Most travellers to Egypt need a tourist visa, which you can arrange online through the official Egyptian e-visa portal or buy on arrival at the airport. Plan the visa and a data plan before you fly so you land ready. Egypt is a North African country spanning the Nile Valley, the Red Sea coast and the Sinai Peninsula, and its main gateways are Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.
This guide walks through the two visa routes, the passport rules that decide whether an airline lets you board, and how to keep your phone working from the moment you clear immigration. I have kept the money out of the main text on purpose. Every fee and price sits in the FAQ at the end, so you can read the how-to first and check numbers when you are ready.
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The Egypt tourist visa and how to apply online
Citizens of more than sixty countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, most of the European Union and Switzerland, can get an Egypt tourist visa without visiting an embassy. There are two clean routes. The first is the official e-visa, which you apply for online before you travel. The second is the visa on arrival, a sticker you buy at the airport bank window after you land. Both give a single-entry stay of up to 30 days for tourism.
The e-visa is the tidier option if you like everything settled in advance. You fill in a short form, upload a scan of your passport photo page, pay by debit or credit card, and wait for an approval to arrive by email. You then print it or save it to your phone. Standard processing usually runs about five to seven working days, so apply at least a week before departure and do not leave it to the last night.
Apply only through the official government e-visa portal. Egypt runs a single genuine site for this, and the tourism authorities warn that copycat sites charge extra for the same document. I am not printing a web address here because these can change, so search for the Egyptian government e-visa portal directly, check that the domain looks official, and avoid any site that adds a large service markup. A single-entry e-visa must be used within 90 days of issue. A multiple-entry version lets you come and go across a 90-day window if your trip needs it.
Applied for before you fly through the government portal. Approval comes by email in roughly five to seven working days. Best if you want the visa confirmed before you leave home and prefer not to queue at a bank window on arrival.
Bought at the bank window in the arrivals hall at Cairo, Hurghada, Luxor, Alexandria and other international airports. Fast if the queue is short, but you pay in US dollars cash and need exact notes. Best for eligible nationalities who decide late.
Passport validity and entry rules for your Egypt trip
The rule that catches people out is passport validity. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from the date you arrive in Egypt. If it expires sooner, your airline can refuse to board you at the departure gate, and immigration can turn you back. Check the expiry date the moment you start planning, because renewing a passport takes time you may not have.
You also need blank pages. Egypt stamps your entry and exit, and the visa sticker takes room, so carry at least one completely blank page and ideally two to be safe. A passport that is technically valid but crammed full of stamps can still cause a problem at the desk.
Keep the practical documents together. Immigration officers may ask to see proof of onward or return travel and your first hotel booking, so have those reachable rather than buried in email. If you applied for the e-visa, keep the printed approval with your passport. If you are buying the visa on arrival, get your cash ready before you reach the counter so you are not fishing for notes at the window.
The Sinai-only permit for a Red Sea resort trip
There is a useful exception if your whole trip stays inside the South Sinai resort strip. Travellers flying into Sharm El Sheikh who stay within Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba for up to 15 days receive a free entry permission stamp at passport control instead of a paid visa. It costs nothing and is stamped on the spot.
The catch is that this permit ties you to those resort areas. The moment you want to leave the Sinai coast, say to drive to Cairo or to visit Saint Catherine and the interior, that stamp is not enough and you need a full tourist visa. If your plans change while you are there, you can usually buy a visa at Sharm El Sheikh airport to unlock the rest of the country. So the honest planning question is simple. If you know you will only dive, snorkel and relax on the South Sinai coast for under two weeks, the free stamp is perfect. If there is any chance of a Pyramids day trip or a Nile add-on, take the standard visa instead.
eSIM and mobile data options for your Egypt adventure
An eSIM is a digital SIM you load onto your phone as a downloaded profile, with no plastic card to swap. For a short trip it is the easiest way to have working data the instant you land, because you buy and install it at home over Wi-Fi and it simply switches on in Egypt. Your normal SIM stays in the phone for calls and texts on your home number, while the travel eSIM carries your data.
Egypt runs on four main networks: Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt, Etisalat (branded e&) and Telecom Egypt’s WE. Vodafone and Orange have the widest and strongest coverage for travellers, and independent testing consistently puts Vodafone at the front for nationwide 4G. That matters when you pick a travel eSIM, because the good providers ride these local networks. Nomad, for instance, uses both Vodafone and Orange, which are the two strongest networks in the country. Airalo, Holafly and Saily are also rated well for Egypt.
The plans split into two shapes. Fixed-data plans give you a set number of gigabytes, which suits light users who mostly need maps and messaging. Unlimited plans, which Holafly builds its whole range around, remove the worry of running out but often carry a fair-usage policy that can slow speeds after heavy use. Airalo tends to sit a little cheaper for comparable unlimited Egypt plans, while Holafly leans on the simplicity of never watching a data counter. Match the shape to how you travel rather than chasing the biggest number.
You buy a set bundle, say a few gigabytes for the trip. Cheaper for light use, and you can top up if you run low. Airalo offers several Egypt plans from small bundles up to unlimited, so you can size it to your stay.
One flat plan with no cap to watch, which Holafly specialises in. A fair-usage policy may throttle speed after heavy streaming. Good if you tether a laptop or do not want to think about gigabytes at all.
A physical Vodafone, Orange or Etisalat tourist bundle bought at an airport kiosk. Often the best value per gigabyte and it gives you a local number, but you queue on arrival and hand over passport details to register it.
Installing and activating your eSIM before the trip
Install the eSIM before you leave home, while you have solid Wi-Fi, then let it activate only once you reach Egypt. This is the single most useful habit. Installing the profile does not start the clock. On most travel eSIMs the validity period begins when your phone first connects to a supported network in Egypt, so you can set everything up days early and still get your full allowance.
On an iPhone, open Settings, then Cellular or Mobile Data, choose Add eSIM or Add Data Plan, and scan the QR code your provider emailed you. If scanning fails, there is an option to enter the details by hand. On Android the path is Settings, then Network and Internet, then SIMs or Mobile network, and you follow the same scan or manual step. When you land, turn on data roaming for the travel eSIM only and set it as your default line for data.
Two checks save grief. Your phone must be eSIM compatible, which covers almost every iPhone from the iPhone 11 onward and recent Samsung Galaxy S and Google Pixel models. Your phone must also be carrier unlocked, or the profile will not load. To test, open your SIM or network settings and see whether an Add eSIM option exists. Do that before you pay, not at the boarding gate.
Staying connected on arrival and while touring Egypt
The arrivals halls at the big airports make the local route easy too. At Cairo, Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh and Marsa Alam you will find Vodafone, Orange and Etisalat kiosks selling tourist SIM bundles with data and some local minutes. Bring your passport, since Egyptian rules require SIMs to be registered to an identity. If you would rather not queue after a long flight, having an eSIM already installed means you walk out connected while everyone else lines up.
Coverage is strong where tourists actually go. Cairo, Alexandria, the Nile corridor down to Luxor and Aswan, and the Red Sea resorts all have reliable 4G, and 5G is appearing in the larger cities. On a Nile cruise you will keep a usable signal along most of the river between Luxor and Aswan, though it can dip between towns. In the Western Desert, out at the oases, or deep in the Sinai interior on a trekking route, expect coverage to thin or vanish, so download offline maps and any booking confirmations before you head out.
Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the cruise stretch between them carry solid 4G on Vodafone and Orange. This is where a travel eSIM performs best and where you will do most of your navigating and sharing.
Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab and Marsa Alam are well covered, and airport kiosks sell local SIMs on arrival. Wi-Fi in hotels and dive centres fills any gaps for calls home.
The Western Desert oases and the Sinai high mountains lose signal fast. Save offline maps, permits and hotel details in advance, and treat any bar of signal out there as a bonus rather than a plan.
Your pre-trip checklist for an Egypt tour
Pull it together into one pass a couple of weeks out. Confirm your passport has at least six months of validity from your arrival date and at least one clear page for stamps. Decide your visa route: apply for the official e-visa online if you want it settled early, or plan to pay the visa on arrival in US dollars cash if you are eligible and prefer to sort it at the airport. If your trip is only the South Sinai resorts for under 15 days, note that the free entry stamp covers you and skip the paid visa.
On the connectivity side, check that your phone is eSIM ready and unlocked, then buy and install your chosen eSIM at home so it is waiting. Keep the QR code and the provider app handy. Save offline maps of Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and any desert legs. Screenshot your visa approval, hotel bookings and return flight so they work without a signal. Carry a little US dollars cash for the airport regardless, since it smooths the visa window and early tips. Do this and you clear immigration and walk out of the terminal already online.
Passport valid six months past arrival, printed or saved e-visa approval, return or onward ticket, first hotel booking, and a photo of the passport page stored separately.
US dollars cash in clean notes for the visa on arrival and early tips, plus a debit or credit card that works abroad for the e-visa payment and everything after.
An eSIM installed and ready, the provider app logged in, offline maps downloaded, and a power bank for long temple and desert days away from a socket.
How much does an Egypt tourist visa cost?
The single-entry tourist visa on arrival costs about 25 US dollars, though at some ports of entry the standard fee has risen to around 30 US dollars, paid in US dollars cash at the airport bank window. The official online e-visa is priced similarly, and a multiple-entry version costs more. Pay only through the genuine government portal, because copycat sites add a markup for the same document.
Can I get a visa on arrival, or must I apply online first?
Eligible nationalities, including US, UK and most EU citizens, can do either. The visa on arrival is a sticker you buy at the airport bank window before immigration, paid in dollars cash. The e-visa is applied for online in advance and arrives by email. The online route is safer if you want everything confirmed before you fly.
Do I really need six months left on my passport?
Yes. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from your arrival date, and you need at least one blank page for stamps. Airlines check this at the gate and can refuse to board you, so renew early if you are close.
How much does an eSIM for Egypt cost?
Small fixed-data bundles from providers like Airalo often start at only a few US dollars, while a week of unlimited data from Holafly runs around 37 US dollars. Nomad, Saily and Airalo sit in between depending on the data size. A local physical SIM bought at an airport kiosk usually costs roughly 5 to 10 US dollars for several gigabytes and gives you a local number.
Should I buy an eSIM or a local Egyptian SIM?
An eSIM is easier because you install it at home and land already connected, with no queue and no passport registration at a kiosk. A local Vodafone, Orange or Etisalat SIM tends to be cheaper per gigabyte and gives you an Egyptian number, but you queue on arrival and register it with your passport. For a short trip, most travellers find the eSIM worth the small premium.
Do I need a visa for a Sharm El Sheikh beach holiday?
Not if you stay within the South Sinai resorts of Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba or Taba for up to 15 days. You get a free entry permission stamp at passport control. The moment you want to leave that zone, for example to visit Cairo or the Pyramids, you need a full tourist visa instead, which you can usually buy at Sharm El Sheikh airport.
Will my phone have signal on a Nile cruise or in the desert?
Along the Nile between Luxor and Aswan you keep a usable signal most of the way on Vodafone or Orange, with occasional dips between towns. In the Western Desert oases and the Sinai high mountains, coverage thins or disappears, so download offline maps and save your bookings before you head out.
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