Hurghada Money Guide: Paying for Tours, Taxis and Tips
If you're planning tours, taxis or tips in Hurghada, the short answer is this: use Egyptian pounds for almost everything, carry a card for hotels and larger bookings, and treat euros or dollars as a backup rather than a main currency. The Egyptian pound is the only legal tender, and although some hotels, dive centres and tour desks quote prices in euros or dollars for the convenience of foreign guests, you will usually hand over local currency when the moment comes to pay.
This guide walks through how to get Egyptian pounds once you land, where cards work and where they don't, what to expect from taxis and tour operators, how much thought to give to tipping, and what, if anything, is worth changing before you leave home.
Egyptian pounds, euros or dollars: what's accepted
The Egyptian pound is the official currency across the whole country, including Hurghada. Notes come in several denominations and small coins are rarely used day to day. Shops, pharmacies, local restaurants and almost anything bought on the street will be priced and paid for in pounds. Even when a tour or hotel lists a cost in euros or dollars online, for the convenience of foreign guests, the transaction itself usually happens in local currency once you're on the ground.
Some larger hotels, dive centres and tour desks aimed at foreign visitors will accept euros or dollars directly, particularly for bigger payments such as excursions or diving courses. This can be useful if you've just landed and haven't changed money yet, but the exchange rate applied is set by the business rather than a bank, so it tends to work out less favourably than paying in pounds. Change is almost always handed back in Egyptian pounds, not your original currency.
Away from hotels and tour agents, Egyptian pounds are what you need. Taxi drivers, market stallholders, corner shops and small restaurants deal in local currency and may not have euros or dollars available as change, even if they're happy to take a note from you. Carrying pounds in varied, smaller denominations makes everyday spending in Hurghada considerably smoother than relying on foreign notes.
ATMs in Hurghada: where to find them and what to expect
Cash machines are easy to find in Hurghada. You'll see them at the airport arrivals hall, along the main hotel strips such as Sheraton Road, around the marina, in Dahar and inside most larger hotel lobbies. Most dispense Egyptian pounds only, and instructions can usually be switched into English before you start the transaction, which makes the process straightforward even on your first visit.
Not all machines charge the same fees, so where possible, use ATMs run by well-known Egyptian or international banks rather than small, standalone machines in shopping arcades, which sometimes add a higher charge on top of whatever your home bank applies. Your own card provider may also add a foreign transaction fee, so it's worth checking this before you travel so there are no surprises on your statement.
Withdrawal limits per transaction are often lower than you might expect, so you may need to make more than one withdrawal if you want a larger sum. Machines can occasionally run low on higher-value notes towards the end of the day, leaving you with a stack of smaller ones, which is actually useful for taxis and tips. Let your bank know your travel dates beforehand, as unexpected overseas withdrawals are a common reason cards get blocked.
Paying for tours and excursions in Hurghada
Tours booked online are usually charged to your card in advance, in whatever currency the booking platform uses, so that part of the payment is settled before you even land. Where a balance, extra or add-on is due locally, though, tour operators and drivers in Hurghada generally expect it in Egyptian pounds, even if the original listing mentioned a price in euros or dollars for clarity.
On the day of a boat trip, desert safari or city excursion, it's worth having pounds on hand for small extras that aren't always included, such as drinks, snorkelling gear hire, photographs or souvenirs sold at stops along the way. Card machines are not always available on boats or in the desert, so cash remains the more reliable option once you're away from your hotel.
Private, pre-arranged trips such as a Hurghada Private Guided City Tour with Shopping are a good example of how this works in practice: the booking itself is settled online, but once you're exploring markets or shops with your guide, you'll want pounds in hand for anything you decide to buy along the way.
Group excursions that include hotel pickup, such as island or snorkelling day trips, tend to run more smoothly if you've separated your cash into what's needed for extras and what's set aside for tipping your guide, driver or boat crew at the end of the day, which is covered in more detail further on.
Taxis in Hurghada: cash is king
Street taxis in Hurghada generally don't use meters, so the fare is agreed with the driver before you get in rather than read off a dial at the end. It's worth having a rough idea of the distance and asking locally, or at your hotel reception, what a fair fare looks like for a given route, so the conversation with the driver starts from a sensible point.
Drivers often don't carry much change, especially for larger notes, so a stock of smaller denominations makes short taxi rides far easier to pay for without delay or argument. This applies equally to tuk-tuks, which are common for short hops around the hotel strips and operate in much the same cash-only way as taxis.
If you'd rather avoid negotiating altogether, booking a private transfer in advance removes the guesswork, since the cost is agreed and settled before you travel. A Hurghada Airport Private Transfer, for example, is arranged and paid for ahead of time, with a driver who tracks your flight and meets you directly, which many travellers prefer for the first and last journeys of a trip.
Tipping in Hurghada: baksheesh explained
Tipping, often called baksheesh locally, is a well-established part of daily life in Hurghada and across Egypt more widely. Tour guides, drivers, boat crews, hotel porters and housekeeping staff generally expect a small tip for good service, and it's considered a normal part of the local economy rather than an optional extra reserved for exceptional occasions.
Tips are almost always given in cash, and Egyptian pounds are strongly preferred over euros or dollars, since staff then have to find somewhere to exchange foreign notes themselves. It's worth keeping a separate stock of small notes specifically for this purpose, so you're not left hunting for change at the moment a tip is due.
On organised excursions with a guide, driver and sometimes a separate boat crew, it's common to tip each person individually rather than giving one larger sum to be shared out. If you're unsure what's customary for a particular type of trip, your hotel rep or the tour operator's local contact can usually give you a sensible steer before the day begins.
Restaurants in tourist areas sometimes add a service charge to the bill automatically, but this doesn't always reach the staff who served you directly, so many visitors still leave something extra in cash. Checking the bill before adding a further tip avoids tipping twice for the same service without realising it.
Using cards in Hurghada: hotels, restaurants and shops
Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted at international hotels, resort restaurants, dive centres and larger shops around Hurghada, particularly in areas built around tourism such as the marina and the main hotel strips. Contactless payment is becoming more common in these bigger establishments, which speeds up everyday transactions considerably.
Smaller, family-run restaurants, local shops, markets and taxis are a different matter, and typically deal in cash only. It's sensible to assume you'll need pounds for anything outside a hotel or a clearly tourist-facing business, rather than relying on a card working everywhere you go.
When paying by card, some machines will ask whether you'd like to be charged in Egyptian pounds or in your home currency, a system known as dynamic currency conversion. Choosing your home currency usually applies a less favourable exchange rate set by the merchant, so it's generally better to opt for pounds and let your own bank handle the conversion instead.
American Express is accepted far less often than Visa or Mastercard, so it's worth carrying one of the latter as your main card, with a second card kept separately as a backup in case one is lost, declined or retained by a machine.
What to change before you fly to Hurghada
It isn't essential to arrive in Hurghada already holding Egyptian pounds, since ATMs at the airport make it straightforward to withdraw cash as soon as you land. That said, a small amount of local currency in your pocket before departure can be useful for the taxi or transfer from the airport if you'd rather not queue at a machine the moment you arrive.
Bureaux de change at home don't always stock Egyptian pounds, and when they do, the rate offered is often weaker than what you'd get withdrawing from an ATM after arrival. If pre-ordering cash from your own bank, it's worth asking about the rate in advance so you can compare it with simply waiting until you land.
Rather than changing a large sum before you travel, many visitors find it more practical to bring enough for the first few hours only, covering a transfer and perhaps a meal, and then withdraw the rest locally once you've had a chance to see how an ATM in Hurghada compares on rate and fees.
Exchanging money once you're in Hurghada
Once you've landed, there are several ways to exchange euros, dollars or sterling for Egyptian pounds: exchange bureaux in town, bank branches, hotel reception desks and counters at the airport itself. All of them will convert major currencies, though the rate and any fee charged can vary noticeably between them.
Airport exchange counters are convenient for a first, small amount of cash but tend to offer the weakest rate of the options available. A bank branch or a recognised exchange office in town, such as those found near the main shopping streets, usually works out better once you've settled in and have time to shop around.
For longer day trips further from Hurghada, it's worth carrying enough pounds to cover the whole day, since smaller stops along the way may not take cards at all. This matters particularly for a journey such as a Hurghada to Luxor Private Transfer – Comfortable One Way, where you may stop for food or small purchases well away from any bank or ATM.
If you do exchange cash and end up with pounds left over at the end of your trip, keep the original receipt where possible, since converting them back to another currency on departure can be more limited than exchanging the other way round.
Markets, bazaars and bargaining in Hurghada
The markets around Dahar and the older parts of Hurghada run on a cash basis, and bargaining over price is a normal, expected part of buying anything from spices to textiles to souvenirs. Egyptian pounds are the natural currency for this kind of negotiation, since quoting or countering in euros or dollars tends to complicate rather than simplify the conversation.
Carrying a selection of smaller notes helps during bargaining, since stallholders breaking a large note may round the price up rather than hand back exact change, particularly if you're clearly a visitor. Smaller denominations give you more control over the final figure you agree on.
If you're new to this style of shopping, joining a guided outing such as the Hurghada Private Guided City Tour with Shopping gives you a chance to see how locals approach pricing and negotiation, with a guide on hand to help if a conversation about cost becomes unclear.
Common money mistakes to avoid in Hurghada
Relying solely on cards is one of the more common mistakes visitors make, only to discover that a taxi, a market stall or a small beachfront café has no way to process one. Keeping at least some cash on you at all times avoids being caught out in situations where a card simply isn't an option.
Getting into a taxi without agreeing the fare first can lead to a disagreement at the other end, particularly if the driver assumes you don't know the going rate for that route. A quick conversation before setting off, or booking a private transfer in advance, removes this uncertainty altogether.
Changing all your cash at the airport, rather than at a bank or exchange office in town, often means accepting a weaker rate for the whole amount rather than just enough to get you through the first hour or two. It's generally worth changing a small amount on arrival and the rest once you've had time to compare options.
Finally, forgetting to tell your bank about your travel dates can result in a card being blocked as a suspected fraud risk the first time you use an ATM in Egypt, which is an easily avoided inconvenience with a quick call or app notification before you leave.
A simple packing list for money in Hurghada
Before you travel, it's worth carrying two cards from different providers, in case one is declined, lost or retained by a machine, and letting your bank know your travel dates so withdrawals abroad aren't flagged unnecessarily. Most hotel bills, larger restaurants and pre-booked tours can be settled this way without difficulty.
Plan to withdraw Egyptian pounds from an ATM soon after you land, taking out a reasonable amount rather than a single very large sum, since smaller, more frequent withdrawals are often easier to manage day to day than one big stack of notes to carry around.
Keep a separate, smaller stash of notes set aside specifically for tips, taxis and small purchases, so it's easy to grab a few pounds without opening your main wallet in a market or in front of a taxi driver. This also makes tipping guides and crew on excursions quicker and more discreet.
There's no real need to pre-order large amounts of euros or dollars at home before a trip to Hurghada. A small contingency sum for your arrival, a working card for the bigger payments, and a plan to withdraw pounds locally will cover almost everything you need for tours, taxis and tips.