Money/Credit Cards, Cairo

Miscellaneous: Sounds funny, but you should always keep some smaller notes in your pocket otherwise you will be ended up paying too much tips. I had a 50 lbs notes And the bear price was 8 lbs. The waiter gave me like this 10, 20, 30 and 35 okay? (with a smile!)

Those in the picture are fractions of pound (too small to carry)! But you gotta carry enough notes of 1 and 5 pounds to make the bill handy for tea and koshari joints. Also, unlike other places, shop attendants don't have change for bigger notes beginning of the day. They depend on the change from the customers.

Miscellaneous: ATMs and Plastic money: they are the most convenient way to take your money abroad. You get lots of benefits and (almost!!) no problems. You'll get lower exchange rate than if you were to exchane your cash, and you will pay lower commissions than if you came up with a travel cheque. But, above all, you'll get safety: you will not be crying over money lost forever even if your ATM card gets stolen. And, even more than that, you can pay in many shops by a plastic card. So, I am always travelling with my ATM cards in my pocket. And in Cairo there are plenty of ATM machines: in banks, in shops, hotels and along some streets, too. But, however, here are some important rules to keep in mind: 1) Do use Electron/Cirrus/any other debit card for withdrawals, as any other thing will be considered a cash advance, 2)Try to take out money few times but in bigger sums so as not to accumulate fees, 3) If you loose you card call the issuing company immediatley and better call you bank, too, to block the card.