Can you withdraw US dollars or euros from ATMs, or exchange cash to Egyptian pounds at hotels in Hurghada?

From messages by 4 participants in 2 sources · Last activity: 55 days ago

TL;DR

In Hurghada, ATMs normally dispense Egyptian pounds only, not US dollars or euros. Hotel reception desks often do not exchange cash, so travelers are usually directed to an ATM or exchange point outside the hotel; foreign coins are not accepted at all.

What the community said

Based on many trips to Hurghada, ATMs almost never exchange $50 bills, $5 bills are also not accepted, and even $100 bills can sometimes be rejected if the machine doesn't have enough Egyptian pounds to dispense.

bill denominations ($50, $5, $100)

There have been reports in the chat of an ATM taking in a dollar bill for exchange but failing to dispense the Egyptian pounds in return — this is rare but has happened.

ATM exchange failure

Egyptian ATMs do not normally dispense US dollars or euros. Even with a foreign bank card, cash withdrawals are typically available only in Egyptian pounds.

Egyptian pounds (EGP)

Hotel reception desks may refuse to exchange US dollars into Egyptian pounds altogether, sometimes saying it is not allowed under local rules, so it is better not to rely on hotel exchange.

hotel reception

If the ATM in the lobby or near reception shows an error and does not process the exchange, the practical workaround is to use an ATM outside the hotel grounds.

ATM outside the hotel

Some hotel ATMs are card-only machines and cannot be used to exchange cash US dollars into Egyptian pounds.

hotel ATM

Foreign coins are generally not accepted for exchange: banks and exchange services usually do not handle dollar or other foreign-currency coins.

foreign coins