Egypt
Alexandria: how much to budget
Plan €1118 for 7 nights in Alexandria, return flight from London included, or €470 travelling cheap. On the ground that works out at €136 per person per day in comfort, €47 travelling cheap.
- From
- €47/day
- vs. London
- 63%
- Best month
- May
Your trip to Alexandria
Set the length, the number of travellers and the comfort level: the figures recompute here.
€1,118
per person, flight included
- on the ground
- €952
- flight from London
- €166
- per person per day, on the ground
- €136
In short, where the money goes
- The heaviest line
- Food40 % of the trip
- The strongest lever
- Food€210 less travelling cheap
- Seven nights on the ground
- €952excluding flights
Food
€378
Accommodation
€280
Transport
€126
Activities
€98
Extras
€70
Over seven nights, food accounts for 40 % of what you spend. The line where travelling cheap changes the bill most is food, a €210 gap. The others are worth discussing, that one decides.
Basis: 24 hotel addresses surveyed for a 15 October 2026 arrival, twelve months of airfares surveyed on 17 August 2026. The total excludes flights, insurance, personal shopping and any lodging split between several people.
InstantTripCost estimate
Full 7-night budget breakdown
Per-person estimate including flights from London, split across the six expense categories.
per person · Comfort
| Category | Budget | Comfort | Luxury |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | €141 | €166 | €249 |
| Hotel | €70 | €280 | €567 |
| Food | €168 | €378 | €945 |
| Transport | €56 | €126 | €315 |
| Activities | €21 | €98 | €378 |
| Misc | €14 | €70 | €266 |
| 7-night total | €470 | €1118 | €2720 |
Flight from London (annual median).
Unit prices
comfort
Enough to check the total yourself, line by line, at the comfort level you picked.
- €8
- Breakfast
- €15
- Lunch
- €31
- Dinner
- €6
- City ride
- €14
- Site admission
- €136
- A full day
Orders of magnitude derived from our measured ranges, not surveyed venue by venue. Prices vary by neighbourhood and season.
The three tiers
What a budget traveller, a comfort traveller and a premium traveller typically spend.
Budget
€42
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €10
- Meal
- €8
- Transit / day
- €8
Comfort
€112
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €40
- Meal
- €18
- Transit / day
- €18
Luxury
€261
per day, approx
- Hotel / night
- €81
- Meal
- €45
- Transit / day
- €45
When to go, and what the month changes
Average temperatures and conditions by month in Alexandria.
Best month to visitMay
Where to sleep in Alexandria
Choosing a district
Alexandria has no compact centre: the city is a 40 km coastal strip, and the district you pick mostly determines how long your trips take. Sleeping near Raml Station, where the two tram networks meet, saves paying for a taxi every day. Watch one Egypt-specific catch: some of the cheapest hostels only accept Egyptians and residents, which narrows what is actually bookable under €10.
Raml Station - Downtown
The city's hinge: both tram networks meet here, the Corniche is a fifteen-minute walk from Misr station, and Nabi Daniel street lines up its booksellers at negotiable prices. The poet Cavafy's house is in the district.
Anfushi - Bahary
The peninsula born of the Heptastadion, the kilometre-long causeway that linked Pharos to the mainland before silting up. Qaitbey fort sits on the lighthouse foundations, and this is the district of fish joints and Alexandrian ice cream shops.
Sporting - San Stefano
The residential east, served by the Ramleh tram lines that run along the coast on dedicated track. Studios and flats with sea-view balconies, often €20 to €24, ten tram minutes from the centre.
Montazah - Maamoura
The far east end, some fifteen kilometres from the ancient sites: royal gardens, the Royal Jewelry Museum and beaches that turn paid and crowded in summer. This is where the grand hotels cluster, including a five-star in the Montazah gardens at €78.
The hotels we measured
Accommodation picks by price range.
شقق وهوستل قصر الشباب للمصريين و المقيمين فقط Youth Palace Hostel & Apartments for Egyptians & Residents Only
Hostel, decent (7.8/10) from 222 reviews.
Egyptian House Hostel & Apartments For Egyptians & Residents Only شقق و هوستل "البيت المصري" للمصريين و المقيمين فقط
Hostel, rated excellent (9/10).
برج بيلو بيتش
Hotel, standard (6.8/10) from 205 reviews.
Private Room in shared apartment with Sea View Balcony
Hotel, very well rated (8.6/10) from 46 reviews.
الاسكندريه المندره خطوات من الشاطئ ثاني نمره من الشاطيء تري البحر بوضوح من الجانب
Hotel, rated excellent (9.1/10) from 40 reviews.
Hayah Waterfalls Hotels
Hotel, decent (7.1/10) from 466 reviews.
The Grand Plaza Hotel Smouha
Hotel, well rated (8.1/10) from 2,247 reviews.
Plaza Hotel Alexandria
Hotel, decent (7.1/10) from 2,059 reviews.
All observed hotels in Alexandria
24 of 24 surveyed properties shown, the cheapest in each tier. Nightly rate for a 2-night stay arriving 15 October 2026.
| Hotel | Category | Rating | From / night |
|---|---|---|---|
| شقق وهوستل قصر الشباب للمصريين و المقيمين فقط Youth Palace Hostel & Apartments for Egyptians & Residents Only | Budget | ★ 7.8 | €6 |
| A ROOM in mandara | Budget | ★ 9.3 | €6 |
| برج بيلو بيتش | Mid-range | ★ 6.8 | €6 |
| Egyptian House Hostel & Apartments For Egyptians & Residents Only شقق و هوستل "البيت المصري" للمصريين و المقيمين فقط | Budget | ★ 9 | €7 |
| Ithaka Mansheya Hostel Alexandria | Budget | ★ 8.6 | €7 |
| العجمي الهانوڤيل اسكندريه مطروح الرئيسي | Budget | ★ 5.5 | €8 |
| Private Room In Apartment with Sea & Hilton View | Budget | ★ 4.4 | €8 |
| one room | Budget | ★ 0 | €9 |
| Nabi Daniel Residence بيت البنات | Budget | ★ 4 | €9 |
| Hayah Waterfalls Hotels | Luxury | ★ 7.1 | €12 |
| Private Room in shared apartment with Sea View Balcony | Mid-range | ★ 8.6 | €20 |
| الاسكندريه المندره خطوات من الشاطئ ثاني نمره من الشاطيء تري البحر بوضوح من الجانب | Mid-range | ★ 9.1 | €20 |
| grey l studio apartments Corniche Alexandria | Mid-range | ★ 8.6 | €24 |
| Sporting star | Mid-range | ★ 7.3 | €24 |
| Alexander The Great Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 7.6 | €26 |
| Amoun Hotel Alexandria | Mid-range | ★ 7.2 | €28 |
| New Hyde Park House Hotel | Mid-range | ★ 6.9 | €32 |
| The Grand Plaza Hotel Smouha | Luxury | ★ 8.1 | €46 |
| Plaza Hotel Alexandria | Luxury | ★ 7.1 | €49 |
| Sea View Paradise | Luxury | ★ 9 | €50 |
| Downtown Sea View Suites | Luxury | ★ 8.9 | €50 |
| Arabian Nights in the heart of historic Alexandria | Luxury | ★ 8.1 | €56 |
| Ma Maison Cleopatra, PREMIUM | Luxury | ★ 9.6 | €72 |
| Helnan Palace Hotel - Montaza Royal Gardens Alexandria , Adults Only | Luxury | ★ 8.5 | €78 |
What food costs in Alexandria
Concrete benchmarks to set your meal budget, from the morning coffee to dinner.
Two specialities carry the city's name and cost almost nothing. Koshary, the national dish of pasta, rice and lentils in tomato sauce, is served here crowned with kibda Iskandarani, Alexandria-style fried liver with cumin, onion and chilli: the street meal par excellence, comfortably under €5. The other is Alexandrian ice cream, with a stretchy texture locals say exists only here and in Greece; taste it in Bahary near Qaitbey, where the historic parlours cluster, names like Makram, El-Sheikh Wafik, Azza and El Se'eedy. Fish is the other reflex: seafood restaurants line the entire waterfront, and the drill is to pick your piece off the ice then have it grilled. A fish dinner for two stays well under one mid-range hotel night, so below €40. Grilled corn on the cob sold along the Corniche covers snacks for a few dozen cents.
What getting around costs in Alexandria
Transit, distances and the smart moves so you don't pay the tourist tax.
Alexandria runs on the oldest tram network still operating in Africa, opened in 1860. It is slow and creaky but very cheap, and splits in two: the Ramleh lines, in blue and cream, head for the eastern suburbs along the sea, while the bright yellow City Lines serve the west and south. The two meet at Raml Station, dead centre. It is the mode to favour, all the more since the yellow-and-black taxis uniformly refuse the meter: agree the fare before getting in. Careem and Uber operate, but Careem requires an Egyptian phone number. The real spending line is getting here: the train from Cairo, the best access with 30 departures a day and 2 hr 40 min on the non-stop service, is priced in dollars for foreigners, USD 35 in air-conditioned second class and USD 40 in first, plus USD 1 by card. A one-way ticket therefore costs more than four hostel nights on arrival.
What sightseeing costs in Alexandria
Recommended activities and tours.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin, 'Library of Alexandria'; Egyptian Arabic: مكتبة الإسكندريه, romanized: Maktabat al-’Iskandariyya, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [mækˈtæb(e)t eskendeˈɾejjæ]) (BA) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library of Alexandria, once one of the largest libraries worldwide, which was lost in antiquity.
Notable place
Serapeum of Alexandria
The Serapeum of Alexandria was an ancient Greek temple built by Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246 - 222 BC) and dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian syncretic god Serapis, made the protector of Alexandria, Egypt. The site was heavily plundered by Christians in the late 4th century.
Notable place
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
The catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa (Arabic: مقابر كوم الشقافة, romanized: Maqābir Kūm al-Shuqāfah, lit. 'Mound of Shards') are a historical archaeological site located in Alexandria, Egypt, and are considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. The necropolis consists of a series of Alexandrian tombs, statues and archaeological objects of the Pharaonic funerary cult with Hellenistic and early Imperial Roman influences.
Archaeological site
Pharos
The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria, was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (280 - 247 BC). It has been estimated to have been at least 100 metres (330 ft) in overall height.
Archaeological site
Alexandria National Museum
The Alexandria National Museum (ANM) is a museum in Alexandria, Egypt. It was inaugurated the 31 December 2003 by Hosni Mubarak and it is located in a renovated Italian style palace in Tariq Al-Horreya Street (former Rue Fouad).
Notable place
Graeco-Roman Museum
The Graeco-Roman Museum is an archaeological museum located in Alexandria, Egypt. Its collection of over 40,000 objects includes sculptures, mosaics, woodwork, and coins.
Notable place
Caesareum of Alexandria
The Caesareum of Alexandria is an ancient temple in Alexandria, Egypt. It was conceived by Cleopatra VII of the Ptolemaic kingdom, the last pharaoh of ancient Egypt, to honour her first known lover Julius Caesar or Mark Antony.
Archaeological site
Palais d’Antoniadis
The Palais d'Antoniadis is a palace in Alexandria, Egypt, named after Sir John Antoniadis (1818 - 1895), who was an Alexandrian Greek. He was born in Lemnos and received French citizenship when he began to conduct business in Marseille.
Park
Shallalat Gardens
Shallalat Gardens (Arabic: حدائق الشلالات) is the name of the ancient garden located in Alexandria, Egypt. The Shallalat Gardens occupy a large area of the Al Shatby neighborhood.
Park
Greek Orthodox church of St. Saba
church in Alexandria, Egypt
Church
Places referenced on Wikidata. Admission prices vary by season - check each venue's official site.
Paying less in Alexandria
What moves the needle
What each decision takes off the €1099 total, strongest lever first.
- − €623
Travel cheap rather than mid-range
Hostel or entry-level hotel, local canteens, public transport. Accommodation is where the gap opens up.
- − €272
Stay five nights instead of seven
Two fewer nights also removes two days of meals, transport and sightseeing.
- − €140
Travel as a pair
The room is shared, nothing else is. Travellers themselves name this as the strongest lever.
Differences computed from our own measurements, for a 7-night mid-range stay, excluding flights.
6 tips on the ground
- A well-rated hostel downtown goes for €7 a night against €40 for a mid-range room: the spread between tiers is among the widest in the comparator.
- Check before booking that the property accepts non-residents: several of the cheapest addresses are restricted to Egyptians and residents.
- The tram, opened in 1860, costs a fraction of a taxi ride, and the Ramleh lines follow the coast on dedicated track out to the eastern districts.
- Taxis never use the meter: agree the fare before getting in, and hire a car by the day outside the railway station for a grouped run of the sites.
- The Corniche, several kilometres long, is free to walk, whereas the Montazah and Maamoura beaches charge admission in summer.
- A koshary topped with kibda Iskandarani stays well under €5, ten times less than a seafront fish dinner.
FAQ
FAQ - Alexandria
- How much does a week in Alexandria cost?
- For seven nights, plan roughly €329 per person on a budget (a €7 hostel, koshary and market fish, the tram), and around €952 at mid-range comfort with a room near €40 a night, excluding flights and the train ticket from Cairo.
- Is Alexandria an expensive destination?
- No. It is the cheapest Mediterranean city tracked in this comparator, very close to Marrakech and well under the northern-shore capitals. Cairo remains cheaper still, though: a mid-range room there drops to €19, against €40 in Alexandria.
- What's the best month to visit Alexandria?
- May and October. The climate is Mediterranean rather than desert: August tops out at a 31°C high and January at 17.5°C, which keeps the city workable year-round. Rain concentrates from November to January, with 23.9 mm in January, while June to September are almost dry. Summer also draws Egyptian holidaymakers to the beaches, which turn paid and crowded.
- Can Alexandria be done as a day trip from Cairo?
- It is feasible, 2 hr 40 min by non-stop train each way, but the budget maths leans toward staying over: the round trip runs USD 70 for a foreigner in air-conditioned second class, while an Alexandria hostel costs €7 and a decent room €40. Sleeping there costs less than the time lost, especially as the ancient sites and the beaches sit some fifteen kilometres apart.
At a glance
Wikidata, Wikipedia and Open-Meteo data
- Population
- 5.4M
- Area
- 2,523 km²
- Elevation
- -1 m
- Language
- Arabic
- Currency
- £E
- Founded
- -330
- Avg. July temp.
- 26°
- Avg. Jan. temp.
- 14°
- Rainy days / year
- 22
inhabitants
Egyptian Pound
23° - 31°
11° - 18°
About
Alexandria in brief
Alexandria is a major city in Egypt. Lying at the western edge of the Nile River Delta, it extends about 40 km (25 mi) along the country's northern coast. It is Egypt's principal seaport, the second largest city after Cairo, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria is one of the largest and most important cities of antiquity and a leading hub for science, culture, and scholarship.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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