One of our travelers had a phone from home that was set up for international use, so she did not use an Egyptian SIM card. Her daughter called her for just a few minutes each morning. When she got home she had an extra $600 on her cell phone bill.  If she had rented an Egyptian mobile she would have only paid $60, instead of the $600, because these were incoming calls. Her daughter had made the calls, so her daughter paid for the calls as well.

If you are interested in having a mobile phone (with your own private telephone number) while you are in Egypt you should contact Ruth at least two weeks before departure so that she can make arrangements for your phone. 

Rent a mobile in Egypt   ---   Rent just the SIM card

Suggestion: Have people at home take the international calling option from their long distance provider (you can usually do this for just one month for about $2-3) and they will get better rates to Egypt, usually about 50 cents/minute.

Incoming calls - free.* Outgoing to USA – 50-60¢/minute.

Mobile Phone Rental 

Phone for the length of your stay in Egypt: $60 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds
Damage deposit: $40 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds
Total payment on receipt of the phone: $100 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds
Damage deposit will be refunded when you return the phone at the end of your tour.
Total cost to you: $60 USD.

Included in the package:

• a mobile/cell phone made by Motorola

• your own telephone number (SIM card), that people at home can dial and reach you directly.

• 50 LE (= about $9.15 USD) worth of outgoing calls. That will be enough for you to call people at home and give them your telephone number in Egypt. All INCOMING calls are free, so when they call you back you do not pay for the calls.  You can purchase charge cards in Egypt if you want to pay for the calls yourself. These cards put money into your "account" so that you can make outgoing calls, like a debit card.

• instruction manual in English

• battery recharger (ready for electricity outlet in Egypt)

• we can set up the phone to have voicemail (no extra charge) with your own message

Incoming calls - free.* Outgoing to USA – 50-60¢/minute.

Use your own mobile: Egyptian SIM card Rental Option

If you have an UNLOCKED* phone that uses a SIM card, you can use your own mobile phone with an Egyptian SIM card for telephone service with free incoming calls while in Egypt.
*Note that the phone must be UNLOCKED. Some phones use a SIM card, but are locked, so will be unable to use the Egyptian SIM card.

Rental of a SIM card that is already set up for service in Egypt: $40 USD or equivalent LE
Damage deposit: $20 USD or equivalent in LE (Egyptian Pounds)
Total payment on receipt of the SIM card: $60 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds
Damage deposit will be refunded when you return the phone at the end of your tour.
Total cost to you: $40 USD 

Included in the package:

• your own telephone number (SIM card), that people at home can dial and reach you directly.

• 50 LE (= about $9.15 USD) worth of outgoing calls.

• you can purchase charge cards in Egypt, if you want to pay for the calls yourself.

Incoming calls - free.* Outgoing to USA – 50-60¢/minute.

Rent a USB Modem for Internet Access while in Egypt

Use it with your own Laptop

We can arrange to have a modem for you that will allow you to log onto the internet from your laptop all during your trip in Egypt. These modems are provided by the different mobile companies and come in different strengths and amounts of download. Contact Ruth if you would like to have one of these waiting for you in Egypt.

Note that the internet access at the hotels can be quite costly and you need to use the hotel's computers. With a modem, you can go on line from anywhere, even while riding on the tour bus.

Sample Pricing:

Rental of a USB Internet Modem with 6 GB of data download: $120 USD
Damage deposit: $30 USD or equivalent in LE (Egyptian Pounds)
Total payment on receipt: $150 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds
Damage deposit will be refunded when you return the modem at the end of your tour.
Total cost to you: $120 USD 

Included in the package:

• your own telephone number (SIM card) set up for internet access

• 6 GB of data download usage

• you can purchase additional usage with scratch cards

You can also send TXT messages to mobile numbers with this modem.