Egypt on a German Licence — From the Autobahn to 100 km/h and Total Chaos

No driver feels the gap between home and Egypt quite like a German one. You leave behind orderly lanes, signalled merges and stretches of derestricted Autobahn, and arrive somewhere the rules of the road are written in body language and the horn.

Recalibrate your expectations of order. Egyptian traffic is rated Very Challenging, and from a German standpoint that means almost no lane discipline: in Cairo and Alexandria vehicles fill every gap, indicators are rarely used, and right of way is settled by nerve. The instinct to drive precisely and wait your turn does not translate — you have to hold a steady, predictable line and merge assertively, while reading other drivers well in advance. Take the first day on calmer roads, ideally a Red Sea resort, before testing yourself in the capital. And the open road is slow by your standard: the highway ceiling is 100 km/h, not a derestricted stretch in sight.

Your EU licence still needs an IDP. This surprises Germans, because the licence works across Europe without thought. Egypt requires an International Driving Permit alongside it — arrange it before you leave, as it cannot be issued in Egypt. Together they cover stays of up to 3 months.

Alcohol is zero. Egypt sets 0.0 BAC, not Germany’s 0.05, with no margin and harsh penalties. If you drive, you do not drink.

The real hazards are not the speed limits — 60 km/h urban, 90 rural — but pedestrians, animals and unlit vehicles after dark. Minor speeding draws around EGP 300-500. One pleasant surprise: fuel is roughly $0.35/litre, a fraction of German prices, so the long desert drives cost almost nothing to run. Emergency services answer on 122. Read the full rules on our Egypt driving guide, and verify the permit requirement with the Driving Permit Checker before you commit to self-driving the cities.