Egypt: Best Tourist eSIMs Reviewed (2024)

Egypt – known for its pyramids, the Nile River & the Suez Canal.

The country has a rich history, which can still be experienced to this day.

From camel riding through the Sahara desert to seeing a pyramid from the inside.

From fantastic beaches to temples – Egypt has it all.

Basically, it should be almost illegal to be bored when in Egypt.

Be careful with with international roaming though – International roaming can be expensive, which is why using local and travel eSIMs is recommended to save money.

Not only will you save a lot of money by doing so, you do not have to deal with SIM card registration laws, which are often invasive (which includes Egypt).

How much will a local or travel eSIM for Egypt cost you?

You can get an eSIM for Egypt for as little as 9.50 USD and up to 54 USD from, Airalo (Giza Mobile), Holafly & SimCorner.

I will also introduce you to a few global eSIMs that be used in Egypt and 80+ other countries, including Egypt's neighbors, for competitive rates.

Original publication: 12^th of October 2022. Last updated: 7^th of March 2024.

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Table of Contents

In a Hurry? A Quick Introduction

I will write about four eSIM options in Egypt (and explain why they are included).

But if you want to quickly check out what the best eSIMs are for Egypt without my analysis and explanations, here is an overview of the eSIMs covered in this guide:

• Airalo Egypt Giza Mobile eSIM with five choices between 1 GB and 10 GB
• Airalo Menalink eSIM with three choices between 1 GB and 3 GB
• Holafly Egypt eSIM with unlimited data for 5 to 20 days – use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for 5% off)

Note: the promo codes mentioned above can also be used for regional and global eSIMs (they are not restricted to country-specific eSIMs only). In other news, the eSIM providers are in alphabetical order per grouping (Egypt-only, regional & global) – not in order of preference (you would have to read the complete guide to find out which eSIMs I love the most for Egypt 😜).

Let's truly get started, shall we?

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Airalo Giza Mobile eSIM for Egypt

Airalo is probably a name you have heard of when researching travel eSIMs worldwide – perhaps even for Egypt.

That is because it is the largest and oldest eSIM platform worldwide, covering around 190 countries (more than any other eSIM platform out there).

Its extensive worldwide coverage attracted me to Airalo early on – even when I did not have an eSIM-compatible phone and had to use my dad's phone for testing purposes.

He did not like me stealing his phone so often… so I eventually got my own 🗿.

Anyway, Airalo has an eSIM that can be used in Egypt – it is called Giza Mobile.

It is impossible for Airalo, or any other mobile operator, to operate in every country (and do not trust any company saying otherwise), so they set up roaming agreements.

Yes, I said roaming, but this is not the type of international roaming that will result in a 3000 USD roaming bill – do not worry!

What Airalo does, and basically all mobile operators do, is partner up with a local mobile operator so that their customers can still stay connected when abroad.

In the case of Egypt, Airalo's Giza Mobile eSIM uses the Orange Egypt network up to 4G/LTE (no 5G NR yet, unfortunately.

Orange Egypt has the fastest speeds in Egypt, so you know you will have a smooth network experience with the Giza Mobile eSIM.

Be aware: most travel eSIMs, including Airalo's Egypt Giza Mobile eSIM, are data-only eSIMs, so you cannot call or text with them (nor can you receive any calls or SMS).

Anyway, the following five Airalo Egypt Giza Mobile eSIMs are available:

1. Egypt/Giza Mobile 1 GB eSIM for 7 days, costing 7 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
2. Egypt/Giza Mobile 2 GB eSIM for 15 days, costing 12.50 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
3. Egypt/Giza Mobile 3 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 17.50 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
4. Egypt/Giza Mobile 5 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 26.50 USD
5. Egypt/Giza Mobile 10 GB eSIM for 30 days, costing 44 USD

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in December based on data up to the 30^th of December (2023 data only).

I can already tell you that Airalo has the most cheapest eSIM options for Egypt in this guide.

You may think that a local SIM card or eSIM will (still) be cheaper than Airalo or any other travel eSIM.

And you are right – that is true in most cases.

However, you will have to deal with the Egyptian SIM card registration laws.

(Why does this matter? Because hackers can steal your (critical) personal data if the mobile operator does not secure your data properly, like what happened in Australia (10 million Optus customers affected, where info, like passport numbers, were stolen (including mine – luckily not my passport number but my boyfriend was not as lucky) or Indonesia (1.3 billion SIM card-related data was hacked)).

Most mobile operators will only sell you (overpriced) tourist SIM cards or the most expensive plans because of “mandatory top-up requirements” (which are often lies to take more of your money anyway).

So while you technically could get cheaper plans, the question is whether you can actually get them or not.

Anyway, you should be aware that while you can get up to 4G/LTE connection with the Airalo Egypt Giza Mobile eSIM, your speeds will most likely not be faster than someone using a local SIM card.

That is because you are roaming on the Orange Egypt network instead of being a native customers.

But that does not mean you will have (extremely) slow speeds – just slower than native customers.

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Holafly eSIM for Egypt

Another eSIM provider I recommend is Holafly.

It started something revolutionary in June 2022.

You can now get unlimited data plans for Egypt, several other Asian countries, almost all European Union member states (except for Liechtenstein) & a few other countries, like Canada and the United States.

From what I know, Holafly is the first to offer unlimited data plans for so many countries – and that is super exciting!

Now, I have to say that the unlimited data plans offered by Holafly are more expensive than the Airalo Merhaba eSIM or eSIMs sold by Nomad or SimCorner.

But if you do not want to worry about data allowances, Holafly is the one to go for.

You have the following five options with Holafly:

1. Egypt unlimited data eSIM for 5 days, costing 27 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
2. Egypt unlimited data eSIM for 7 days, costing 34 USD – very popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
3. Egypt unlimited data eSIM for 10 days, costing 37 USD – most popular with Phone Travel Wiz readers
4. Egypt unlimited data eSIM for 15 days, costing 47 USD
5. Egypt unlimited data eSIM for 20 days, costing 54 USD

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in December based on data up to the 30^th of December (2023 data only).

As I recently started my collaboration with Holafly, it offers 5% off each purchase whenever you use code PHONETRAVELWIZ – how cool is that?

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Local Egyptian eSIM for Prepaid Customers

If you want the best and full network experience, including being able to call and text, you want to get a local eSIM.

You have four mobile operators in Egypt: Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt (formerly Mobinil‎), Etisalat Egypt & WE by Telecom Egypt.

Currently, no Egyptian mobile operator offers eSIMs to prepaid customers.

For more information about the plans offered by the Egyptian mobile operators, check out my Egypt SIM card buying guide.

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International eSIM for Egypt & More Countries

Okay, I went over the Egypt travel eSIM options offered by Airalo, Holafly & SimCorner.

As expected, these eSIMs can only be used in Egypt and not in neighboring Israel, Libya, or Sudan.

So what if you plan on visiting any of those countries, or you are on a world tour and wish to use one eSIM in multiple countries – do you have any other options?

Yes, you do. Airalo & SimCorner have regional, global & international eSIMs covering at least 80 countries; some include Egypt too.

So let's see which multi-country eSIMs can be used in Egypt and other countries, including Egypt's neighbors.

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Airalo Menalink eSIM

Airalo recently introduced an eSIM for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Menalink. The Menalink eSIM follows the popular Eurolink eSIM for 39 European countries, the fairly new Asialink eSIM for 13 Asian countries & the super new Latamlink eSIM for 19 Latin American countries.

The Menalink eSIM comes in three variants: 1 GB/7 days – very popular with PTW readers, 2 GB/15 days – very popular with PTW readers & 3 GB/30 days – most popular with PTW readers, to be used in Egypt and 14 other Middle Eastern and Northern African countries:

Note: Phone Travel Wiz reader popularity ranking was updated in December based on data up to the 30^th of December (2023 data only). The (promotional) prices were updated on the 31st of January.

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Overview of the Best eSIMs for Egypt (Airalo vs. Holafly vs. SimCorner)

I introduced you to various travel eSIMs that can be used in Egypt.

So, which eSIM do I recommend the most? Here is my recommendation order:

• Airalo Egypt Giza Mobile eSIM (top pick)
• Airalo Menalink eSIM
• Holafly Egypt eSIM

Remember to use code PHONETRAVELWIZ for Holafly and SimCorner eSIMs – a code is unnecessary for Airalo eSIM purchases.

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Buying a SIM Card in Egypt

Want to just use a SIM card but not your current one because roaming will be criminally expensive?

Consider getting an Egyptian SIM card instead – local SIM cards are the cheapest way to stay connected abroad.

Or you can get the SimCorner Egypt SIM card, which will be delivered to your home before going to Egypt – convenient 😏.