7/8/2026 · 7 min read · By Mohamed Hassan · Last updated 7/11/2026
Written by Mohamed Hassan
Licensed Egyptian tour guide, based in Cairo, 30+ years leading trips across Egypt.
Downtown Cairo at dusk — tourism police visible at almost every corner in the tourist zones.
I get this question every single morning from guests arriving at Cairo airport — 'Mohamed, is Egypt actually safe right now?' The short answer, this week, is yes. The longer answer is what I want to give you here, because 'safe' means different things to different travellers and I would rather you land prepared than nervous.
Quick answer
If you're wondering whether to fly this week:
- ✓ Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan — all normal
- ✓ Red Sea resorts (Hurghada, Sharm, Marsa Alam) — safest zones in the country
- ✓ Avoid North Sinai (Rafah / El Arish) — you weren't going there anyway
- ✓ Use Uber / Careem or hotel cars, drink bottled water
This is the same brief I give my own guests landing at Cairo airport.
Quick facts
- Best season:
- October to April (cooler, longer daylight)
- Ideal duration:
- 7–10 days for a first trip
- Budget:
- €90–180/day per person for a well-run private trip
- Perfect for:
- First-time visitors, families, solo travellers
- Family friendly:
- Yes — Egyptians adore children
- Luxury friendly:
- Yes — 5★ hotels and Dahabiya cruises available
- Difficulty:
- Easy with a guide, moderate DIY
The current picture, in plain language
This week the tourist corridors — Cairo, Giza, Luxor, Aswan, Hurghada, Marsa Alam, Sharm El Sheikh, the Nile cruise route and Abu Simbel — are operating normally. Flights are landing on time, museums and temples are open standard hours, and the Tourism & Antiquities Police are visible at every major site. There is no ongoing security incident affecting travellers, and my colleagues who guided groups yesterday reported nothing out of the ordinary. If anything, this week is quieter than usual because we are in the shoulder period — fewer crowds at the Pyramids and shorter waits at the Valley of the Kings.
City by city — what I'm seeing on the ground
Cairo and Giza feel completely normal. I walked through Khan El Khalili with a family from Munich two evenings ago and we stayed out until 11pm without a second thought. Luxor and Aswan are calm, with police escorts still in place on the Luxor–Hurghada road even though most people no longer need them. The Red Sea resorts — Hurghada, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Marsa Alam, Sharm El Sheikh — are self-contained tourist zones and among the safest holiday areas in the entire Mediterranean. Alexandria is business as usual. The Western Desert oases (Bahariya, Siwa) remain open with the standard convoy or licensed guide requirement.
Areas I still tell my guests to skip
I don't take clients to North Sinai (Rafah, El Arish) or to remote stretches of the Egypt–Libya and Egypt–Sudan borders. This has been unchanged for years and has nothing to do with 'this week'. Everything you actually came to Egypt to see — pyramids, tombs, temples, reefs, deserts — is nowhere near those areas. When people read 'avoid Sinai' in a foreign government advisory they sometimes assume that includes Sharm El Sheikh. It doesn't. Sharm sits on the South Sinai coast, hundreds of kilometres from any restricted zone, and is treated separately in every serious travel advisory.
The real risks — the ones nobody puts in a headline
In 30 years the incidents I've actually had to help guests with are, in order: minor stomach upsets from tap water or ice, taxi overcharging outside hotels, mild heat exhaustion in summer, and pushy touts at the Pyramids gate. That's it. Bring a reusable bottle, use bottled water for brushing teeth, agree taxi prices before you sit down (or use Uber and Careem — both work perfectly in Cairo, Alexandria and Hurghada), wear a hat, and walk past anyone who approaches you at the Sphinx offering a 'special ticket'. Do those four things and you have eliminated 95% of the actual risk.
Solo travellers, women and families — a quick note
Solo women travel to Egypt constantly and the vast majority have a good experience. Dress modestly (shoulders and knees covered outside resorts), avoid empty streets late at night as you would in any large city, and if you feel uncomfortable step into any hotel lobby — staff will help you. Families are honestly the easiest group to guide here; Egyptians adore children and you will find your kids getting free desserts, high-fives and photographs everywhere you go. If you want extra peace of mind, book a private guide for your first day so you can ask every 'is this normal?' question face to face.
How to get updates I actually trust
I check three things every morning: the UK FCDO advisory, the German Auswärtiges Amt page, and the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism daily briefing. Between them you get a realistic picture without the tabloid noise. Avoid making a decision based on a single viral social-media video — nine times out of ten it's old footage from another country. If you want a real-time sanity check before you fly, send us a message on WhatsApp; someone from our team is in Cairo replying within a couple of hours during working times.
So — should you come this week?
Yes. If your trip is booked, keep it. If you are still deciding, this is a genuinely good week to travel: sites are open, crowds are moderate, and prices haven't yet climbed into peak season. Book a licensed guide for the important days, use hotel or app-based taxis, drink bottled water and enjoy yourself. Egypt rewards travellers who show up prepared and curious — and 30 years in, I still think it is the most rewarding country in the world to guide people through.
Safety picture by region — this week
| Region | Status | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Cairo & Giza | Fully open, normal | Go — use Uber, licensed guide for sites |
| Luxor & Aswan | Fully open, normal | Go — sleeper train or short flight from Cairo |
| Red Sea (Hurghada, Sharm, Marsa Alam) | Very safe resort zones | Go — self-contained, family-friendly |
| Western Desert (Bahariya, Siwa) | Open with licensed guide | Go with a permitted operator |
| North Sinai (Rafah, El Arish) | Restricted | Skip — not a tourist area |
Expert Tip
If you only take one piece of advice from this article: use Uber or Careem, not street taxis. That single habit removes the number-one complaint I hear from new arrivals — the taxi surprise at the end of the ride.
— Mohamed Hassan
Related on EGT Travel
Frequently asked questions
Is it safe to walk around Cairo at night this week?
Yes, in the main areas — Downtown, Zamalek, Maadi, Heliopolis, and around the Pyramids Road hotels. Use a hotel taxi or Uber after 11pm rather than flagging a street cab, and stick to lit streets, exactly as you would in Rome or Naples.
Are the Pyramids of Giza open normally?
Yes. Standard opening hours (07:00–17:00, sometimes extended in high season), all three pyramids and the Sphinx accessible, and the new visitor entrance from the Grand Egyptian Museum side is operating. Book a licensed guide to skip the touts at the gate.
Is it safe to fly domestically inside Egypt?
Absolutely. EgyptAir and Nile Air run daily flights Cairo–Luxor, Cairo–Aswan, Cairo–Hurghada and Cairo–Sharm. Safety records are strong and airports are calm this week.
Do I need travel insurance for Egypt?
Not legally, but I always recommend it. A basic policy covering medical evacuation and trip cancellation costs less than a nice dinner in Cairo and covers the two things you cannot fix on the ground.
What should I do if there's a safety alert while I'm here?
Stay in your hotel or on the tour vehicle, call your embassy hotline (numbers on the back of the visa sticker) and message your guide. In 30 years I have had to invoke this exactly twice, both weather related.
Do I need any special vaccinations for Egypt?
No mandatory vaccinations for European, UK or North American travellers. Standard travel jabs (hepatitis A, typhoid) are worth being up-to-date on. Check with your GP 3–4 weeks before travel.
Want a same-day sanity check before you fly? Message our team on WhatsApp — a real person in Cairo will answer, not a chatbot.
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