Visa and documentation

Please note the following is for information only and can change at any time, please contact your local Egyptian Consulate if you have any concerns.

It is possible to buy an Egyptian visa at the Egyptian Embassy of your home country before you travel. This is essential if you are taking a trip longer than one month in duration or if you are a national of a country that does not allow you to purchase one on arrival. Please contact your local Egyptian Consulate for country specific information.

Buying a visa on arrival: This is only an option for nationals of the following countries; UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Croatia, Georgia, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Macedonia, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Serbia, Ukraine and USA. The visa costs 25US$ (this will need to be paid in US$, Euro or £sterling) . Your passport must be valid for at least 6 months. The visa is ‘all Egypt’ which means that you can travel anywhere in Egypt and is valid for one month.

On arrival at Sharm el Sheikh airport you need to queue at one of the counters and purchase a small visa stamp which  must be stuck on an empty page in your passport.

It is possible to visit Dahab without a visa. Nationals of UK, EU & USA travelling to Sharm El Sheikh, Taba, Dahab and Nuweiba for up to 14 days stay can do so without a visa. Please note that this means you cannot leave the boundaries within South Sinai.  You will not be able to visit certain national parks (Ras Mohammed National Park and Coloured Canyon included) nor can you visit Cairo without a full Egyptian visa.

After choosing to purchase a visa (or not) you then need to join the queue for passport control where you hand in your passport and the completed landing card you will have been given on the aeroplane. Your visa will be stamped with an Egyptian entry stamp – or you will be given a Sinai only stamp as described above.

The reason it is always recommended that visitors purchase an ‘all Egypt’ visa is that should your travels plans change at short notice; you are then free to travel easily.  Getting an ‘all Egypt’ visa once you have left the airport is very difficult and may involve having to leave Egypt (into Israel) and re-entering the country.

Travel Insurance

It is essential that you are properly insured when travelling abroad. Healthcare costs in Egypt can be very high should you need assistance. If you are travelling with valuable possessions you will need to make sure these are covered in case of theft.

If you are planning to participate in any activities such as scuba diving or windsurfing make sure that they are included in your travel insurance policy.

Should you require specific additional coverage for scuba diving then it is recommended you contact the Divers Alert Network for further information.

Vaccinations

There are no compulsory vaccination necessary to visit Egypt however it is recommend that you check with your local heath centre before travelling as most will recommend being immunized against polio, tetanus and hepatitis A for all non-European travel.

In 2012/2013 there have been several reported cases of Typhoid and Hepatitis A and therefore we would personally recommend these vaccinations.