Is Egypt Safe To Travel In 2025?
- Alexander
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Is Egypt Safe to Visit in 2025?
Whenever Egypt makes the news, it usually isn’t for something positive. Headlines focus on political protests, economic hardship, or the security situation in the Sinai. So it’s totally fair to ask: is Egypt actually safe to visit in 2025?
Egypt has been a dream destination for generations, with its ancient wonders drawing millions of tourists every year. But after the Arab Spring in 2011, security incidents and political instability scared many travelers away, and some governments still issue cautious travel advisories. Tourist numbers never fully recovered, and most visitors who do come rarely go beyond the pyramids, a Nile cruise, or the beach resorts.
This post focuses on safety throughout the entire country, including rural and less touristic regions. I’ll break down what it’s really like to travel through Egypt in 2025, covering everything from petty crime and scams to police checkpoints, rural areas, terrorism concerns, and local attitudes towards tourists.
🇪🇬 Background Information
Tourism used to be huge part of Egypt’s economy and everyone you met had either been or dreamed of going someday.
In 2011 the Arab Spring triggered massive protests, political upheaval, and eventually a military takeover. Since then, Egypt has faced terrorist attacks targeting both security forces and tourists. In 2015, for example, a Russian passenger plane was bombed over Sinai, killing all 224 people on board. There have also been attacks on police checkpoints, Christian churches, and tourist buses in different years.
On top of that, Egypt’s economic problems and tensions in neighboring Libya sometimes spill over, adding to security worries.
In recent years though, Egypt has dramatically increased its security presence, especially around tourist sites. While you’ll still have to deal with scams and aggressive haggling, terrorism concerns are no longer a major threat
🔗 Travelling through Egypt? Check out:
Table of Contents
🧭 Where in Egypt is it Safe to Travel to?
Generally speaking, 95% of Egypt’s tourist spots are absolutely fine if you use basic common sense. The local tourism industry depends on safety, so authorities take it seriously, especially around major archaeological sites.
According to the British government, the areas along the Nile and the Red Sea are considered safe to travel. However entire West Egypt is marked as “Advice against all but essential travel”. While I get the thin red strip on the border to Libya, as it’s full of Military Bases and smugglers, western Egypt is generally safe to travel to. However you will have a very hard time reaching it as it’s remote as fuck and I dont know about any busses going there besides to Siwa and Marsa Matruh.
Also central Sinai is safe from what I heard from locals. Just the area around Rafah next to Gaza should be avoided, yet you wouldn’t be able to reach that area anyway.
🏙️ Safety in major cities in Egypt
First off, Egyptian cities can feel chaotic. Traffic is intense, with drivers weaving around lanes, ignoring red lights, and honking non-stop. If you’ve been to Tunisia or Morroco you might already have an idea of it but Egypt is even a bit more intense.
Pickpocketing is something you could encounter, especially in crowded souks or busy metro stations. Personally, it never happened to me, yet I would recommend getting a small stomach bag for under your shirt to carry valuables.
Egypt is most famous for it’s scams and rip-offs and you will definetly experience them. There is no way around it. I will go more in detail later, but the more touristy the area, the higher the chance of Scams. In rural areas you are more likely to not encounter in those.
Photos can also be a sensitive issue. While I don’t think anyone actually mind their picture being taken people see another way of earning possible money. After you took a photo someone might come to you aggresivelly to get some cash out of you.
While I didn’t feel unsafe in any major city random alleys late at night aren’t worth exploring alone and like anywhere else you should avoid sketchy dark streets after sunset.
💡 I highly recommend purchasing a small stomach bag for under your shirt to carry passport and credit card unseen.
🐪 Safety and Scams in Cairo
Everyone here knows the classic scams at the Pyramides of Giza from Instagram, Youtube or wherever. A local will agressively try to bring you to an amazing photo spot and then yell at you to get an insane 50€ tip afterwards.
While those people definitely exist, during my visit I could easily say no to everyone, and they immediately accepted it. If someone does yell at you and demands an way too high tip, just let them scream and either walk away or go to the tourist police.
Outside of the Pyramids, I didn’t really have issues with scams. Obviously, in Cairo’s local markets, you’ll see products made in China sold for 50 times their real value, but I guess that’s just part of the experience.
As for safety itself, I never had any problems. I was out after dark a lot and besides a few aggressive beggars, I didn’t encounter any sketchy situations, even far outside tourist areas or in more dodgy neighborhoods.
🏺 Safety and Scams in Luxor
I never stepped into a city of more Scammers and agressive Street Vendors than Luxor. I seriously hated this place, yet from a safety point of view it was complety fine. Nothing will happen to you here besides being treated as a walking wallet.
🏞️ Safety in rural Egypt
Petty crime, like pickpocketing, is extremely rare outside of urban centers. Locals tend to look out for you, and many will go out of their way to help. That said, scams are also far less common in the countryside, since there are simply fewer tourists to target and locals have less of a “get what you can” mindset.
In my opinion rural Egypt, especially the area around Siwa, might be the safest in all of Egypt.
🇱🇾🇸🇩 Libyan and Sudanese Border Area
The Libyan border area is heavily restricted, with military bases, smuggling routes, and virtually no tourist infrastructure. Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t be able to travel freely here. The only border town realistically reachable is Sallum in the far northwest.
The same goes for the Sudanese border region. There is a bus from Aswan to Wadi Halfa in Sudan, but you should plan for up to 48 hours at the border due to strict security checks and painfully slow customs procedures. Outside of that crossing, the border area is separated by endless desert or the Nile River, making it very hard to access anyway.
🚗 Driving independently
Actually it was my initial plan to get a car in order to drive around western Egypt indepently. That was until I heard from other travellers, that driving in a rented car is actual hell.
Not just because of the traffic, but because police will stop you way too often. Without a police convoy there is a good chance you cant drive outside the Nile Area (Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan) and even get stopped by police during sunset as they won’t allow you to drive in the dark because of security reasons.
Overall, while in theory you can rent a car, in practice you’ll likely get slowed down by endless stops, unclear rules, and can’t even roam around freely after all.
👩 Female Travel in Egypt
Travelling in Egypt as a woman can be challenging, especially if you are solo. You’ll likely experience catcalling, staring, men asking for kisses or even following you.
It can be uncomfortable, but it’s rarely physically dangerous. The best approach is to ignore the attention completely, walk confidently, and avoid engaging in conversation with random men on the street.
In rural areas you will most likely face those problems way less as it’s a more common problem in Cairo and other major cities.
If you want a full report on “Female Solo Travel” let me know and I will convince my friend Daniela to write down her experiences as a woman travelling around Egypt.
Final Thoughts
🔗 A Full Guide on How to travel Egypt
Egypt’s safety reputation is complicated, shaped by recent history and ongoing challenges. But the reality on the ground in 2025 is far less scary than people might think.
The government takes security seriously around tourist sites, and rural Egypt tends to be peaceful and welcoming. Female travelers should be aware of cultural differences and potential harassment, especially in urban areas, but many women travel independently and safely every year.
If you use common sense, stay aware, and avoid sketchy areas after dark, Egypt is perfectly safe to explore.
Alex
Welcome off the beaten path!
I’m Alex, a 23 year old traveler who loves to explore the corners of the world, that still seem to be untouched. In this Blog I want to share my experiences with you.
