It’s very important and common question when traveling: What is the medical care and services in the place I will be staying at?

You must have already heard, guests planning a trip to Egypt are worried mostly about diarrhea asking: Should we take the medication with us or get vaccinated? Let us speak about it:

Our advice:

Yes, you are flying to Africa, but not central Africa, where people may contract malaria and other worrying diseases. You will not find any special warning for Egypt and you do not need to be vaccinated. If you already have minor issues (stomach pain, diarrhea, ear infection, skin allergy... etc.), you will find many pharmacies where you can buy everything without a prescription. The *diarrhea medications* are Antinal, Drotazide or Diax tablets. Children and pregnant women are also safe with Antinal. The little ones take this as syrup. However, medication should not be taken in advance, as a “booster”.

The biggest problem are always intestinal colds. What does that mean? Tourists are spending time on sunny beach - outside in the heat, enter lobbies and restaurants where is too cold, refreshing themselves with ice cold drinks. The AC in guests’ rooms is running in full, because anybody has time to set it lower every time he / she comes back. There is colorful buffet with so many different foodies and treats waiting at the end of the day…

The first and most important advice is: Never ever travel without travel insurance! Obligatory EU or UK insurance does not apply here if you do not have extra commercial insurance for abroad /outside Europe/. Please don’t rely on “I never needed that.” You should know that medical treatment abroad is not cheap. If you are treated somewhere / in the hotel clinic, in the hospital / on an outpatient basis, you pay the bill and your health insurance company will refund you back in your home country. According to the insurance companies’ contracts, the insurance covers the costs for inpatient treatment directly (We recommend you to read the insurance contract properly and declaring your health condition as per your GP). Most hotels have their hotel ambulance and a doctor for first aid. For major injuries you will find private hospitals with everything you need for treatment, many of European standards.

If you need to take your regular medications, make sure you have a supply for your entire stay. If you are taking any medication that is not legal or banned in Egypt, you must also have an official prescription from your doctor with you. The medicines brought into the country are limited “for personal use only.”

We wish you a nice holiday without any health problems!