Best hotels in Cairo

What first-timers get wrong in Cairo

Carry a thick wad of five and ten pound notes, because baksheesh is expected by anyone who opens a door, points at a tomb or minds a bathroom, and nobody ever has change. Use Uber or Careem rather than street taxis, which removes the fare argument entirely. At Giza, ignore anyone claiming the gate is closed or the ticket office has moved. Camel prices are quoted per person, then disputed later.

What's actually worth your time in Cairo

The Grand Egyptian Museum opened in full in November 2025 and now shows the entire Tutankhamun burial together for the first time, which reorders any Cairo itinerary. At Giza the ticketing and shuttle system was overhauled the same year, so the touts have less purchase than they once did. Ibn Tulun, a ninth-century mosque with a spiral minaret, is nearly free and nearly empty. Cairo Tower is a lift and a view.

What to eat in Cairo

Koshari carries the country: rice, lentils, macaroni, chickpeas and fried onions under tomato sauce, with a vinegar-garlic daqqa poured over at the table. Abou Tarek on Champollion Street built four floors on it. Egyptian taameya uses split fava beans rather than chickpeas, so the inside is green. Hawawshi is minced meat baked into baladi bread, and El Fishawy in Khan el-Khalili has poured mint tea since 1773.

When the weather turns in Cairo

Rain is not the problem, since Cairo gets a couple of centimetres in a year. The days you need a roof are the khamaseen, the sand-laden south wind that blows between March and May and turns the air ochre, and the July afternoons above forty degrees. All three big museums are climate-controlled. Failing those, Khan el-Khalili's lanes are partly covered and Mall of Egypt has an indoor ski slope.

What things cost in Cairo

The pound's slide means foreigner ticket prices get reset often and upward, so check the day before rather than trusting a printed guide. A bowl of koshari is still 30 to 60 pounds and a glass of sugarcane juice less than that. The metro charges by zone in the low tens of pounds, making it the cheapest transport anywhere. An Uber across the city usually lands between 100 and 250.

When to go to Cairo

The month to avoid is July — around 39°C (102°F) with roughly 0 rain days. Prices and crowds track the weather here: January is the sweet spot, July the month most people skip.

Pack for peak season: Layers — t-shirts under a light jacket or sweater, Comfortable walking shoes — every guide on this site assumes you'll use them.