Travel Information

Visa - Passport

All visitors are required to have a visa and a valid passport that's not due to expire within six months. Citizens of Bahrain, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are exepted from the visa requirement. Nationals of European countries, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S. can obtain entry visas upon arrival in Egypt. You pay around US$ 15 for a one-month visa, which allows you to go all around Egypt. A 14-day visa for the area Sharm, St. Catherine and Nuweiba is free of charge.

Shopping

Dahab is full of touts wanting to get you into their shops to sell you their goods, lots of it is mass produced tourist tat, look around for what you are after and haggle hard!.....offering 20% of the asking price is not unreasonable, if they don’t chase you as you leave the shop you’ve gone too low! Browsing is an exercise in patience, remember that the guy who’s is hassling you probably works on commission, don’t get angry, he’s just trying to make a living (but don’t get ripped off either!).
Small supermarkets are everywhere, some have a rather flexible approach to pricing, a good test is to ask the price of a 1.5lt of drinking water, if it’s more than 2 or 3 Egyptian pounds, it may be worth looking elsewhere. Be very careful at pharmacies, many rip off tourists to the extreme; ask someone you trust where to go and what to pay.

<<< Top >>>

Banking

Credit Cards Many major shopping centers have ATMs, and most shops and establishments in Cairo accept major credit cards such as MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and Visa. If you plan to go shopping in one of the town bazaars, paying in cash will help you get a better bargain.

Cloths

During summer you need light clothes. In winter, a coat or jacket will be needed in the evening. Comfortable shoes are a must. In the city centers, in mosques and churches clothes that are more conservative should be worn. Cairo's predominant religion is Islam, so people dress conservatively, trying to cover as much of their skin as possible. In practice, that also means no tight-fitting clothes that reveal the contours of the body. While visitors are not expected to follow strictly local dress codes, executives who will mix some tourism along with business are advised to do so when visiting religious sites. When packing, it is advisable to bring along loose, comfortable clothing, preferably made of cotton. Those garments will help you keep cool in Egypt's hot desert climate.

<<< Top >>>

Getting Around

Getting around Dahab is relatively easy, many hotels are within a short walk of Sea Dancer, the sea, shops, restaurants and bars. Others are a short taxi ride away and some hotels, which are further out of town, run a shuttle bus service.

Taxis in Dahab are most commonly the ubiquitous pick-up trucks used by the Bedouins, but may also be jeeps or mini-buses (or even the odd one that actually looks like a taxi!) How do you know if it’s a taxi? Easy, the driver will be shouting ‘Taxi, Taxi’ at you, or maybe ‘Tax, Tax’ which is even less appealing. Expect to pay a minimum of 5 le for short rides and around 30 le from the hotels which are further out of town.

Bicycles are easy to rent, but check them over first, (brakes are often an optional extra) A good bike will cost around 40 le for a day. Motorcycles are also available.

Private car rental is possible for the brave, bring an international license and be aware that Egypt has one of the worst road traffic accident levels in the world.

Public transportation

Regular buses run to Sharm and Cairo, but only one a day to the border town of Taba, private mini-buses and taxis can also be easily arranged. Overnight buses make the longer haul to Luxor and other parts of Southern Egypt.

East Delta Bus timetable

<<< Top >>>

Population

The population of approximately 72 million people is concentrated along the Nile, on 3.6% of Egypt's total area. 16 million people live in Cairo and its suburbs.

Geographical

Egypt is more than 1,000,000km². Its borders stretch from the Mediterranean in the north, where the Nile meets the sea, to the borders of Sudan, Libya and over the Sinai Peninsula to the borders of Israel and, by sea, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The Nile (the world's longest river with its 6,600 km) has created, through tens of thousands of years, a fantastic fertile landscape on its banks where approximately 95 % of Egypt's population lives.

Useful Numbers

Country Dialling Code: 20
Ambulance: 123
Fire Brigade: 125
Police: 122 or 02/303-4122
Tourist Police: 02/390-6028

Electricity

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Wall plugs are the two-pronged European type.

<<< Top >>>