Entertainment & Spa

What is actually worth buying in Egypt

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Anorya Team · 4 août 2025 · 1 min read

Spices, cotton and copper are genuinely good. Papyrus and alabaster usually are not.

Egyptian cotton is the real thing and the best buy in the country. Look for a high thread count and a heavy hand — genuine long-staple cotton feels dense rather than papery. Towels, bedding and simple shirts are all far cheaper here than at home.

What is actually worth buying in Egypt

Spices are the second: hibiscus for karkade, cumin, coriander, and the local blends. Buy from a spice merchant with sacks rather than from a souvenir shop with pre-packed boxes, and expect to pay by weight.

Also good: hand-beaten copper and brass, hand-made shisha pipes if you can pack them, silver cartouches made to order with your name in hieroglyphs — a real jeweller will do it in a day — and good olive oil soap.

What is actually worth buying in EgyptWhat is actually worth buying in Egypt

"Ancient" scarabs and coins are made in a workshop two streets away, and buying genuine antiquities is illegal for good reason.

What to be careful with: papyrus is usually banana or sugarcane leaf, which cracks when you roll it. Real papyrus does not. "Ancient" scarabs and coins are made in a workshop two streets away, and buying genuine antiquities is illegal for good reason. Alabaster that feels light is resin. None of these are scandals — just know what you are paying for.

What is actually worth buying in Egypt
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Frequently asked questions

We really have some of the lowest prices that can be offered while keeping the quality of service high. We are an online booking company working directly with large organizers in Egypt, so we can offer very favorable prices thanks to the large flow of tourists. Buying from us, you get quality service and don't overpay intermediaries.
The organizers' fleet has plenty of vehicles - cars, minivans and large comfortable buses. Vehicles for short, medium and long distances are equipped with air conditioning and safety systems, and buses with toilets are provided on long routes. All vehicles are regularly serviced and sanitized, hold the necessary tourist permits, and drivers are inspected before every trip.
We work without prepayment. Group excursions are paid on the bus or during the trip. The exceptions are individual excursions where plane tickets or documents are involved. The organizer comes to you - there is no need to look for anyone to pay. You can pay in cash in dollars or euros, and an alternative payment method can be arranged.
Egypt is heavily regulated when it comes to tourism. For a car or yacht to run a tour, daily permission from the police and military is required, and organizers without a license don't get permits. That is why on some tours we may ask for voucher and passport details (this applies to marine excursions, individual tours and some group tours that leave the city). For other excursions only the number of people is needed.
Some hotel guides wrongly claim insurance does not apply to third-party excursion organizers. That is not true. Your travel insurance is valid throughout Egypt, and once you are on the organizer's ship, bus or transport they carry full insurance responsibility for passengers - otherwise they could not obtain a tour permit at all.
Please check your belongings when you leave the bus or boat at the end of the tour. If something is lost it is hard to recover, as vehicles leave immediately to be cleaned. We will always help you look, but we cannot guarantee a 100% return - so please be careful!
We have a large daily flow of bookings, so most excursions run every day (or on set weekdays per the program's schedule). After booking we send the exact hotel pickup time. Many trips are shared with small hotel groups who bought the same tour from operators - the only difference is that our price is 40–60% lower.
Tour photographers are independent and do not work for the company, so any arrangement with them is your responsibility. We do not recommend paying in advance unless you are sure the photos will be delivered. If you do not want photos, tell the photographers early to avoid any pushiness.