Egypt Packing List: What to Bring in 2026

Pack for heat, sun, and dust — then add one warm layer you'll be glad you brought. Egypt runs hot and dry for most of the year, so your core kit is breathable, modest clothing, serious sun protection, comfortable closed shoes, and a small health bag. The extras that separate a smooth trip from a miserable one are unglamorous: rehydration salts, hand sanitiser, tissues, and a refillable water bottle. This is the full checklist, category by category, plus what to skip and what you can simply buy on arrival.

This guide is the packing checklist. For the detailed clothing rules — fabrics, mosque cover-up, colours, resort vs. temple — see what to wear in Egypt. For plugs and power in depth, see the Egypt plug adapter guide.

Clothing: light, modest, layered

Egypt's dress code is practical, not strict. Cover shoulders and knees at religious sites and you're set; away from mosques and rural villages, resorts and Red Sea beaches are relaxed. Lightweight cotton and linen breathe; loose cuts keep you cooler than tight synthetics and shield your skin from the sun.

The layer travellers forget is a warm one. Upper Egypt bakes by day but desert and Nile nights drop sharply — winter minimums in the desert can fall near freezing, and a Nile cruise deck after dark in December or January is genuinely cold. Bring a fleece or light jacket even in "hot" seasons.

• Loose trousers, maxi skirts, or long linen pants — cooler and more site-appropriate than shorts
• 4–6 breathable tops, at least two with sleeves that cover the shoulder
• One long-sleeved shirt (sun cover for temple days and camel rides)
• A large scarf or shawl — mosque cover-up, sun shade, and a wrap for chilly evenings, all in one
• A warm layer: fleece or light down jacket for winter cruise nights and the desert
• Swimwear (resorts, Red Sea, hotel pools) — pack a second set so one is always dry
• Sleepwear and enough underwear/socks; laundry service is easy at most hotels

Footwear: comfort over style

You will walk on uneven stone, deep sand, and dusty ground — often for hours. Pack closed, broken-in walking shoes or trainers as your main pair; sites like Karnak, Saqqara, and the Valley of the Kings are large and sun-exposed. Add sandals for evenings, the beach, and cruise decks. Skip anything new: blisters at Abu Simbel are a common, avoidable mistake.

• Comfortable closed walking shoes or trainers (already broken in)
• Sandals or flip-flops for pool, beach, and casual evenings
• Water shoes if you're snorkelling over rocky Red Sea entries

Sun and heat protection

This is the category people under-pack and regret. Egyptian sun is intense year-round, and shade is scarce at open-air sites — the Giza plateau, Karnak, and Abu Simbel offer almost none. Summer highs in Upper Egypt regularly push past 40°C, and even winter midday sun burns unprotected skin. Reapplication matters more than SPF number, so bring enough sunscreen — good high-SPF cream can be pricey and harder to find in tourist areas than at home.

• Wide-brimmed hat or cap (covers face and neck)
• Sunglasses with UV protection
• High-SPF sunscreen (SPF 50+), enough to reapply — consider two bottles
• SPF lip balm — the dry air cracks lips fast, especially on cruises and in the desert
• Refillable water bottle — many hotels and cruise boats offer filtered refill stations
• Optional but loved in summer: handheld fan and a cooling towel

Health and medications

Build a small kit around the two things most likely to slow you down: an upset stomach and dehydration. Tap water isn't recommended for drinking anywhere outside heavily-chlorinated central Cairo — stick to bottled or filtered water, and that alone prevents most trouble. Travellers not used to the local food and water can expect the occasional off day, so pack for it.

• Any prescription medication in its original packaging, plus a copy of the prescription
• Oral rehydration salts (the single most useful item for heat and stomach upset)
• Anti-diarrhoeal (loperamide/Imodium) for travel days you can't afford to lose
• Motion-sickness tablets — useful for Nile cruises, felucca sails, and winding desert drives
• Hand sanitiser and antibacterial wipes (many restrooms lack soap)
• Basic first aid: plasters/blister pads, painkillers, antihistamine
• Any personal items: contact lens supplies, spare glasses, feminine hygiene products

Egypt requires no mandatory vaccinations for most travellers arriving from Europe or North America, but check current CDC/NHS travel advice and your routine jabs before you go. Confirm any prescription meds are legal to carry — a doctor's letter avoids customs questions.

Documents and money

• Passport valid at least six months beyond your arrival date
• Printed and phone copies of your passport, visa, and travel insurance
• Your e-visa confirmation (apply at the official portal visa2egypt.gov.eg — roughly US$30 single-entry) or cash for visa-on-arrival if eligible
• Cash: bring some US dollars (crisp, recent notes) to change; you'll use Egyptian pounds day to day
• Small EGP notes for tips — tipping (baksheesh) is constant and expected; see our money and tipping guide
• A debit and a credit card (Visa/Mastercard widely accepted; keep them separate from your cash)
• Travel insurance documents with an emergency contact number

Electronics

Egypt runs on 220V, 50Hz, with Type C and Type F (European-style, two round pins) sockets. If your devices are from the US, UK, or elsewhere with different plugs, you need an adapter — and US 110V-only appliances need a voltage converter, though most phone and laptop chargers are dual-voltage. Full detail in the Egypt plug adapter guide.

• Universal travel adapter (Type C/F) — a spare is smart
• Power bank — long site days drain phones fast, and you'll want the camera
• Phone charging cables, laptop/tablet chargers as needed
• E-reader for cruise downtime and long transfers
• Headphones; optional camera with a spare battery and memory card

Toiletries and things that are hard to find

Hotels cover the basics, but a few items are worth bringing rather than hunting for:

• Wet wipes and travel tissues (carry tissues everywhere — public toilets often have none)
• Your preferred sunscreen and lip balm (as above)
• Insect repellent (useful near the Nile and in oases at dusk)
• A small quick-dry towel
• Any specific brands you rely on — contact solution, particular medications, tampons
• Reusable shopping bag or packing cube to corral dusty shoes and laundry

Day-pack essentials for site visits

A light daypack is your desert survival kit. Most days you'll leave the hotel or cruise boat at dawn to beat the heat and won't return until afternoon, so carry what you need to stay comfortable, hydrated, and paid-up for tickets and tips. On a temple day you'll want, at minimum:

• Refillable water (more than you think — 1.5–2 litres per person in summer)
• Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, lip balm
• Small EGP notes for tips, tickets, and cold drinks
• Tissues, hand sanitiser, a snack
• Phone, power bank, and your printed ticket or the egymonuments.com QR

Packing for specific trips

Trip type	Add these	Skip
Nile cruise	Warm layer for deck evenings, smart-casual outfit for dinner, motion-sickness tablets, adapter (cabin sockets are Type C/F), lip balm	Formalwear — dress codes are relaxed
Red Sea diving/snorkelling	Your own mask and snorkel, rash guard or swim shirt (sun + reef protection), water shoes, reef-safe sunscreen, dive certification card	Bulky gear you can rent cheaply on-site
Desert safari	Warm jacket and hat for cold nights, buff/scarf for wind and sand, closed shoes, extra water, torch/headlamp, moisturiser	White clothing — it won't survive the dust

What NOT to bring — and what to buy there

Leave the drone at home: they're restricted and frequently confiscated at customs. Skip large-denomination worn or torn US bills (banks refuse them), formalwear, and heavy hardback books. You don't need to over-pack toiletries either — much is available locally and cheaply.

The golden rule: pack the things that are genuinely hard to replace — prescriptions, your preferred sunscreen, a comfortable pair of shoes — and don't waste luggage weight on anything sold cheaply on every corner.

Easy to buy in Egypt once you arrive:

• Bottled water — everywhere, inexpensive; buy it rather than lugging litres in
• A cotton scarf, galabeya, or sun hat — markets sell them for a fraction of home prices
• Basic pharmacy items — pharmacies are well-stocked; many medicines are sold over the counter
• A local SIM or eSIM — Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat kiosks at the airport, cheap data
• Souvenirs and gifts — so leave a little space in your bag

With your marketplace-median tour prices ranging from around 1,540 EGP for tickets and attractions to 13,900 EGP for a Nile cruise (roughly US$32–290), the small stuff — a scarf, a bottle of water, a good hat — is a rounding error. Pack the essentials, buy the rest, and spend your energy on the sites.

Ready to experience this in person? This is Egypt runs private, Egyptologist-guided tours that bring these sites to life — browse our Egypt tours.

Related reading

• What to wear in Egypt — the full clothing and dress-code breakdown
• Egypt plug adapter guide — plug types, voltage, and what actually works
• Getting around Egypt — trains, flights, and transfers between sites