Driving in Egypt

Renting & importing a car

Driving in Egypt

Even though Egypt is known to have hazardous traffic, having your own car can be especially useful when traveling through the country and visiting places difficult to reach by public transport. If you are planning just a brief stay or a long road trip, you can book a car online or on arrival at the airport. If you are planning to move to Egypt for a longer period, you can import your car. However, this is quite an expensive process and most people prefer to purchase a secondhand car instead.

Renting a car - check the plates

The renting process is quite easy as most international rental agencies have offices in towns and airports. You can reserve a car online or you can go to one of the offices yourself. The rates in Egypt are the same as in other countries, but it should be noted that you will need an International Driving License to rent a car and drive in Egypt.

Egypt's landscape can be quite difficult to navigate, so make sure you get a dependable car from a trustworthy rental shop. Be careful if you are renting from an unknown rental place, as you could be tricked into renting a car in bad condition. Always check if there is a spare tire included and that the paperwork is in order before you sign anything.

One way to check if the car is trustworthy is by checking the license plates, as reputable cars will usually have orange tourism license plates.

If you want to compare prices before arrival, visit Egypt Rental Group  to decide which company you want to rent from.

Importing a car

It can be quite a long and expensive process to import your car into Egypt, and it’s often  cheaper to purchase a new car.  Because of this, most people prefer to buy a second-hand car in Egypt to avoid  the hassle of importing

The reason for all the expense is that the import costs are determined by the country the car is arriving from - meaning import tax can vary from 40% to 135%.  General tax starts at 10% and can reach 35%. When shipping used cars, the shipper must prove that they are the first one to own the car. Brand new cars must be shipped the same year it was manufactured.

Cars imported with trip tickets  are allowed to enter Egypt tax and duty free for three months on a tourist basis. It can be extended for another three months, but it will be exported out of Egypt after these 6 months have ended.

For more information regarding the specific shipment requirements, visit this webpage .

Further reading

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