EgyptSearch Forums: Problems with custom at Cairo airport

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Posted by amiraah (Member # 10079) on :

Hi all,

I will be visiting Egypt in March.

I have a friend who is Asian-American. She travels alone to visit Egypt atleast once a year for the past 7 years (her husband, an Egyptian-American, works in Dubai and meets her in Cairo). She usually brings 2 suitcases -- one with her clothes and one with gifts for the in-laws. She said that EVERY time she goes thru custom, they would stop her and open her luggages and ask her all sorts of questions.

My question is, does this happen all the time in Egypt? What can I do to avoid this. I will also be traveling alone. I also be bringing gifts to my in-laws.

Posted by Khadija_Diagne (Member # 10149) on :

where are you travlinig from?

Posted by tootifrooti (Member # 9824) on :

I have travelled from Uk loads of times and never ever been stopped.
[Confused]

Posted by Barbapapa (Member # 10031) on :

Maybe it's because Amiraah's friend is married to an Egyptian? It happened the same to one of my friends, married for years to an Egyptian, when they settled back to Cairo. Always more troubles for her. Or maybe it's just bad luck.

Posted by Valerie (Member # 6806) on :

Perhaps because its two suit cases....the norm is one....so they want to be nosey. I was asked why i had such a big case...but they didnt aske to look into it..... [Smile]

Posted by samakwish (Member # 9228) on :

I got stopped once, when I was the first one out of the airport. The suitcase wasn't locked and when I opened it, I nearly died, because it wasn't my suitcase!! [Embarrassed]

The customs man just started laughing and told me to put it back on the conveyor belt quickly. He probably saved me a lot of trouble - but how stupid can you get?

Posted by amiraah (Member # 10079) on :

Hi all,

Thank you for your fast response.

I am traveling from Los Angeles (stopover in Paris). I am an American. This will be my first trip to Egypt. My Egyptian-American fiance is working in Alexandria and will pick me up at CAI. I will visit for one week. I will have two luggages. In one bag will be my personal belongings. In the other, I will have gifts for his family --- chocolate, toys, picture frames, dresses for 3 little girls (brand new with tags). The only electronic item I will have with me is my digital camera (and a few CDs of pictures of my other vacations to show my fiance).

Posted by pandora (Member # 10146) on :

I just went to egypt from L.A. and had no problems..I had a big backpack and a suitcase..Most people at the airport in Cairo were very helpful..It is more of a hassle coming back to L.A. with the whole Homeland Security stuff going on here...time consuming but not the worst thing ever...take a neck pillow..those 10-12 hour flights are uncomfortable...and earplugs or a portable cd player..there will inevitably be a mom on board having a hard time with crying children/babies....there will seem to be a lot of guns/soldiers in Cairo, mostly to show that tourists are safe...once i got used to the noise, smells, etc..it was okay..and running across the street is a bit like the old video game 'frogger' if you know it..you just take your heart in your hands and go for it...i would love to hear about your experience...it was such culture shock for me at first, but i will be going back in may! it was the experience of a lifetime to travel around egypt (i did it alone...)

Posted by Barbapapa (Member # 10031) on :

I now remember that I have been stopped once too. The only one time, and it was in Alexandria, late at night, the guy asked me if I had electronics. He had a very strong accent, and I didn't understand what he meant...But I wanted to go, so I answered "no", he asked me to open my suitcase, and there was my laptop on the top, he repeated, no electronics, huh (at this moment, I got what he meant). My God, I felt soooo stupid, I wanted to die!!! But he just wrote it on my passport (so I had to show my laptop on my way back). So Amirah, even if they stop you, it's not a big deal! It will take you a few more minutes, and that's it! It happened to me only once in 8 years.

Posted by ExptinCAI (Member # 1439) on :

remove tags. mix the gifts with personal belongings. look "high maintenance" (ie, give them reason to think that you need 2 suitcases for a short trip).

if you look like you have more bags than the typical tourist, they'll start with asking you what are you doing in egypt and how long is your stay. if it doesn't match up with the number of suitcases they see in front of you, they may decide to search.

best to look like a jet-lagged, annoyed tourist who just likes clothes [Wink]

Posted by Demiana (Member # 2710) on :

My dh is always reporting at customs for our videocamera, in and out, so we will not be charged taxes. The first years he even took the bill with him. We also report the gameboys of our kids, but they seem less interested I can't remember seeing those on the passport. But they remain in the personnal luggage of the kids themselve and are pink and blue.

Demiana

Posted by pandora (Member # 10146) on :

i carried my videocamera in a 'fanny'pack on me and they never even asked about it..i just had to take it off and put it through the checkpoints with my shoes, etc. i think they are becoming more common..

Posted by Luxorlover (Member # 4457) on :

I have come through Cairo airport about 25 times now and I have only been stopped a couple of times. Whereas when I have been through Luxor airport they always empty out my bags.