Short answer: at both Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, travel guides and travellers' reports describe counters run by the Egyptian operators in the arrivals hall. There you can buy a local SIM card, registered with your passport, that gives you an Egyptian number. The alternative is an eSIM bought and installed before you fly: it connects as soon as the plane lands, with no counter, and your home SIM stays in the phone. If you need an Egyptian number, get the local SIM; if you only need data, an eSIM saves you the counter.
At the airport counter: what to know
Hurghada (HRG) and Sharm el-Sheikh (SSH) are the two main Red Sea airports. Before you walk up to a counter:
- You will be asked for your passport. An Egyptian line is registered to its holder. For a local eSIM, Orange Egypt's page says a new eSIM line costs EGP 350 and is issued in its shops; it says tourists are eligible, but also limits in-shop eSIMs for foreigners to those "with valid residence". We look at that contradiction in Vodafone or Orange Egypt eSIM as a tourist.
- We found no official price list for airport packs. The operators' pages we read publish no prices for these offers, and the figures quoted online vary widely from one source to the next. Ask for the total price in Egyptian pounds, and what it includes (GB, validity, minutes), before you hand over your passport.
- For a stay under 90 days, the rule on imported phones does not affect you. The exemption for phones brought in by travellers ended on 21 January 2026, but Egypt's regulator (NTRA) says it still applies to tourists for 90 days.
It works the same way as in Cairo, which we cover in airport SIM kiosks in Cairo vs eSIM.
The eSIM: everything happens before you fly
- Pick the length of your stay on our plans page and pay by card.
- The QR code appears on the confirmation page and arrives by email.
- Install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi: installing it needs an internet connection.
- When you land, switch on the eSIM line and data roaming on that line. The plan starts on its first connection to an Egyptian network, not when you install it.
If you land with nothing installed, you will need Wi-Fi to buy and install the eSIM, at your hotel for instance. That is why we recommend doing it at home the day before you leave. The step-by-step guide: how to install an eSIM in Egypt.
Counter SIM or eSIM: side by side
| Local SIM from the counter | Egypt eSIM | |
|---|---|---|
| Where, when | At an operator's counter in the arrivals hall | On this site, before you fly; installed at home over Wi-Fi |
| Documents | Passport: the line is registered in your name | None |
| Egyptian number | Yes: local calls, WhatsApp on an Egyptian number | No: data only, no calls or SMS |
| Your home SIM | Taken out of the phone, unless it is dual-SIM | Stays in the phone for your calls and texts |
| Network | The network of the operator you bought from | Vodafone, Orange and e&: the eSIM uses whichever is available |
| Data | Whatever the pack includes (in GB) | About 1 GB a day at full 4G LTE speed, then 512 Kbps until the next day, with no total cap |
| Price | No official price list found for airport packs | €6.50 (1 day), €18 (3 days), €33 (7 days), €46 (15 days) |
The network around Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh
The Red Sea coast has good 4G coverage: Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh and Marsa Alam are among the best-covered areas. It gets weaker inland in Sinai: Dahab is on 3G or 4G, Mount Sinai and St Catherine on 3G. For boat trips and the resorts around Hurghada, read Red Sea connectivity: Hurghada, Marsa Alam and El Gouna.
Our eSIM has no network of its own: it uses Vodafone, Orange and e&. A local SIM stays on the network of the operator that sold it.
Who should pick what
- You need an Egyptian number (calling local numbers, taking a call from a driver, an Egyptian WhatsApp account): the local SIM, from the counter or a shop.
- You only need data, you land late or with children, or you want to keep your home SIM in the phone: the eSIM, installed before you fly.
- You are comparing eSIMs: our Airalo, Holafly, Nomad and Saily comparison has prices read on the same day, including where we are not the cheapest.
For a week on the Red Sea, our eSIM costs €33. See every duration and price.
Sources
Read on 29 September 2026: Orange Egypt's eSIM page (conditions and price of a new eSIM line) and the notice from Egypt's regulator, NTRA, on travellers' phones. Our networks come from our supplier's catalogue; coverage from our coverage page. We publish no prices for the packs sold at airport counters: we found none published by an operator, and we could not verify them.
Is there Wi-Fi at these airports? What we could confirm: free Wi-Fi at Egypt's airports.