By type of trip
Nile Cruises Luxor to Aswan: Routes, Boats and Prices
Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
Nile Cruise and Red Sea Holidays: Two-Week Egypt Trips
White Desert Tours from Cairo: Oases and Desert Camping
Short Breaks in Egypt: Three and Four Day Cairo Trips
Tailor-made Egypt Tours: Private Trips Built Around You
Practical
For an Egypt SIM card, buy a local tourist line from Vodafone, Orange, e& or WE after you land. If you want data the moment you land, install a travel eSIM before you fly. Vodafone lists shops at Cairo, Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh airports, and Orange lists two at Cairo airport. The local tourist plans are cheap and published in Egyptian pounds. All four networks sell local eSIMs. e& and WE say theirs can only be set up inside Egypt. Everything below comes from the operators' own pages, checked October 2026.
| Local tourist SIM or eSIM | Travel eSIM app | |
|---|---|---|
| When you buy it | After you land, at a shop or in the operator's app | Before you fly, on your phone |
| Data on landing | Once the shop has set it up | Yes, if you installed it at home |
| Egyptian phone number | Yes, with local and international minutes | Often data only. Check the listing |
| What you need | Your passport at the counter | An unlocked phone that supports eSIM |
| Prices | Published by each operator in Egyptian pounds | Set by the app. Compare the price per gigabyte |
| Best for | Longer trips, heavy data use, calling local numbers | Short trips and anyone who wants it done before leaving |
The short answer
A local tourist line is the simple default for most visitors. Buy it at the airport if a counter is open, or in town the next day. A travel eSIM suits a short trip, or anyone who wants maps and messages working in the arrivals hall. Both run on the same Egyptian networks.
Egypt has four mobile networks: Vodafone Egypt, Orange, e& (formerly Etisalat) and WE, which is run by Telecom Egypt. All four sell prepaid lines, and three publish a plan made for visitors.
Vodafone sells the Tourist Line, also called TourSIM. Vodafone says it is for tourists only and includes a data bundle with local and international minutes. e& sells four Traveler packages for tourists (Traveler 200, 300, 450 and 600). WE sells Mobile Egypt, again for tourists only. Orange's eSIM page says tourists can take a line. It names no tourist plan on the pages we checked.
We have no independent coverage test to point to, so we name no winner. In practice the best SIM card for Egypt is the tourist plan from the network with a counter where you land. For most people that means Vodafone, which lists the most airport shops. Coverage in the cities and along the Nile Valley is good.
Vodafone lists shops at Cairo International Airport in Terminals 1, 2 and 3. It lists two inside Hurghada airport and two in the international arrival hall at Sharm el-Sheikh airport. Orange lists shops in Terminals 2 and 3 at Cairo airport. We found no official airport shop listing for e& or WE.
No operator publishes opening hours for its airport shops. Plan for a closed counter if you land in the small hours. Orange announced free Wi-Fi for passengers at Cairo International Airport in January 2025. Treat it as a bonus and do not count on it.
If you travel with us, a representative meets you at the airport on every tour we sell. Private transfers are included too. Landing without data matters less when someone is already waiting for you. Examples are the 5-day Cairo short break, from US$935 per person, and the 8-day Cairo, Luxor and Nile cruise, from US$2,135.
Buy at the airport if a counter is open and the queue is short. You leave with maps, messages and ride-hailing working. Uber and Careem both operate in Cairo, and both need data.
Buy in town if the counter is shut or you are tired. Vodafone says the TourSIM is sold at any Vodafone retail store across Egypt, as well as at the airport. The plan is the same. Your hotel Wi-Fi covers the first evening.
Buy from an operator's own shop, and take your passport. Vodafone and Orange both have shop finders on their websites.
These are the operators' own published prices, checked October 2026. They change, so treat them as a guide.
e& prices its four Traveler packages from 200 to 600 Egyptian pounds. They include 7 GB to 40 GB of data, plus local and international minutes. e& says these prices include tax. The two smaller packages cannot be renewed. The two larger ones can be renewed three times.
WE prices Mobile Egypt at 100 pounds for 5,000 MB, 60 local minutes and 20 international minutes. The 300-pound plan gives 20,000 MB, 120 local minutes and 60 international minutes. Both last 30 days and can be renewed. WE says these prices exclude tax.
Vodafone publishes no bundle prices on its Tourist Line page. It gives the rate once the bundle runs out: 0.19 pounds per megabyte, and 0.19 pounds per local minute or text. Check your balance and buy another bundle by dialling *6060#. Ask for the bundle price at the counter before you pay.
For what these sums mean in your own money, check the day's rate. Our page on Egyptian currency explains where to find it.
Yes. All four networks sell eSIMs. Plan to set a local one up after you land. e& and WE both say theirs only work when set up inside Egypt.
Vodafone charges 350 pounds for a new eSIM line, sold in its shops and its online eShop. Orange also charges 350 pounds for a new line, and its eSIM page says tourists are eligible. e& charges 350 pounds and says the eSIM profile can only be downloaded inside Egypt. WE charges 330 pounds for a new line. It says activation only works inside Egypt, using a QR code from a WE branch. All prices were checked October 2026.
A local eSIM suits you if your phone has one physical SIM slot and you want to keep your home number active. WE needs a branch visit for the QR code, so check each network's process before you rely on it. Connect to Wi-Fi before you download the profile. Vodafone and WE both say so.
A travel eSIM is a data plan sold by an international app. You install it at home and switch it on when you land. It connects through one of the Egyptian networks. Apart from roaming on your home plan, it is the only way to have data in the arrivals hall without a shop.
We have not tested the travel eSIM apps, so we recommend none by name. Check three things before you buy one. First, the price per gigabyte, compared with the local tourist bundles above. Second, whether it includes a phone number or is data only. Third, which Egyptian network it uses.
Our view: for a week or less, especially on a guided trip, a travel eSIM is the simplest choice. For two weeks or more, or heavy data use, the local tourist line is easy to price and gives you an Egyptian number. That helps when a driver cannot find your address and needs to call.
A local SIM needs an unlocked phone. If your phone came on contract, ask your provider to unlock it before you travel. A travel eSIM or a local eSIM also needs a phone that supports eSIM. The settings menu on most phones shows this under mobile or cellular data.
Take your passport to the counter. Vodafone's list of documents for a new prepaid line starts with a valid passport. It also names the e-visa among the papers it accepts, so carry your visa approval as well.
Egypt taxes phones brought in from abroad. The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) said on 20 January 2026 that the exemption continues for tourists' phones for 90 days. For a normal holiday there is nothing to do. Staying longer with a local SIM in your own phone? Read the NTRA notice on tra.gov.eg before you go.
Coverage is good in the cities and along the Nile Valley, and decent around the Red Sea resorts. It thins in the deep desert. In Bahariya the signal holds in Bawiti town and disappears off the tarmac. A White Desert camping night means no signal until the drive back.
On a Nile cruise the signal comes and goes between towns. Boat Wi-Fi, where it exists, runs off the same phone signal, so it is unreliable. Hotel Wi-Fi covers you indoors and nowhere else. Desert lodges and Siwa guesthouses have slow Wi-Fi, when it works.
Near the border at Taba, a phone can connect to a network across the water and start roaming on a foreign tariff. Check which network your phone shows before a long call. Download offline maps before any desert day.
Yes. Vodafone lists shops in Terminals 1, 2 and 3 at Cairo International Airport. Orange lists shops in Terminals 2 and 3. Neither publishes opening hours, so a late-night arrival may find them shut. Orange announced free passenger Wi-Fi at Cairo airport in January 2025.
The plan is the same in both places. The airport gets you connected before the drive to your hotel. Town is fine if the counter is closed: Vodafone sells its TourSIM at any of its retail stores across Egypt.
e& Traveler packages cost 200 to 600 Egyptian pounds, tax included, for 7 GB to 40 GB. WE Mobile Egypt costs 100 or 300 pounds before tax, for 5,000 MB or 20,000 MB over 30 days. Vodafone gives no bundle prices online. All checked October 2026.
Usually no. e& says its eSIM profile can only be downloaded inside Egypt, and WE says activation only works inside Egypt. If you want data on landing, buy a travel eSIM from an international app before you fly.
We have not tested the travel eSIM apps, so we name none. Compare the price per gigabyte with the local tourist bundles. Check whether it includes a phone number, and which Egyptian network it uses. For trips over two weeks, a local tourist line is usually easier to price.
Yes. The Vodafone Tourist Line, or TourSIM, is for tourists only. It includes a data bundle, local minutes and international minutes. Buy it at a Vodafone airport shop or any Vodafone store in Egypt. Dial *6060# to check your balance or buy another bundle.
Yes. Vodafone's list of documents for a new prepaid line starts with a valid passport, and also names the e-visa. Carry both to the counter.
Not on a normal holiday. The NTRA said on 20 January 2026 that phones carried by tourists stay exempt from the phone tax for 90 days. Staying longer with a local SIM in your own phone? Read the NTRA notice before you travel.
Hotels have Wi-Fi, but it covers you only indoors. It is slow in desert lodges and Siwa guesthouses, and unreliable on Nile cruise boats. Orange announced free Wi-Fi at Cairo airport in January 2025, but airport Wi-Fi is unreliable. A SIM or eSIM covers you once you leave the hotel.
Yes, if your home provider covers Egypt. Ask your provider for the Egypt rate before you fly. Then compare it with the local tourist bundles on this page.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
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