Cairo International is about 20 kilometres north-east of Downtown, and it has three passenger terminals.
Terminal 3 is EgyptAir and Star Alliance. Terminal 2 handles many European and Gulf carriers. Terminal 1 takes the rest, including some low-cost and regional airlines. They are several kilometres apart and connected by a free shuttle bus and, between T2 and T3, an automated people mover.
Check which terminal your flight uses before arranging a pickup.
Uber and Careem
The simplest answer. Both operate at the airport with designated pickup points, both give a fixed price in advance, and both cost a fraction of the taxi rank.
This removes the single most common bad first hour in Cairo, which is the fare argument.
Note that mobile data helps — buy a SIM in arrivals, or arrange an eSIM before flying, so you can book from inside the terminal.
Taxis
There is an official rank. Fares to Downtown are quoted rather than metered in practice, and the opening number to a visitor is routinely several times the going rate.
If you use one, agree the price before the bags go in the boot, and know roughly what it should cost.
Ignore anyone who approaches you inside the terminal offering a car, a hotel or a tour. This is persistent at Cairo and is best handled with a flat, friendly refusal and continued walking.
The airport shuttle bus
Cairo Airport Shuttle Bus runs air-conditioned coaches and minibuses to Downtown, Zamalek, Maadi, Giza and elsewhere, bookable at a desk in arrivals. Cheaper than a taxi, slower, and a reasonable option for a group.
Ordinary public buses also serve the airport very cheaply, but with luggage and without Arabic they are a poor first move.
The metro
Line 3 has been extended eastwards towards the airport in phases. Whether it currently reaches the terminals directly, and which ones, has changed as the extension has opened section by section — check the current position rather than relying on any published guide, including this one.
Visa on arrival
Most European, North American and many other nationalities can buy a visa on arrival at the bank windows in arrivals, before immigration, paid in US dollars, euros or pounds sterling in cash. It is a sticker, and you take it to the desk.
An e-visa can be arranged online in advance, which is usually smoother.
Check your own nationality’s position before travelling, and carry cash for the visa — the windows do not reliably take cards.
Money on arrival
Egypt uses the Egyptian pound (EGP). The pound has been devalued repeatedly and sharply, most significantly in March 2024, and prices in pounds have moved a great deal as a result. Any figure in pounds quoted more than a few months ago should be treated as unreliable — including in this guide.
There are ATMs and bank branches in arrivals. Take out cash: Egypt runs substantially on it, and many places outside hotels and malls do not take cards.
Decline any machine that offers to charge you in your home currency.
Departure
Allow three hours. Security is layered — there is a scan on entering the terminal building as well as at the gate — and the queues are unpredictable.
Arrival hall practicalities
The visa bank windows come before immigration. If you are buying a visa on arrival, do that first — people regularly join the immigration queue, are sent back, and lose half an hour.
SIM cards are sold in arrivals by Vodafone, Orange and Etisalat. Prices are reasonable and registration requires a passport. Buying one before you leave the terminal makes ride-hailing work immediately.
Luggage trolleys are free. Anyone who takes hold of your bag without being asked will expect a tip.
Which terminal on departure
The shuttle between terminals is free but slow, and it is not a route you want to discover you need. EgyptAir uses T3; most European flag carriers use T2; charter and low-cost use T1 or T2.
Confirm on your booking rather than assuming, and allow for the shuttle if your taxi drops you at the wrong one.
A note on the drive
The road from the airport passes Heliopolis and the eastern suburbs, and depending on the hour it takes anywhere from thirty minutes to over ninety. Late-night arrivals are quick; a five o’clock landing on a weekday is not.
If you have booked a hotel pickup, the driver will be holding a sign in the arrivals hall past customs. Confirm the price with the hotel beforehand rather than with the driver.