Winter months: bring sweaters, a light coat or jacket for the cool Cairo evenings. Women should bring slacks and one evening dress for nightclub visits. Men should bring at least one warm jacket. Pack a bathing suit if visiting Luxor and Aswan or if taking a Nile cruise. Summer months: light weight clothing, and a sweater for cool Cairo evenings.

AT ALL TIMES: modesty in clothing should be observed: women should cover their arms when visiting mosques or churches. Bring comfortable walking shoes for sightseeing and walking on desert sand. Sneakers are needed rather than open sandals as it is sandy. Sunglasses as well as hats and scarves are recommended as protection against the strong sun. On the Nile cruise dress is strictly informal, jackets and ties are out of place.

Helpful Hint: If you are planning to ride a camel at the pyramids, wear slacks or jeans.

Bring all medications with you, there is no place to get refills while in Egypt. Imodium is suggested in case you get the "Pharaoh's Curse". Bring an extra pair of prescription glasses or the prescription. A bum bag ( Belt Pack ) around your waist is recommended to hold your camera, extra film, water and your money. Instant Sanitizer, "Purell" or similar is helpful for a quick freshening up. A flashlight will come in handy for the dim light of the tombs and museums.

220 volts, 50 cycles AC in Cairo. Wall plugs are the round two-pronged European type. No adapters or transformers are provided so bring your own. Bring International Current Converters with you.

In most hotels, you can call overseas directly from your hotel room. MCI, AT &T and Sprint calling cards are widely used.

Cairo offers a remarkable shopping experience. Buy brass, copper, and inlaid wooden articles, silver and gold jewelry, leather shoes, bags and belts, cotton goods and oils. Shop at the Khan El Khalili bazaar for better variety, and interesting and artistic goods. You should be able to bargain up to two thirds off the price originally quoted to you. As well as City Stars Shopping Mall where you could find all international brands there.

You will need flash to photograph inside monuments. You have to pay a charge in some sites to allow you to use your cameras.

The weekly day of rest is Friday.

Throughout Egypt, days are commonly warm or hot, and nights are cool. Egypt has only two seasons: a mild winter from November to April and a hot summer from May to October. The only differences between the seasons are variations in daytime temperatures and changes in prevailing winds. In the coastal regions, temperatures range between an average minimum of 14° C in winter and an average maximum of 30° C in summer 

Egypt receives fewer than eighty millimeters of precipitation annually in most areas. Most rain falls along the coast, but even the wettest area, around Alexandria, receives only about 200 millimeters of precipitation per year. Alexandria has relatively high humidity, but sea breezes help keep the moisture down to a comfortable level. Moving southward, the amount of precipitation decreases suddenly. Cairo receives a little more than one centimeter of precipitation each year. The city, however, reports humidity as high as 77 percent during the summer, during the rest of the year, humidity is low. The areas south of Cairo receive only traces of rainfall. Some areas will go years without rain and then experience sudden downpours that result in flash floods. Sinai receives somewhat more rainfall (about twelve centimeters annually in the north) than the other desert areas, and the region is dotted with numerous wells and oases that support small population centers that formerly were focal points on trade routes. Water drainage toward the Mediterranean Sea from the main plateau supplies sufficient moisture to permit some agriculture in the coastal area, particularly near Al Arish.

A phenomenon of Egypt's climate is the hot spring wind that blows across the country. The winds, known to Europeans as the sirocco and to Egyptians as the khamsin, usually arrive in April but occasionally occur in March and May. The winds form in small but vigorous low-pressure areas in the Isthmus of Suez and sweep across the northern coast of Africa. Unobstructed by geographical features, the winds reach high velocities and carry great quantities of sand and dust from the deserts. These sandstorms, often accompanied by winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour, can cause temperatures to rise as much as 20° C in two hours. The winds blow intermittently and may continue for days, cause illness in people and animals, harm crops, and occasionally damage houses and infrastructure.