Internet in Egypt | How and where to buy a data sim card from Hurghada?

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Buying a local sim card for mobile internet from Hurghada Egypt isn’t hard. But you need to know where, how and what to do when buying a local sim card from Hurghada.

Keep reading to find out the easiest way to get a sim card from Hurghada.

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In this article | Table of content:

• Why it’s good to buy a local sim card for mobile internet from Hurghada Egypt?
• What is WI-FI like in Hurghada Egypt?
• Using a mobile internet in Egypt | How to make it work?
• Purchasing data sim card from Hurghada Airport
• A sim card for mobile internet from Hurghada | How, what, and where to buy it?

Why it’s good to buy a local sim card for mobile internet from Hurghada Egypt?

The Internet makes everything easier, even traveling is easier when you have an internet connection. With a mobile internet connection, you can do many things that make your holiday easier. For example, you are able to use Google maps, read the local news, or use it for ordering Uber or Careem. 

Also, when you are on your holiday, you don’t have to be unaware or worried about how things are at home. You can stay connected with your friends and family at home. You can keep in touch with everyone through social media, What’s up, Messenger, Viber and many other applications.

You can share every detail of your holiday to the others meanwhile you lay under the sun drinking mojitos. And if you need to work on-line, that’s not impossible either.

Here are my tips for purchasing a data sim card and phone connection from Hurghada.

Next: Is WIFI good in Egypt?

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But first something you need to remember: Do not use your own sim card in Egypt!

Data usage and international calls from Egypt are expensive. This is why you should Use only an Egyptian sim card in Egypt.

Don’t share any pictures with your friends back home, unless you are connected to WI-FI or you have an Egyptian sim card with mobile internet on your phone.

Wait until you have purchased a prepaid card from Egypt, and you won’t get unpleasant surprises at home.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE ANSWERS TO FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT HURGHADA

What is WI-FI like in Hurghada Egypt?

There is a WI-FI connection available in most of the hotels. Some hotels have free WI-FI access, but in some hotels, you need to pay for using a hotel WI-FI. Ask for more details from your hotel.

Also, many coffee shops and restaurants have free WI-FI for customers usage. But you never know if it’s working properly or not and how is it working.

If the internet is important for you, it’s better to buy a local sim card from Egypt. Mobile internet connection is more reliable (you never know how the hotel WI-FI is actually working) than WI-FI. And with a mobile data connection, you are connected to the internet all the time.

Next: How to use mobile internet in Egypt?

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Using a mobile internet in Egypt | How to make it work?

If you decide to purchase a sim card from Egypt, make sure your phone is not sim-locked.

If your phone is sim-locked, you can’t use other sim cards. If it’s not possible to use the unlocked phone, you can use a mobile wi-fi router and share the connection to your phone and other devices.

I recommend you to buy a router such as HUAWEI E5573Cs-322. With this travel router, you can share a connection for 10 different devices. It is effortless to use, you don’t need to set it up, just start to use it. You place a sim card inside the router and connect your phone, computer, or tablet with it. The only thing you need to do is to connect your device to this router with a password.

Buy a similar product from AMAZON.DE here.

The best thing is that you can also use the device outside of Egypt. I know many families, who take a router to family trips and let the kids watch cartoons or movies in the car for example. 

If you order it before you travel, you can test and try how it works back home.

www.Lifebeyondex.com is part of the Amazon affiliates program. By ordering products I recommend through the links on my site, I may get a get small commission, for you this doesn’t cost any extra. 

Next: Sim card from Hurghada airport

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Buying a data sim card from Hurghada airport

You can purchase a sim card at Hurghada airport after arriving. There are at least three kiosks at Hurghada Airport from where you can buy a sim card to Egypt with a mobile internet connection.

If your hotel is located outside the city or you need a sim card urgently, it’s better to buy it from the airport. Otherwise, it’s better to buy it later.

Unfortunately, there is no WI-FI at Hurghada International Airport.

Read more: A guide to Hurghada international airport

If you can wait for a while with the sim card, it’s better to get from a shop instead of the airport.

I have no personal experience with buying a sim card from the airport, but I’ve read that some of the visitors have had problems with the sim cards bought from Hurghada Airport.

The reason why I advise you to buy a sim card from outside of the airport is: If there comes any problems with the sim card or mobile internet connection, you can’t go back to the airport to complain.

For safety reasons, It’s not allowed to go back to the airport, without a flight reservation. So it’s better to buy a local sim card straight from the shop. Ask for a receipt and in case there come any problems, you can go back to the shop to sort the problem out.

Next: Where can I buy a sim card in Hurghada?

Don’t forget to update your devices before travelling

If possible update your devices at home through WI-FI connection before travelling to Egypt. Usually, devices update themselves when they are connected to WI-FI. For example, if you haven’t connected your phone to WI-FI for a long time and you do it in Egypt with your mobile wi-fi connection, this is what may happen:

• Your device starts to download the updates, as soon as you connect it to WI-F network. The device doesn’t recognize whether the WI-FI comes from broadband or mobile network. When you share a connection from the router to your phone and other devices, your data may run out fast even though you didn’t even use it. But your device used the data for downloading the updates. You have no internet connection left and you blame a service provider, even though it’s up to your own devices.

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To prevent this, you can turn off automatic updates from your device (if possible). 

This is one of the reasons, why data is running out from the sim card without you even using the connection. The connection or a provider is not always the one to blame, usually, the user is one to blame. Remember that downloading videos use lots of data.

A data sim card for mobile from Hurghada | How, what and where to buy it?

There are four mobile network operators in Egypt which sell data sim cards and mobile subscriptions. The companies are ORANGE EGYPT, VODAFONE EGYPT, TELECOM EGYPT (WE) AND ETISALAT MISR.

Vodafone Egypt doesn’t have anything to do with Vodafone UK. So don’t use your Vodafone UK card in Egypt. Unless you are willing to pay roaming prices.

I’m using Vodafone Egypt, so I can only talk about Vodafone Egypt’s subscriptions and services. I have been a pretty satisfied customer, all though the prices have become more expensive. At the moment, 8 Gigas of internet costs 100 Egyptian pounds. But the coverage is good and you can buy credit almost anywhere.

Related posts: Currency in Egypt | An Egyptian pound

I usually buy a data package and some credit for the phone calls. It’s good to have some credits for calling, especially if you are planning to use private car companies or Uber or Careem for moving around.

Ask for more details about the different options and offers from the service provider you choose.

A Vodafone sim card cost 80 Egyptian pounds (LE.). The price may have changed.

You need to buy a sim card from the Official Vodafone store.

There are six Vodafone shops in Hurghada from where you can purchase a sim card. 

To see the location of the shops on the map click here. The three shops are located in El Dahar area; one in Hurghada City Center Shopping mall, one in next to El Dahar square and one in El-Nasr street. Other shops are located in Senzo mall, Sheraton Street and El-Mamsha.

If you go to the shop do it as early as possible. The shops are busy in the evenings.

Note! There are lots of shops around Hurghada with big Vodafone logos. From these shops, you can buy credit, but they don’t sell sim cards. Don’t get confused. If you want to be sure about the prices, go to re-charge your sim card to the Official Vodafone store. In the picture below Official Vodafone shop on the left side (up). Other two on the right side (below) are selling credit.

When you buy a sim card, you need to have your passport with you. A sim card is valid for one month. If you stay longer in Egypt, visit a Vodafone shop after purchasing a residential visa. By showing a valid visa to Egypt, your line stays on.

More information about VODAFONE EGYPT from their website.

NOTE! Vodafone has an app called Ana Vodafone. Download it. from App- or Play-store. From the app, you see the usage of your internet package and credit. There are lots of other fun stuff too. For this, you may need to change your country from the settings, since the app is available in Egypt only.

With these tips, you should be able to purchase a sim card from Hurghada.

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