Quick answer. Sharm is different from every other Egyptian arrival because of the entry rules. If you are staying inside the South Sinai resort corridor, you can take the free Sinai-only entry permit at the desk and skip the visa fee entirely. If you want to leave that corridor, for Cairo, Luxor, or even Ras Mohammed, you need the full tourist visa, and you buy it in cash at the bank windows in arrivals before you reach passport control. Bring clean US dollar notes for that, or buy the e-visa online in advance. Once you are through, use an NBE, Banque Misr or CIB ATM rather than the exchange desk, and take Egyptian pounds when the screen offers you dollars. The resort itself needs very little cash. What needs cash is everything around it: tipping, the Old Market, taxis and Bedouin trips.
Where to get Egyptian Pound at SSH
Sharm's cost table has an extra row that no other Egyptian airport has, because the visa fee is a cash transaction you make before you can reach an ATM. Everything after that follows the post-float logic: bank machine good, exchange desk poor, paying in dollars at a card terminal worst. The math below assumes the pound equivalent of $100.
| Option | Where | Markup | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| NBE, Banque Misr or CIB ATM in arrivals | After immigration | Interbank rate + ~3% local commission | ~$97 |
| Bank ATM + Schwab (fee refunded) | After immigration | Interbank rate, ATM fee refunded | ~$97-100 |
| Cash US dollars for the visa window | Before passport control | Fixed fee, not an exchange; clean notes required | n/a |
| Any ATM with a BoA card (no Alliance here) | After immigration | Local commission + BoA 3% non-network fee | ~$94 |
| Airport exchange desk | Arrivals | Counter spread, no longer offset by any parallel-market gap | ~$90-93 |
| Paying in euros or dollars on a resort card machine | Naama Bay and the hotels | Dynamic currency conversion, 4-8% | ~$92 |
The visa window, the ATMs, and why cash order of operations matters at SSH
Sharm el-Sheikh has a two-stage arrivals process that catches people out. Before passport control there is a row of bank windows, typically National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr and CIB, and their job is selling entry stamps rather than serving customers. That is where you either pay for the full tourist visa or, if you are staying in the South Sinai corridor, take the free Sinai-only permit. The visa fee sat at US$25 for years and moved to US$30 in March 2026, so carry a little more than the figure you last read, in clean undamaged notes. Only after immigration do you reach the ordinary ATMs and the exchange desk. Take the ATM. Since the pound floated in March 2024 the old parallel-market premium has effectively vanished, so the interbank rate a bank machine gives you is now genuinely the best rate available, which was not true a few years ago. Egyptian banks cut their foreign-card commission from about 5 percent to 3 percent in August 2025, and Egypt has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner. Machines here do run dry in peak season, so withdraw when you find a working one.
Terminal 1 (main international arrivals)
Scheduled and charter traffic from the UK, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy and the Gulf, plus EgyptAir domestic connections
Handle the entry stamp first at the bank windows before passport control, in cash, then find the NBE, Banque Misr or CIB ATM in the arrivals area once you are through. Withdraw enough for the trip's tipping rather than a minimum, since machines here empty out at peak times. Decline the dollar conversion offer and take pounds. Transfer coaches and the taxi rank are directly outside.
Terminal 2 (charter and seasonal overflow)
Seasonal charter and additional holiday traffic when Terminal 1 is at capacity
The same sequence applies: visa or Sinai permit at the bank window first, then a machine on the arrivals level. Facilities are thinner here than in Terminal 1, so if you land at T2 and the machine is out of service, it is easier to withdraw at the resort or in Naama Bay than to hunt around the terminal.
Do you actually need cash at Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH)?
Almost none for the arrival itself, since most SSH passengers are met by a pre-paid transfer. The cash comes later, for tipping and the Old Market. Getting to the resort looks like this:
Pre-booked package transfer coach (Included): How the large majority of SSH arrivals reach Naama Bay, Nabq or Hadaba; already paid with the holiday, so no cash needed beyond a tip for the driver.
Airport taxi to Naama Bay (~EGP 300-500): Unmetered, so agree the fare before you get in; 10 to 25 minutes depending on which strip you are staying on, and cash is expected.
Private transfer to Dahab (~EGP 1,500-2,500): Around 90 minutes north through the desert; pre-book online and pay by card rather than negotiating at the kerb.
Car hire (From ~EGP 1,200 per day): Counters in arrivals bill to a card, but keep pound notes for fuel attendants and checkpoint stops on the Sinai roads.
⚠ DCC trap. When the ATM or terminal asks if you want to be charged in your home currency instead of the local currency, always decline and choose the local currency. Accepting locks in a 3-13 percent markup that your no-FX-fee card cannot undo. Full DCC explainer →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need cash to get from Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH) to Sharm el-Sheikh?
For the transfer itself, usually not, since most SSH arrivals are on pre-paid package coaches. For an unmetered airport taxi, yes: agree the fare first and pay in pounds.
Can I order Egyptian Pound before flying?
Egyptian pounds are hard to source well abroad, so this is one of the few places where arriving with US dollars is the more useful move, both for the visa window and as a fallback. CEI Currency Exchange ships currency to your US address in 2-5 days if you want dollar cash in hand before you fly.
Do I need a visa to visit Sharm el-Sheikh?
Not necessarily, and this is the single most useful thing to know about SSH. Visitors staying within the South Sinai resort corridor, broadly Sharm el-Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba, Taba and St Catherine, can be issued a free Sinai-only entry permit valid for a short stay, with no visa fee. The catch is that it does not let you leave that zone. A day trip to Cairo or Luxor, or in practice a visit to Ras Mohammed National Park, needs the full Egyptian tourist visa instead. Decide before you reach the desk, because switching afterwards is a hassle.
How much is the Egyptian visa at Sharm el-Sheikh airport, and how do I pay?
The visa-on-arrival fee was US$25 for many years and rose to US$30 in March 2026, so bring a little more than any older figure you have seen. You buy it at the bank windows in arrivals before passport control, and you pay in cash. US dollars are the safest thing to hold, with euros and pounds usually accepted at a rate the window sets. Notes should be clean, unmarked and not torn, because worn bills get refused. Card payment is inconsistent at these windows. The alternative is the official e-visa online before you travel, which removes the cash problem entirely.
Where are the ATMs at Sharm el-Sheikh airport?
After immigration in the arrivals area, with NBE, Banque Misr and CIB machines and a further cluster in the departures level. Note that the bank windows you pass before passport control are visa desks, not general banking, so do not count on them for a withdrawal. Machines at SSH can be empty or out of service during peak charter season, so take a workable amount when you find one operating rather than a token minimum.
Should I exchange money at SSH?
No, and the reason changed recently. Before the pound floated in March 2024 there was a real gap between the official rate and what cash dollars fetched, and travellers used to arrive with dollars deliberately. That gap has closed. Today an NBE or CIB ATM gives you the interbank rate with a fixed local commission, which beats the exchange desk's spread. Keep the dollars for the visa window and tipping, not for changing at a counter.
How much cash do I need in Sharm el-Sheikh?
More than the all-inclusive brochure implies, because the resort is the one place you will not spend it. Hotel extras, dive centres and the larger restaurants all take cards. Egyptian pounds are for everything outside the gate: tipping, which is constant and expected, from porters and housekeeping to the driver and the boat crew, taxis around Naama Bay and Sharm's Old Market where there are no meters and you agree the fare first, market stalls, and the Bedouin dinner and quad excursions. Ask the resort to break the 200-pound notes an ATM gives you into small change, because tipping with a large note is awkward and gets no change back.
How do I get from Sharm el-Sheikh airport to the resorts?
Nearly everyone arrives on a package and is met by a transfer coach that is already paid for, which is why the ride in rarely needs cash. Otherwise the taxi rank outside arrivals serves Naama Bay, Nabq and Hadaba in 10 to 25 minutes, unmetered, at a fare you agree before setting off. There is no rail link and no meaningful public bus for arriving tourists. If you are heading to Dahab instead, the road transfer takes around 90 minutes and is worth pre-booking rather than arranging at the kerb.
Can I take Egyptian pounds home with me?
Only a limited amount, and you would not want to. Egypt caps how much local currency you can carry out, with the limit set at 5,000 pounds, and the pound is not a currency foreign bureaux handle well, so anything you take home converts badly. Spend down before departure, tip generously at the end of the trip, and if you are left holding a large sum, the bank counter in departures can convert some back, more easily if you kept an ATM or exchange receipt.
Is there a Bank of America Alliance partner in Egypt?
No. Egypt has no Bank of America Global ATM Alliance partner, so a BoA card pays BoA's 3 percent non-network fee on top of the local bank's commission at SSH or anywhere else in the country. A Wise card at the interbank rate or a Charles Schwab card that refunds ATM operator fees works out materially cheaper across a week of tipping-heavy withdrawals.