Old Cairo tour prices

How much does an Old Cairo tour cost in 2026?

From $14 to $85 per person on the listings, as group rates. Only two tours charge one flat price per head: the night tour at $39 and the shared street food walk at $34.

Every tour on this site, sorted by from-price. Read the last column before the price column: it decides how much you add at the gates.

Why does the $14 price not apply to two people?

Because private tours here are priced per person by group size. The from-price is the rate per head in the biggest group, on the cheapest option, and a couple or solo traveller pays more per head.

A private car costs the operator the same whether it carries one passenger or six. Spread over six people it looks tiny. Spread over two it doesn't. Viator lists these tours with group discounts, and the per-person tier table only loads inside the booking box, once you pick a date, a party size and an option. That's the price to believe.

The second trap is the option. On the 4-hour private tour the cheapest choice is "car + driver only". On the private Islamic and Coptic day it is a car, a driver and an audio guide. Neither includes a person who explains the Citadel to you, and neither pays your tickets. Click through the options with your real group size before you compare tours with each other.

What do the booking options on Old Cairo tours mean?

They decide who comes with you and what is prepaid: a driver only, an audio guide, a live guide, entry tickets, lunch. Each step up raises the price per person.

Operators spell the same options five different ways. Here they are side by side, using the names on the listings.

The audio guide is the one people misread. On the full-day tour it is the base option, and a live guide is a separate choice called "Tour With Live Guide". If you want a person who answers questions, pick that option by name.

How much are the entry fees in Old Cairo?

For a foreign adult in 2026: Citadel EGP 550, Sultan Hassan and Al-Rifai EGP 220, the Al-Muizz ticket EGP 220, Bayt al-Suhaymi EGP 220, Bab Zuwayla EGP 100, Coptic Museum EGP 280. The Coptic churches, Ben Ezra, Al-Azhar and Khan el-Khalili are free.

These are the Ministry prices for foreign visitors; students with an ISIC card pay half. Here's what a typical day adds up to.

One guest on the private day tour quoted exactly EGP 770 per adult for the mosques and the Citadel. The Citadel windows take cards only, so carry one. More on that in the Citadel tickets guide.

Should you book the option with entry tickets included?

Only on a full day that really visits every paid stop. On a 4-hour tour, or a day mostly spent in free churches, buy your own tickets at the gate.

The ticket option is priced for the whole itinerary. A 4-hour tour can't fit it all in. One guest on the 4-hour tour bought the tickets option, found some stops no longer open after booking late, and reckons they used about a third of what they paid, with no refund for the rest. Another guest, on the longer private day, did the sums the other way round: "We paid for our own admissions to 2 places (which was cheaper than booking with the admissions included)." (Julie, Oct 2025)

Paying at the gate is easy. Ticket windows are by the entrances, queues are short outside the winter peak, and you pay only for what you enter. One firm rule: if your option already includes tickets, don't hand over money at a gate. A few low-rated reviews on the full-day tour describe a guide asking guests to pay a "prepaid" ticket and promising to settle up later. If you booked without tickets, buy them yourself at the window, by card.

Four private hours for the Coptic churches, the Muhammad Ali Mosque and the bazaar. Book the car and guide, then buy the Citadel ticket yourself.

★ 4.8 · 4 hours · from $14 per person in a group

Explore the 4-hour private Old Cairo tour → Tour details

How much does Old Cairo cost on your own?

Very little for Coptic Cairo: an EGP 10 metro ride and free churches. Islamic Cairo costs EGP 770 or more in tickets plus a few Uber rides between sites.

The metro to Mar Girgis, right outside the Coptic compound, costs EGP 10 for up to nine stations since 27 March 2026. From Sadat (Tahrir) it's four stops. Islamic Cairo is harder. The Citadel has no metro station, and the sites sit kilometres apart in heavy traffic, which is why most independent visitors use Uber or Careem between them. The app shows a fixed fare before you confirm, and short hops across the old city cost little by Western standards.

The trade-off is time and explanation. You'll spend part of the day finding entrances and waiting for cars, and the Mamluk buildings say very little without someone to read them. Our take: do Coptic Cairo alone, and pay for help in Islamic Cairo. The reasoning is in guide or on your own.

Are there extra charges on top of the tour price?

Sometimes. Pickups outside central Cairo and Giza cost extra on several tours, tips are expected, and you'll want small notes for shoe-keepers and toilets.

• Out-of-range pickup: +$15 per person on the private Citadel day (airport, airport hotels, New Cairo, Nasr City, Heliopolis); +$7.50 per person on the Citadel and Cave Church tour (airport hotels, Nasr City, New Cairo, 6th October); +$10 on the night tour from the airport area or New Cairo. The 4-hour tour picks up in downtown Cairo or Giza only.
• Tips: excluded on almost every listing. Many visitors tip the guide and the driver separately at the end of the day.
• Shoe-keepers: EGP 10 to 20 at mosques where you leave your shoes.
• Toilets: attendants expect a small note. A guest on the full-day tour put it simply: "Be sure to bring some small Egyptian pounds (50s) for the toilet." (Michael, Mar 2026)
• Parking: the official Citadel parking fee is EGP 25 for a car. Drivers usually sort it out; ask before the tour if you're unsure.
• Shopping stops: not a charge, but papyrus and perfume shops pay commission. Say no politely if you don't want them.

Which Old Cairo tour is the best value?

It depends on group size. Couples who want a guide do well on a private tour with the guide option and tickets bought at the gate; solo travellers get the clearest price on the flat-rate tours.

• Couples and families: the 4-hour private tour with "car + driver + guide", tickets paid at the gate. The longer private Citadel day (4.9 from 133 reviews) adds Sultan Hassan and Ben Ezra.
• No-surprises travellers: the guided day with entry fees included has one option and every ticket inside it.
• Solo on a budget: the night tour is $39 flat with dinner, a felucca and the bazaar; the street food walk is $34 flat with every entrance on Al-Muizz.
• DIY-minded: Coptic Cairo by metro in the morning, then the Khan el-Khalili and Al-Muizz tour for two or three hours in the afternoon.

One flat price per person, whatever your group size: dinner, a sunset felucca on the Nile and Khan el-Khalili after dark.

★ 4.8 · 4 to 5 hours · from $39 per person

Explore the night tour with dinner and a felucca → Tour details

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