I get a lot of questions from female readers about safety in Egypt. After all, I only know what female friends tell me. However, many never actually make it here, due to safety concerns. After all, anyone living in Western countries has likely seen repeated warnings via the government and news stories in the media. With so many governments warning travelers not to go, I certainly understand the hesitation that people, particularly women, have about visiting Egypt β either solo or as part of a group tour around Egypt.
Even after coming back safe and sound, people close to me still questioned my choice to go it alone. After all, with blonde hair and green eyes, I had no chance of blending in or looking like a local. But I found the Egyptian people to be warm and welcoming. The women offered friendly smiles on the street, and the men I interacted with genuinely wanted me to fall in love with their country, no strings attached.
Some of the most common I heard about centered around some of the major sights, like the Pyramids. For example, the men who offer camel rides there are often reported to load tourists onto the camels first, and then once the ride has started, quote a highly inflated price for a short ride. I ran into a few scams and hassles myself, and the underlying theme of each of them was pressure. Feeling pressured into anything as a solo female can be a daunting experience. One example of this was with a local driver.
I had hired him to take me to a few stops when other modes of transportation were not going to work more on those below. The entire time I spent with him was fine. However, as the day was winding down, he started to pressure me to tip more than I already had and then got very pushy about leaving a positive review for him. This went on for close to an hour. His voice was raised and he was clearly agitated that I was not complying.
But as a solo female, I am never okay with a man following me, and I was on high alert. Stay calm and enlist the help of others if necessary. If you are a woman traveling alone to Egypt, you may have concerns about how you can get around safely. And, I get it: venturing out alone on public transportation can be scary.
