Egypt eSIM
The Egypt eSIM runs on the Orange and Etisalat networks with 1 GB up to unlimited data, prepaid, no contract and no registration — you're online the moment you land in Cairo or Hurghada.
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2GB highspeed/day, then unlimited at 1Mbps
Your Selection
Your plan only starts counting when the eSIM first connects at your destination — so you can buy today and travel in three weeks.
How does Simbye eSIM work for Egypt?
Get connected in under 2 minutes
Set it up before you travel
Your eSIM arrives by email right after purchase — with a link to tap and a QR code to scan. Install it at home on Wi-Fi, it takes two minutes. Nothing is used up yet.
Arrive in Egypt
Whether you land in Cairo (CAI), Hurghada (HRG), Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH), Marsa Alam (RMF), Luxor (LXR), Aswan (ASW), Borg El Arab near Alexandria (HBE) or Sphinx airport west of Cairo (SPX): after landing, set the eSIM as your data line and leave data roaming on for that line. There is no APN to enter.
Get going and top up
Validity starts with your first connection in Egypt, not with the purchase. You're allowed to run a hotspot for a laptop or tablet. When data runs low you top up online — the eSIM stays on your phone, nothing needs reinstalling.
Check Device Compatibility
Make sure your device supports eSIM before purchasing
How much data do you need in Egypt?
So you can work it out instead of guessing: how much an hour costs in the apps you actually use on holiday.
The Netflix and Spotify figures come from the providers themselves (Netflix Help Center, Spotify Support, retrieved 28 Aug 2026). The rest are network-operator estimates (o2, Vodafone, EE) and vary with picture quality and reception.
Which networks will you be on in Egypt?
Egypt eSIM: your data runs on the Orange and Etisalat networks.
Average measured mobile internet performance, nPerf barometer (measured 01.04.2025 - 31.03.2026). What you actually get depends on where you are, the time of day and your phone.
You don't pick a network. Once you land in Egypt, your phone connects to one of the partner networks by itself — Orange Egypt or Etisalat — and switches over on its own when one of them gets weak. You're usually connected while you're still in the arrivals hall in Cairo, Hurghada or Sharm el-Sheikh. There is no APN to type in anywhere. If it stalls somewhere, airplane mode on for ten seconds and off again fixes it almost every time. If it stays slow, switch network selection from automatic to manual in your settings once and pick the other network. You're on 4G here; we deliberately don't promise you 5G in Egypt.
Coverage is solid in Cairo and Giza, Alexandria, the Red Sea towns — Hurghada, El Gouna, Safaga, Marsa Alam, Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab — and along the Nile in Luxor, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan. It thins out as soon as you leave the inhabited corridors: in the Western Desert around the oases and the White Desert, on the way into the Sinai interior towards St Catherine's Monastery, on the long desert road to Abu Simbel, and on dive boats that head further out. On a Nile cruise you have signal in the towns and at the moorings, but it can drop out on the stretches in between. Inside tombs and deep inside the temples there is none anyway.
eSIM or a local SIM card in Egypt?
| Compared | Simbye eSIM | Local SIM card |
|---|---|---|
| Buying and setting up | Online before you fly, via link or QR code from the email | At a counter in arrivals, usually 10 to 15 minutes of queueing and paperwork |
| ID | Not needed, nothing is registered | Your passport is shown and copied, and some shops also note down your phone's device number |
| When it starts | The moment you first connect in Egypt | Only after queueing, registration and activation at the counter |
| Payment | Online before you travel, by card, prepaid and without a contract | Usually cash in Egyptian pounds; not every counter takes cards |
| Phone number | None — data only, your home number stays active for calls and SMS | An Egyptian number is included, and you keep your home number running alongside |
| 90-day device rule | The rule is tied to Egyptian SIM cards, not to a foreign data connection | With an Egyptian SIM the 90-day clock starts for your handset; after that it must be registered and a fee paid |
| Topping up | Online any time, even from home | Credit from a shop, a kiosk or the carrier app, which is often Arabic only |
| When something goes wrong | Email support in English or German | Back to the counter or into a local shop |
Why roaming on your home plan gets expensive in Egypt
Your contract does not simply carry on in Egypt: the moment your phone registers on an Egyptian network, your carrier's overseas price list applies, and Egypt sits in one of the pricier zones on almost every one of them.
Depending on your contract that means a day pass charged for every holiday day you start, or a per-megabyte rate where uploading a handful of photos already hurts. Some carriers block mobile data abroad by default until you book an option yourself — which you find out at the baggage belt in Hurghada. That's why most people travelling to Egypt buy a data eSIM beforehand: prepaid, no contract, no registration, and your plan at home stays untouched.
We deliberately name no figures here, because every carrier bills differently. Look up your own plan's roaming prices for Egypt before you go and you'll see the difference for yourself.
Where you'll have signal — and where to plan offline
Egypt's networks follow the Nile and the coast. Along those corridors coverage is good: Cairo and Giza, Alexandria, the Red Sea towns from Sharm el-Sheikh through Dahab, Hurghada and El Gouna to Safaga and Marsa Alam, plus the Nile valley from Luxor to Aswan. That's exactly where you need data most — for a ride app in Cairo traffic, for the map at Giza, and for arrangements with your guide, driver or dive centre, which in Egypt almost always run over WhatsApp.
As soon as you leave those corridors it thins out: the desert road to Abu Simbel, the oases and the White Desert, the route into the Sinai interior to St Catherine's Monastery, dive boats further offshore, and the stretches of the Nile between towns. Plan for it instead of being annoyed by it: save maps offline, download tickets and booking confirmations while you're still at the airport in Cairo or Hurghada, and agree the meeting point with your driver while you have signal. Inside tombs and deep in the temples you'll have no reception at all — that's the stone walls, not the network.
Two things worth knowing about Egypt
App calls are blocked in Egypt. Egyptian carriers have been blocking voice and video calls over WhatsApp, FaceTime, Skype and Messenger for years. Chats, photos and voice notes work perfectly normally, and an eSIM we sell you doesn't change that — we're deliberately not promising you a workaround. If you need a real phone call in Egypt, count on a normal call over your home number, or arrange things by voice note.
The 90-day rule is about your handset, not your eSIM. Since 2025 Egypt records the device number of phones used with an Egyptian SIM card. After 90 days such a device is blocked unless it has been registered and taxed through the official government app. The rule is tied to the Egyptian SIM card — travelling on a foreign data connection does not trigger it under the published rules. For a two-week holiday it's irrelevant anyway; if you're staying longer or entering several times a year, check the current rules before you travel.
Your eSIM in Egypt at a glance
- Networks
- Orange Egypt + Etisalat Egypt
- Setting it up
- A link in your email, or the QR code — one tap is enough
- Network technology
- 4G/LTE — and 5G where the network already offers it
- APN and settings
- Nothing to set. The eSIM brings everything with it
- Hotspot
- Allowed — for a laptop, tablet or a travel companion
- Adding more data
- Top up any time, without setting anything up again
- Calls and texts
- Not included — WhatsApp calls run over the data
- Your own number
- Stays in the phone and stays reachable
- Contract
- None. The plan ends by itself
- Worth knowing
- Roaming on your home contract gets billed here — this eSIM is prepaid, so nothing is added afterwards
The apps you actually need in Egypt
Download these apps at home while you still have Wi-Fi. Nearly all of them send an SMS code at sign-up, and it goes to your home number — so that number has to stay reachable, or you create the accounts before you fly. That goes above all for the ride apps Uber and Careem, which make Cairo traffic far easier to handle than flagging something down at the kerb. And bring a credit card: at the major sites, including the Giza pyramid plateau, entry tickets are now paid by card rather than cash.
Careem
The most widely used ride app in Egypt: Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and several coastal and Nile cities. The fare is fixed before you ride, and you can pay cash.
Sign-up runs through an SMS code sent to your home number, so that number has to stay reachable — or set the account up before you fly. Drivers like to call; with a data-only eSIM you can only reach them through the in-app chat.
Uber
Operates in Cairo, Giza, Alexandria and Hurghada. Usually cheaper than a street taxi, and you don't have to haggle over the price.
In Sharm el-Sheikh, Luxor and Aswan you will barely get an Uber. There you're down to taxis, hotel transfers or a driver booked in advance.
inDrive
You propose the fare yourself and the driver accepts or counters. Widely used across Egypt, including Sharm el-Sheikh.
You'll usually pay cash in Egyptian pounds, and change is scarce. Keep small notes on you.
Talabat
Food, groceries and pharmacy items delivered to your hotel or apartment, in Cairo, Alexandria and the big resort towns.
Foreign credit cards are often declined — pick cash on delivery instead. The courier calls when he arrives, so put your room number in the order note.
InstaPay
The Egyptian payment app locals use to send each other money and to pay in many shops.
It requires an Egyptian bank account, which makes it unusable for visitors. Same for Vodafone Cash, which is tied to an Egyptian phone number. Bring cash and a credit card.
The default channel in Egypt: hotels, guides, drivers and dive centres answer there faster than by email.
Voice and video calls are blocked on Egyptian networks. Chats, photos and voice notes work normally. Don't rely on WhatsApp for an important call — send a voice note instead.
Frequently Asked Questions about Egypt eSIM
Data, calls, real phone numbers, top-ups and setup — everything you need to know before you buy a Simbye eSIM.
