Avoiding touts and scams

The UK Foreign Office calls the crime rate in Egypt generally low but warns that touts and scammers sometimes target visitors in tourist areas. At Giza, most problems are about money and time rather than safety.

A horse-drawn carriage with passengers in silhouette crossing the ridge in front of three pyramids — A horse carriage on the ridge in front of the pyramids. Photo: Hisham Elshazli / Pexels

5 min read Updated November 2026 Compare all tours

This page sticks to what official advice and real tour reviews say. The UK Foreign Office describes the crime rate in Egypt as generally low and says pickpocketing is rare. It also warns: be cautious in tourist areas, where scammers and touts sometimes target foreign nationals. Its advice page does not mention Giza or the pyramids by name, and the German Foreign Office page could not be checked for this guide. What follows is about the situations visitors actually report, most of which cost money or time.

What changed at the gate

The entrance by the Mena House was closed in 2025. Ahram Online gave the reasons for the move as long-standing problems with congestion, pollution, noise, thugs and hooligans. The new main gate is on the Cairo–Fayoum road, with a visitor centre, a car park and electric buses on the plateau, and private vehicles are no longer allowed on the site. Camel and horse handlers were moved to designated zones; Naguib Sawiris told Euronews that those who refused would be banned from the area. Ahram also noted that the project did not describe specific measures against touting.

Buy tickets from the official sellers

Plateau tickets are sold on the ministry's portal egymonuments.com and at the gate, where tour operators report that payment is by card only. For the museum, tickets.gem.eg calls itself the only official website for its tickets. Anyone offering to sell you a ticket elsewhere on the approach is not one of these sellers. Once inside, keep your ticket with you for the whole visit, as the portal asks. The current prices are on the tickets and opening hours page, so you know what a ticket should cost.

Shopping stops on tours

The most common complaint in reviews of Cairo and Giza tours is not a scam in the legal sense. It is time taken from the pyramids and spent in papyrus, perfume, alabaster or carpet shops. On several popular half-day tours it is the leading point of criticism among the weaker reviews. Some descriptions list these visits openly, as a shopping tour or a papyrus gallery, and on one tour to Saqqara and Dahshur the operator states that the stops are optional and can be skipped on request. A private tour to the same sites on this page states that it does not stop at bazaars at all.

Read the itinerary before you book, and tell the guide at the start if you want to skip shops. You are under no obligation to buy anything at a demonstration.

Rides that are shorter than promised

Camel and quad rides are where expectations and reality differ most often. Reviews describe a camel ride lasting well under ten minutes on a tour that advertised one, and quad sessions of 25 to 45 minutes on tours listed as an hour. Some guests found that the extras were offered early in the day in a way that felt hard to refuse. Before you get on, agree how long the ride lasts and whether it is already paid. If a tour lists the plateau ticket as excluded, expect to buy it yourself; one review describes paying for the guide's entry as well and being reimbursed later. The camel and quad rides page also covers animal welfare, which several reviews raise.

The three large Giza pyramids and the queens pyramids seen from a desert rise, Cairo hazy in the distance — The Giza pyramids seen from a rise in the desert. Photo: INDU BIKASH SARKER / Pexels

Starting from the official ticketing area

A guided walk that begins at the ticketing area means you meet your guide at the official entrance rather than being approached on the way. The operator of the walk on this page meets guests there and covers the pyramids, the viewpoint known as Panorama Point and the Sphinx on foot.

Taxis and personal safety

The Foreign Office advises women travelling alone to be careful in taxis, especially at night, and if possible not to take a taxi alone; otherwise share the driver's details, the route and your live location with a friend. It also reports that most sexual assaults brought to the British Embassy's attention took place in Red Sea resorts, often involving people the victim had recently met, such as hotel or excursion staff. That matters for day trips from Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.

Reporting a problem

Call the tourist police on 126 to report a crime, and 123 for an ambulance. Report before you leave the country: the Foreign Office notes that a crime not reported in Egypt is difficult to prosecute later. If a tour did not deliver what it listed, the booking platform is the place to raise it.

All tours side by side

Ways to keep the day in your own hands: a QR ticket that skips the ticket office, a guided walk that starts at the official ticketing area, and a private tour to Saqqara and Dahshur that states it makes no bazaar stops.

Tour	Format	Duration	Age	Rating	From
Giza plateau QR ticketNice ToursA QR code ticket for general admission to the Giza pyramids area, including the viewpoints and the Sphinx zone, so you skip the ticket office.	Ticket, no guideGeneral admission; no pyramid interiors	Giza plateau entrance	–	4.7 (771 reviews)	From $17Free cancellationBook on GetYourGuide
Guided walk from the Giza ticket gateOceanAir TravelsYou meet the guide at the pyramids ticketing area and walk past Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure to Panorama Point and on to the Sphinx.	On foot, no transferEgyptologist; plateau ticket with some options	3 hoursPyramids ticketing area; hotel pickup as an add-on	–	4.5 (311 reviews)	From $42Free cancellationBook on GetYourGuide
Private Saqqara and Dahshur without shop stopsEgypt Guide Sofie GuideA licensed Egyptologist who reads the hieroglyphs takes you to the Step Pyramid, the Unas complex with the Teti pyramid and Kagemni tomb, and the Red and Bent Pyramids, with lunch on a farm.	Private, no bazaar stopsEgyptologist, driver, car, water, snacks; entrance tickets not included	6 to 8 hoursHotel pickup or meeting point	Moderate fitness needed	5.0 (71 reviews)	From $60Free cancellationBook on Viator

Prices and ratings come from the booking platform and are shown in US dollars per person. If you book through these links we earn a commission. Your price stays the same. Sorted by number of reviews.

Questions travellers ask

Is it safe to visit the Giza pyramids?

The UK Foreign Office does not list Giza among the areas it advises against, and it describes the crime rate in Egypt as generally low. It does warn about touts and scammers in tourist areas and says terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Egypt, so read the current advice before you travel.

Where should I buy pyramid tickets?

From the official portal Experience Egypt at egymonuments.com, at the gate, or as part of a tour that includes admission. Grand Egyptian Museum tickets are sold through tickets.gem.eg, which the museum names as its only official ticket website.

Why do tours stop at papyrus and perfume shops?

Reviews of many Cairo tours describe stops at papyrus, perfume, alabaster or carpet shops. Some tour descriptions list them openly, one states they can be skipped on request, and a few promise none at all. Check the itinerary and say at the start if you do not want them.

How long is the camel ride on a tour?

It depends on the tour, and reviews regularly say it was shorter than expected, in one case well under ten minutes. Some tours state the length, such as the one-hour ride on the sunrise tour, so read what the option says.

Who do I call if something goes wrong?

The tourist police on 126 and an ambulance on 123. Report a crime before you leave Egypt, because the UK Foreign Office says prosecution is difficult afterwards.

Where these facts come from

Dates, opening hours and rules change. We checked these pages in November 2026; the official source has the final word.