Egypt eSIM

Egypt's networks cover Cairo, the Nile Valley and the Red Sea resorts well, but internet calls are unreliable, and phones brought in from abroad owe customs duty once they run on an Egyptian SIM. A travel eSIM keeps you on a foreign line, which that rule exempts, so you land online with nothing to register.

What a week of data costs in Egypt

Prices for 7 days of data, checked on 3 November 2026. Egypt sits in the expensive zones of most home carriers' price lists. Daily passes charge each day you use the phone abroad, per phone.

For a family of four on Vodafone UK, that's £224 for one week. The German pack is cheap, but 1 GB goes quickly on maps, photos and video calls.

Landing at Cairo (CAI), Hurghada (HRG), Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) or Luxor (LXR)

Most long-haul flights land at Cairo International (CAI), in Heliopolis, about 15 km north-east of central Cairo. EgyptAir and its Star Alliance partners use Terminal 3, which is linked by a bridge to Terminal 2; Terminal 1 is the oldest. Sphinx International (SPX) is on the Giza side of Cairo and takes some domestic and regional flights. Beach holidays often fly straight to Hurghada (HRG), 5 km south-west of the town centre, Sharm El Sheikh (SSH), or Marsa Alam (RMF), which is 60 km north of Marsa Alam itself. Luxor (LXR) is 6 km east of the city.

Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis to the gate, so you can message your hotel or transfer driver while you queue.

Visa first. British passport holders normally need a visa. You can get an e-visa in advance on the official portal, visa2egypt.gov.eg; create the application at least 7 days before you leave. Otherwise, approved airports have kiosks before immigration selling a 30-day visa for 30 US dollars, cash only. Since 1 August 2026, Cairo also sells digital visas on arrival by card, at self-service machines or on the Visa on Arrival portal, for 36 US dollars. You don't need an agent, who will often charge more. Flying into Sharm El Sheikh for under 15 days in the South Sinai resorts (Sharm, Dahab, Nuweiba, Taba), you get a free entry stamp instead. Other nationalities should check the portal before booking.

At CAI, in order: turn on Data Roaming for the kimsim line only, buy your visa if you need one, go through immigration, collect your bags, then walk past the SIM counters. The UK Foreign Office says to declare high-value electronics on arrival.

Into the city from CAI: fixed-price limousine services wait at the kerb, and a shuttle bus runs to the Cairo Airport Bus Terminal for public buses into town. The metro doesn't reach the airport yet. Uber lists Cairo Airport and Hurghada Airport among its pickups in Egypt.

Networks and coverage

Egypt has four mobile networks. Vodafone Egypt is the biggest by active subscribers. Orange Egypt was called Mobinil until its rebrand. Etisalat traded as e& Egypt and is now simply etisalat again, so you may see either name; it's majority owned by the Emirates group. WE is the mobile brand of Telecom Egypt, launched in 2017. Our Egypt plans use the first three, not WE. Your phone shows the Egyptian network's name, not kimsim.

Egypt licensed 5G to Vodafone, Orange and e& on 7 October 2024, and commercial 5G started in June 2025. You'll mostly find it in the big cities; elsewhere you're on 4G.

Expect coverage to thin out in the Western Desert, out at sea on dive and snorkel trips, and deep inside tombs and temples. The UK Foreign Office notes limited phone reception around Bahariya, Farafra and the White and Black Deserts. The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Region by region

• Cairo and Giza: the city, the Egyptian Museum and the Giza pyramids plateau are well covered. Uber and Careem both work here (see the apps below).
• Luxor and Aswan: coverage follows the Nile towns. On a Nile cruise, expect signal near the towns and gaps on quieter stretches, so download your boarding details and maps before you sail. The UK Foreign Office warns that overcrowding and poor safety standards have caused accidents on Nile cruises, and that some tour operators have stopped selling Luxor balloon flights.
• Red Sea resorts (Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Marsa Alam): resorts and towns are fine. On dive boats, signal fades once you're offshore. The Foreign Office reports recent incidents, some fatal, on Red Sea diving boats, and says rescue can cost over 4,000 US dollars an hour. Check your insurance covers it. Before a quad-bike or desert safari, share your live location.
• Siwa and the White Desert: visits to Bahariya, Farafra and the White and Black Deserts need permits in advance and an official guide, and the Bahariya–Siwa road is advised against. Plan for no signal, and download everything first.
• Alexandria: the city is well covered. Its airport (ALY, formerly Borg El Arab) is about 40 km south-west of the centre.

This is general guidance, not a coverage map. If one network is weak where you're staying, switch network by hand.

Trains, taxis and flights

Egypt's main rail line runs from Cairo south along the Nile to Luxor and Aswan, and another links Cairo with Alexandria. The Foreign Office notes fatal train collisions and serious bus crashes in recent years. Domestic flights are the quick way between Cairo, Luxor, Aswan and the coast. Cairo's regular white taxis have meters. If you take a taxi alone, the Foreign Office suggests sharing the driver's details, trip and live location with a friend.

Apps worth having

• Uber runs in Egypt, including Cairo, Alexandria and Hurghada, with taxis in the app in some cities and rides you can book ahead to the airport.
• Careem lists Egypt among its nine ride countries and takes card, Careem Pay, Apple Pay or cash. You sign up with a mobile number, so do it at home while texts reach your usual number.
• WhatsApp is how hotels, drivers, dive centres and guides usually message you. Messages work over kimsim data. Keep your WhatsApp number working abroad.
• Google Maps: download offline areas for the Nile Valley and any desert or coastal drive.

WhatsApp and FaceTime calls in Egypt

Internet calls have long been a grey area. Freedom House reports that Egypt has blocked internet calls on mobile networks on and off since at least 2010, and that international internet calls are technically illegal under the 2003 telecoms law. WhatsApp calls were unblocked during the COP27 climate summit in November 2022, then blocked again. In December 2024 the regulator, the NTRA, said it was preparing to allow internet calling. By the end of May 2025 the ban hadn't been lifted, and several calling services were still unavailable.

Plan on messages and voice notes. Your eSIM is data only, with no phone number, so for a call that matters, keep your home line on for normal calls and texts.

SIM and phone rules

The phone customs rule is about Egyptian SIMs. Since 1 January 2025, phones brought in from abroad pay customs duty and taxes of 38.5% within three months of arrival, registered and paid through the Telephony app. The Customs Authority said foreigners are exempt on personal phones activated with non-Egyptian SIMs. On 21 January 2026 Egypt ended the one-phone allowance for passengers, but kept a 90-day exemption for tourists, and said phones on foreign SIMs with active roaming don't pay. A travel eSIM is exactly that: a foreign line roaming as a visitor.

An Egyptian tourist line is a new Egyptian number; expect to show your passport. Using it in your phone is exempt for 90 days per visit. An eSIM installed at home skips the counter and the clock.

Gadgets: officials are likely to confiscate satellite phones and radio equipment brought in without prior clearance, and drones need Ministry of Defence permission.

Common mistakes

• Counting on WhatsApp calls. Agree with your driver or guide to message, and keep your home line for calls.
• Leaving Data Roaming on for your home line. Egypt is in Zone D on Vodafone UK, at £8 a day. Roaming goes on for the kimsim line only. Why roaming goes on for the kimsim line only
• Starting the plan on a stop-over. If you connect through Istanbul, Dubai or elsewhere, keep the kimsim line off until you land in Egypt. If your plan started early
• Taking an Egypt plan to Petra. Jordan is a different country. How regional plans work
• No way to call for help. In Egypt, police is 122, ambulance 123 and tourist police 126. A data-only eSIM can't dial them, so use your home line or any local phone.

More on Egypt

• Does WhatsApp work with a travel eSIM? Keep your number
• eSIM vs roaming: which is cheaper for your trip?
• How much data do I need for a week abroad?

How we put this page together

We checked Egyptian government statements, the UK Foreign Office, operators' and carriers' own pages, Freedom House's reports and the other sources noted above on 1–3 November 2026, and we'll keep them up to date. Egyptian operators' tourist-line pages wouldn't open from outside Egypt, so we haven't quoted their prices. We haven't measured speeds or coverage in Egypt ourselves, or tested calling apps on our plans there, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.