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Layover guideCairo · CAI

Eating near the crew hotels in Cairo

Cash first, alcohol only where it is licensed, and in Ramadan the daylight hours change how everything runs.

Sakibnb / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
All of Cairo

Card acceptance is limited. The Government of Canada says major credit cards are accepted in larger stores and for larger purchases, but many merchants will only accept cash or may charge a fee for card. Carry Egyptian pounds for a meal.

Alcohol is legal in licensed restaurants and bars, private homes and certain tourist resorts. Drinking anywhere else is illegal and can lead to arrest, per the UK Foreign Office, which settles the bottle-on-the-balcony question before it is asked.

During Ramadan, the UK Foreign Office says it is culturally insensitive to eat, drink or smoke in public during daylight hours, and the Government of Canada says to be discreet when drinking, eating and smoking in public between sunrise and sunset. The UK advice also says to check opening hours of shops and restaurants.

The UK Foreign Office notes driving may be erratic in Ramadan, particularly when people are trying to get home at dusk, which is worth knowing before booking a sunset return leg.

  1. Government of Canada: Egypt travel advice and advisories · checked 2026-09-03
  2. UK Foreign Office: Egypt travel advice, safety and security · checked 2026-09-03

The rest of Cairo

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportThe meter is not the default in a Cairo taxi, so fix how you are paying before the doors close.Ride-hailingUber and Careem both run in Egypt, and the app price is the whole point: it is settled before you get in.Local laws that catch crew outCameras and drones are what put visitors in a police station, and your passport belongs in your pocket, not the hotel safe.Staying connectedRoam on your own SIM and the customs question does not arise. Buy an Egyptian SIM and your handset enters a scheme with a clock on it.WeatherSummer days sit near 35C, and June, July and August are rainless.What to buyThe allowances are published and modest, and the currency limit is the one that catches people on the way out.