekgirl]

This video made me laugh because, of all the countries I’ve ever travelled to, the one where I was treated the worst for tipping 20% - not the expected 25%, was in the US.
Where I come from you only tip for good service *after* you’ve received exceptional service… Not in anticipation of, which in my experience never worked. I routinely was expected (forced) to tip 20 bucks for a regular meal, only to have the worst experience & service, I’ve ever had in my life.
The other thing I noticed is that Americans, when they tip overseas, it’s basically loose change. Never like they would tip in their own country, where service people actually do have more money.

[sabrinaheisey]

We are planning on coming as a large family (3 adults and 9 kids). What would tipping look like? Is it your recommended but times 12? That adds up a lot for us

[bodhanpanja]

Hi I have chosen your 1st itinerary for 7days. We 3 person (family). With cruise. Please suggest me per day how much I can pay as tips for all 3 person in EGP. Please 🙏

[davidlawlor]

I usually bring dollars as well as local because i cant keep up with the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. I think it has just dropped 30% last month alone

[johnpurnell]

Do not tip $1 bills. They cannot exchange them. Egyptians typically go to an ATM to exchange currency and the lowest denomination that is accepted is $5 and some places $10. So what happens is they collect the dollars and then they need to find, in this case, an American, to exchange those dollar bills. Happened to us this June 2023 down in Luxor. And there is no problem whatsoever getting smaller bills. Go get a water in a store and give a 100EGP note, you’ll get plenty of smaller notes this way.

[Queen_Nefertari]

how about a 12 days tour. my guide with us from Cairo, Aswan nile Cruise to Luxor.

[AvaRose]

Hey great video. My son and I are traveling to Egypt in May. My credit card does not charge to use in Egypt but my debit card to use at an ATM does. I’m looking to bring cash into the country. My question is how many Egyptian pounds and US dollar can I bring through the airport? I’m nervous about using the ATM over there. Thanks so much!

[xcehkpn]

Hello Gus, I was looking for tour guide in Cario. I got quoted 50.00 USD per person for one day tour for the pyramids. Please advise if this is adequate or overpriced? Based on your blog and your video, sounds like this quote is too much. Drop me a line and lets connect. Thanks