Do you need to buy a new SIM card every time you visit Hurghada, or can you reuse the old one?

Some travelers ask whether you can skip buying a SIM at all in Hurghada — most hotels have free wifi, and some tourists rely only on that instead of getting a local number.

You don't need to pre-arrange a package with your home carrier before flying — a local SIM (Vodafone, Orange, or Etisalat) can be bought right at Hurghada airport on arrival.

If an old Egyptian SIM sits unused/unfunded for too long, the number gets blocked — but that's not an issue since you can simply buy a different new SIM at the airport on your next trip instead of reactivating the old one.

The auto-block for inactive SIMs isn't limited to one nationality's tourists — the same happens to travelers from other countries too if their Egyptian SIM sits unfunded for a long period.