Money exchange in egypt

When we were on a Trafalgar tour in 2019 our (very excellent) tour guide stopped at a bank where we could use the ATM that was very safe. We had no problem there. We used credit cards almost exclusively for purchases, but only 2-3 meals in our 12 day tour were not included. Those restaurants took our credit cards. Our end-of-tour tips for the guide and drivers were given in US currency I(as suggested by the tour company). We only used Egyptian cash for some trinket purchases and bathroom use at one stop, and for a taxi ride on our last day (we stayed one extra day).

We were just there in January. Our hotels had ATMs in the lobby, but would also sell pounds in small amounts at the desk, or break larger bills. Anytime you buy local currency, the seller is charging a fee in the rate, so the hotels aren't just being nice. There are plenty of large banks around with ATMs inside. But note, at the tourist markets (a gauntlet of vendors), they would give prices in USD first (you must bargain), and were more than happy to take them. Just know the relative value - 50 Egyptian Pounds is roughly one USD. They know you're American - learn to say no thank you if nothing else (la shoukran). Our hotels in Cairo were also located within shopping center complexes as nice and safe as any in Europe.

Note we only had a small amount of pounds left at the end (probably 20-30 USD) which the airport exchange wouldn't take and my bank would charge most of that to buy them back. So I'd use any leftover at the Cairo airport or tip people generously.

We used cash machines in Egypt and had no concerns at all. The one issue we ran into a few times was cash machines running out of cash. Sometimes we'd have to visit several before we could find one that was actually stocked.

By all means bring some US cash. If you are getting your visa on arrival, they ONLY accept cash at the visa kiosks.. 25 USD/pp. You dont say whether you will be on a tour, but for arguments sake, I'm assuming you are.

If you will be met by a greeter who will escort you to your hotel, they will know that you are unlikely to have Egyptian pounds yet. Feel free to tip him in USD. If you are taking an Uber to the hotel, you will have paid on the app using your credit card.

Pretty much every tourist hotel in Egypt will have more than one bank ATM in their lobby. Ditto on any shopping street. These will give you the best exchange rate - avoid the non bank ATMs. And dont forget to refuse the DCC offer. Most of the ATM s will have a withdrawal limit of LE 4,000 (roughly USD 80). You will be surprised how far this can go. We made one withdrawal that lasted the whole 2 weeks (but I'm not a shopper). Of course the hotel desk will exchange cash, but dont expect anything like a favorable exchange rate.

Try to break your large bills into smaller ones. The ATMs typically give out LE 100 and 200 notes. But dont be surprised at how many sellers accept credit cards (Visa or Mastercard). At historic sites we were even able to use a contactless card for the toilets. We also used our cards for all of our restaurant meals (only 3-4. Most were included with our tour), and when buying items in a store. We used our LE for the Markets and coffee shops.

We used USD to tip our tour guide, who was with us every day, at the end of the tour, and to tip the river boat crews (we had 2 separate cruises). We also used small LE bills to tip hotel staff. Some members of our tour mainly used only USD for purchases and tips. And while it's true that it would rarely be refused, the conversion rate will be poor.

A note about tipping with $1 bills. We were told that the banks will not accept these for exchange. So the bell hop who gets these multiple times a day has to save them up and then find someone willing to change them for $5 or 10 notes that he can then exchange into LE. Just something to consider.

You won't need much local currency. Take US dollars for tips.
Use credit cards easily.

yes to what geovagriffith said. Take a lot of one dollar bills. You need them for toilets for one thing.