Are Women Allowed to Dress as They Want in Egypt
It's 4 am here. Last night we arrived back in Cairo, having completed the Aswan-Abu Simble part of our trip. I can't wait to go through all the photos I've taken to share some of the highlights of this tour across Egypt! It will take some time to go through all the photos I've taken and to organize them for a post, but I hope to share those soon.
I've received a few comments here and on Instagram requesting I share our itinerary. I will do definitly do that, including some of the detours/additions we've made along the way.
What Do Travelers Really Wear When Visiting Egypt?
Before I left for Egypt, I created a post where I shared some of the clothes I planned to take. Mostly I packed a few pairs of jeans (white, blue, and black) and a lot of linen and cotton long sleeve shirts with roll-up sleeves. I ignored a lot of the bad advice I read in blog posts online and didn't spend money purchasing baggy long skirts/pants and long, baggy loose tops that I knew I would immediately donate once I returned home.
Here's what you need to know for travel to Egypt: If you're going to spend all of your time walking down streets in the big cities like Cairo, you may want to wear long pants and casual tops…otherwise, wear the typical clothing you would wear when traveling to very, very hot destinations on vacation.
Take a look at the crowd photos I took at the sites we visited. This is the reality, this is how travelers REALLY dress when visiting the Pyramids and other ancient ruins around Egypt. You see some long pants, tons of linen/cotton shirts, a lot of capris, shorts, and sundresses.
Do not listen to folks who tell you not to ever wear shorts or short-sleeved shirts. Wear whatever you like to wear when out in 90+ degree weather. I preferred long-sleeve, breathable linen or cotton shirts because that kept my arms protected from the sun. It actually felt cooler to me than having the sun beating down directly on my skin. I often wore the sleeves rolled up but sometimes I did roll them down if we were out in the open sun. I also wore a hat every single day to protect my face. (Update: The only thing I would have done differently is I wish I had taken thin, light-weight capri pants instead of jeans. Denim/jeans were just too thick/heavy for the insane heat we experienced.)
The day we visited the pyramids was hot, but not exceedingly so. But after we headed further south to Luxor, that's when things really heated up. Some days were literally the hottest I've ever experienced in my entire life. I don't ever recall sweating that profusely, to the point where my shirt was completely soaked through all over. So gross! It was so hot one day, I thought I might pass out, but fortunately, that never happened.
After one particularly hot day out touring the sites, I developed a lot of red splotches on the inner part of both my legs, just a few inches up from my ankles. I took several photos, as did my guide, in case I had to consult a doctor back home. He didn't know what caused the "rash" either.
After a bit of research, I figured out I have Golfer's Rash or Disney Rash, something that can happen when you are outside in extremely hot conditions, like walking the roads/paths in Disney World or playing golf. Google the words, "Golfer's Rash" or "Disney Rash" to read more and see photos. I'll spare you the pictures I took of my scary white legs covered in red splotches because there are plenty online that look just like mine.
The red splotches are actually blood leaking out of the capillaries because the body gets so hot/overheated it can't circulate the blood back upward through the body as it should. That's a rough summation of what I read online. My red splotches are better now, fading away fast. They never hurt or itched, so it's not really like a rash at all…just looks like a lot of blood under the skin…like red bruises. Wish I had worn shorts or capris like these women, I would have been a million times cooler!
Also, I highly, highly, highly recommend wearing really good sandals that are designed for hiking like these below. These sandals are the BEST article of clothing I took with me to Egypt. As hot as I already was in my white jeans and cotton/linen shirts, I think I would have died wearing regular shoes or sneakers across Egypt. I tried that one day and it was miserable! That may be the day I developed the Disney Rash.
Make sure whatever sandals you wear have thick soles and are designed for heavy walking/hiking. This isn't the time for pretty, fashion-oriented sandals because the soles will be too thin and will not offer the support you need. These below are perfect! You'll find them here: Sandals for Travel.
Regarding the clothing, if you're not comfortable wearing shorts, wear capris. I'm short so I don't like how I look in Capris, but they sure were comfortable the day I wore them to Abu Simbel. If you wear pants/capris, make them white or a light color, if possible. Jeans, even white jeans, can be hot. (Update: Best to not take jeans unless you're wearing them in the evening, they are just too heavy/hot. Stick with light, cotton pants, dresses or shorts.)
If you know you'll be going into a temple, not a temple ruin but an actual modern temple, wear long pants, a long-sleeve shirt that has sleeves that can be rolled up once you're finished, and take along a scarf to cover your head. So far, we haven't gone into any temples, so I haven't had to worry about that. Update: Never needed a scarf at all on this trip.
For hanging out on the beach, wear any bathing suit you like. At the beach resort where we stayed for 3-4 days in Hurghada, everyone was wearing two-piece suits, bikinis, etc… It looked like any typical beach in America.
Ditto for around the pool at a resort and on our Nile Cruise…everyone wore bathing suits, including bikinis. I didn't take along a swimsuit since I'm not a water fan and don't really enjoy swimming–though I can swim. I wore shorts on the beach in Hurghada and on the sundeck during our Nile Cruise, though most folks were wearing bathing suits since they were enjoying the pool on the boat.
In summary, wear thick-soled hiking sandals, a hat, sunglasses, shorts, capris, or light-weight pants, preferably in light colors (no black, navy or dark colors that absorb the sun/heat) and pack a million long-sleeve cotton or linen shirts that are very breathable and can be rolled up when in the shady areas.
If you don't want to wash clothes on a trip to Egypt, pack at least one shirt for each day you'll be there (plus a few extras) because you will sweat like you've never sweated before while touring some of the sites. Every shirt you take will be good for 1 wearing because it will be soaked through with sweat after one wearing in the heat here in Egypt…at least at the sites we visited in The Valley of the Kings and Aswan/Abu Simbel. You really need two shirts for each day you're in Egypt, one to wear to the sites where you'll sweat like crazy and another one to change into after your blissful shower at the end of that day's tours.
This is the first trip where I've ever had to wash clothes to get through the trip. That's because I couldn't wear any shirt more than once because it was drenched in sweat after one wearing. I packed about 9-10 shirts, but when you're changing clothes several times a day, you go through your tops very fast.
I don't trust anyone to wash my shirts so I hand-washed them in the bathroom sink with detergent I purchased on the trip. Then I hung them up to dry on the shower lines that were installed above all the bathtubs in the hotels where we stayed. Apparently, they know their guests will be washing clothes a lot since they have the clothesline already installed. Then I handed my shirts over to the staff on the boat/hotel to iron them. (They won't let you use an iron in your room on a ship and I didn't see them in the hotel rooms, either.)
I'm going to go ahead and put this post up now since it's almost time for breakfast, but I'll add more "crowd" shots to the post later today. Seeing is believing and this is the true reality of how people really dress when traveling to the iconic sites and ruins in Egypt.
Update: Here are a few more crowd shots showing how folks dress for travel to Egypt in middle to late October.
Hope you found this post helpful if you're planning a trip to Egypt or another super hot destination.
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