How much cash should you bring to Sharm El Sheikh and what's a good emergency fund?
Based on 1 discussion with 3 participants · Last activity: 14 days ago
TL;DR
For daily expenses (restaurants, tips, souvenirs) a family of 2 adults + 2 kids doesn't need huge cash, a foreign card works fine for withdrawals; but for emergencies (medical treatment, urgent flights) an emergency reserve of $100 per person up to several thousand dollars per family is recommended.
What the community said
For a moderate-spending family of 4 (2 adults + 2 kids) without excursions but with restaurant visits, tips, and souvenirs, the exact budget isn't fixed but they want some flexibility without being frugal on every expense.
23 days ago
For a family of 3, a recommended emergency reserve (cash or a card that works locally) is around $8,000 — to cover expensive medical treatment in Egypt or urgent flight costs while sorting out travel insurance.
23 days ago Emergency fund ~$8,000 per family of 3
A more modest approach: keep a $100 per person cash emergency reserve, with the rest transferred to a foreign bank card as needed and withdrawn in local currency (Egyptian pounds).
23 days ago Cash reserve $100 per person
On early trips to Egypt, before having a working foreign card, travelers carried $300 cash per person — enough for an active holiday with excursions almost every other day.
23 days ago $300 cash per person (without a card)