What this solves
The Egyptian pound has lost about half its value against the dollar in two big waves — 2016, 2022, and again during the 2024–2025 IMF program adjustments. A trip budget that was accurate in late 2023 may be off by a factor of two today, and any number you paste into a spreadsheet will rot within months. This calculator is built around that rot. Instead of one hard-coded exchange rate, you move a slider and watch the trip total breathe.
Two design choices follow from that. First, all reference prices are denominated in EGP (the pound you actually pay in), with USD shown only as a derived column. Second, the calculator carries a region emphasis — Cairo, Luxor, the Nile, Sinai, Siwa, or the Red Sea — because the same traveler can spend 4,000 EGP/day in Luxor or 12,000 EGP/day at a Red Sea resort. Without that emphasis, "mid-range" becomes a meaningless average.
A third design choice: this is not a "minimum" budget and it is not a "splurge" budget. The figures are medians from a 2026-frame observation set — what a typical traveler in that tier actually pays at that category of vendor on a typical day. The "contingencies" column is the buffer for variance above that median, not insurance against the worst case. If you want a worst-case budget, multiply the result by 1.4; if you want a disciplined budget, subtract the contingencies column and commit to not exceeding it.
The slider runs from 35 to 80 EGP per USD on purpose. Below 35 is the 2015-era pegged rate, which has not been a realistic market price since the 2016 float. Above 80 is a stress scenario some economists modelled for late 2026 under an accelerated IMF program. The 35–80 range covers both the "Egyptian tourism is currently cheap for dollar travellers" window and the "your dollar doesn't go as far as the guidebook said" window. Most users will sit between 47 and 56, where the 2025–2026 trading band actually lives, but the full range is there for scenario planning.
The calculator
How to read results
- The per-day figure is a typical day, not a worst day. Cairo day 1 (arrival, taxi from airport, hotel drop) costs more than Cairo day 4 (museums, metro). The breakdown column on the result card already absorbs some of that variance, but plan a 15–20% buffer for arrival, departure, and tipping spikes.
- The slider is the point of the tool. At 35 EGP/USD a mid-range Cairo day costs about 4,400 EGP (≈125 USD); at 50 EGP/USD it costs 6,400 EGP (≈128 USD); at 80 EGP/USD the same day costs 8,400 EGP (≈105 USD). The USD column falls as the rate rises, but the EGP column rises faster, so your real buying power in Egypt falls.
- Region emphasis changes the mix, not the rates. Cairo weighs lodging and transport heavily. Luxor weighs Nile-side lodging and West-Bank taxi days. Red Sea weighs resort package rates. The reference rates inside each category are the same — what changes is which categories dominate the day.
- Tips and contingencies are not optional. Egypt runs on tips; an envelope per day is a structural cost, not a kindness. The "tips" and "contingencies" columns together absorb roughly 18–25% of the per-day figure for mid-range trips, more for luxury.
- This calculator does not include international flights. Add 600–1,200 USD per person from Europe, 800–1,500 USD from North America, 350–700 USD from the Gulf. The Egyptian domestic Cairo–Luxor flight is in the sights-and-transport column.
- The slider has limits. Below 35 EGP/USD is the 2015-era pegged rate; it has not been a realistic market price since the 2016 float. Above 80 EGP/USD is a stress scenario that some analysts modelled for late 2026; treat it as a planning ceiling, not a forecast.
- Hotel star ratings are local. A 5★ in Cairo and a 5★ in Luxor are not the same property class as a 5★ in Istanbul or Dubai. The reference prices here are 2026-frame averages from booking-platform listings, not guidebook labels.
- Shoulder season is cheaper. May–June and September are shoulder months; hotel rates drop 20–30% from the winter peak, and Nile cruise packages drop 15–25%. The per-day budget shown assumes neither peak nor trough; if you're travelling in shoulder, knock off the equivalent percentage from the lodging column.
- Group math is not 1 + 1. A double room is not twice the cost of a single; the second occupant adds roughly 25–35% (meals, internal transport, sights). Family rooms (two adults + two children) often price as 2.5× single. The "per group per day" line on the result card absorbs this; if you are a solo traveler, multiply the per-person column by 1.35 to get a comparable "your real cost" figure.
- Souvenirs are not in the budget. The "sights & entries" column covers tickets and licensed guide fees, not souvenir purchases. Souvenirs are a separate line item — typically 1,500–8,000 EGP per trip depending on how seriously you haggle and what you buy. See the Haggling 4-category taxonomy for what to spend on.
- Visa and entry fees are not in the budget. The visa-on-arrival fee (25 USD single-entry / 60 USD multi-entry, paid in USD or equivalent at the bank kiosk before passport control) is a separate line. The result card does not include it.
FAQ
Should I pay in USD cash or in EGP by card?
Card for hotels, Nile cruises, restaurants with menus in EGP, and supermarket chains; cash in EGP for taxis, small restaurants, tips, and bazaars. Card terminals sometimes offer a "pay in EGP" or "pay in USD" choice — always pick EGP, because the bank's wholesale rate beats the terminal's mark-up. The ATM fee optimizer covers the cash half.
What about the official "tourist pricing" tier?
The old dual-price tier for foreigners (sights, some museums) has been compressed into a single non-resident price at the major sites since 2023. A handful of smaller sites still quote EGP vs foreign-equivalent. Assume foreign unless a sign in Arabic and English says otherwise, and budget for it inside the "sights" column.
Is there a "tourist tax" or entry fee I'm missing?
No federal tourist tax in the Western sense. There is a visa-on-arrival fee (25 USD / multi-entry 60 USD, paid in USD or equivalent), the site tickets at each antiquity, and the Sinai-only "South Sinai protectorate" tag at some diving sites. None of these are hidden; they are line items.
How accurate is the 50 EGP/USD default?
It is a 2026 reference frame, not a forecast. The market rate has ranged from about 47 to 56 EGP per USD across 2025–2026, with periodic IMF-driven adjustments. Use the slider to stress-test the trip; do not paste 50 into a spreadsheet and walk away.
Does the per-day figure include the Nile cruise fare?
If you set the region emphasis to "Nile cruise", yes — the cruise fare replaces most lodging and most ground transport for those days, and food is included. Set the emphasis to "Luxor" or "Cairo" and the cruise becomes a separate line item; the calculator does not auto-add it.
What about the Sinai-only St. Catherine Protectorate fee?
There is no separate protectorate fee for entering St. Catherine or climbing Mount Sinai; the site entry ticket is included in the "sights & entries" column. Diving sites on the South Sinai coast do charge a per-dive protectorate fee (around 100 EGP per dive in 2026); if you are a heavy diver, add this as a separate line item — the calculator does not auto-detect it.
Is "backpacker" really 2,000 EGP/day in Cairo?
Backpacker in Cairo runs about 1,200–1,800 EGP/day: hostel dorm bed 250–500, street-food meals 100–250, public bus and metro 30–80, free or near-free sights (exterior sites, the Cairo Museum sometimes), tips 100–150. The 2,000 number is the upper backpacker band — private hostel room plus occasional taxi plus a museum day. Below 1,200, you're cutting corners on safety (unlicensed taxis, unsafe accommodation).
Related tools
Sources
- CBE (Central Bank of Egypt) reference rates, 2024–2026 daily EGP/USD series.
- IMF Article IV review, Egypt, 2024–2025 (macro framework for the slider range).
- Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, 2026 ticket-price schedule.
- Hotel-rate observation on booking platforms, Cairo / Luxor / Hurghada, March 2026 sample week.
- Internal taxi fare schedules (Cairo, Luxor, Aswan), 2026 reference.
About
Pharaoh Compass is a small, ad-light, decision-grade toolkit. We started as a one-page Giza order optimiser and grew into 36. We don't sell tours, we don't take bookings, we don't take affiliate commissions. We make calculators.
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Disclaimer
For reference only. Prices and schedules change; verify at the gate, the embassy, or the operator. We are not a licensed tour operator, immigration authority, or financial advisor. No warranty is made that any calculation is correct for your specific trip.