🇪🇬 Travel Insurance for Egypt

Quick Facts: Risk Level: Medium • Visa on arrival or e-visa

Do You Need Travel Insurance for Egypt?

Not legally mandatory but strongly recommended. Egypt has no meaningful public healthcare safety net for foreign visitors.

Healthcare & Medical Costs in Egypt

Cairo has good private hospitals — As-Salam International Hospital, Dar Al Fouad Hospital. Red Sea resorts (Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh) have tourist clinics but limited capacity. Upper Egypt (Luxor, Aswan) has basic facilities only.

Private doctor visit: $30–80. Hospital day: $150–400. Hyperbaric chamber treatment (diving accidents): $500–2,000 per session. Repatriation from Egypt: $15,000–30,000.

Key Risks & Safety Concerns

Diving accidents at Red Sea resorts — decompression sickness is a known risk. Extreme heat (45°C+) causing heat stroke, especially at Valley of the Kings and desert sites. Gastrointestinal illness ('Pharaoh's revenge') is very common. Road safety is poor across the country. Political instability can flare with minimal warning.

Recommended Coverage for Egypt

$100,000+ medical coverage. Diving-specific coverage with hyperbaric chamber treatment if visiting the Red Sea — this is essential. Evacuation coverage for Upper Egypt and Sinai. Trip cancellation given political instability risk.

Insider Tips for Egypt

If diving in the Red Sea (Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab), ensure your policy specifically covers scuba diving to your planned depth AND hyperbaric chamber treatment — standard policies usually exclude this. Sinai Peninsula travel may have travel advisory restrictions that invalidate some policies — check your insurer's conflict zone exclusions.

Emergency numbers: 123 (ambulance), 122 (police)