Egypt on an Irish Licence — IDP Required, a Side Switch & Zero Alcohol

Be honest with yourself before you book a hire car in Egypt: this is one of the more difficult places an Irish driver can take the wheel. Two things land at once. You move from driving on the left, as you do at home, to the right, and you do it inside some of the busiest, most improvised traffic in the region. Cairo in particular runs on the horn — lane markings are treated as suggestions, and gaps close the moment you hesitate.

The paperwork is non-negotiable. An International Driving Permit is required by law alongside your Irish licence and passport, not merely recommended. Get it from a post office or the AA before you fly; you cannot obtain one in Egypt, and rental companies will not release a car without it.

The side switch is the mechanical adjustment. Junctions, overtaking and the simple act of pulling out all reverse, and the danger window is your first day. If you can, take delivery of the car outside the city and let yourself get used to sitting on the left of the vehicle on calmer roads before you go anywhere near downtown traffic.

Alcohol is where Egypt is stricter than Ireland by a wide margin. The limit is a flat 0.0 — there is no equivalent of the Irish 0.05 allowance. If you are driving, you do not drink, full stop. Speeds are moderate on paper (60 in towns, 90 rural, 100 on the desert motorways), and a typical speeding penalty is a modest EGP 300-500, often settled on the spot, so carry small cash. You can sanity-check a fine with the Speeding Fine Calculator, and if you are wondering how a roadside fine abroad is actually handled, this guide on who pays driving fines abroad covers it.

Fuel is famously cheap, around €0.35 a litre, which makes the long desert hauls between Luxor, Aswan and the coast affordable — but check that your insurance covers driving and breakdown, because help is thin once you leave the cities. The full local rules are on our Egypt driving guide. The emergency number is 122 for police.