Do United States passport holders need a visa to visit Egypt?

US passport holders need a visa for Egypt. The easiest option is the official online e-Visa (single-entry USD 30), though a visa on arrival is also available at major airports for cash. US ordinary passport holders cannot enter Egypt visa-free for tourism. The recommended route is the official Egypt e-Visa applied for online at visa2egypt.gov.eg before travel. As of the April 2026 fee update, a single-entry tourist e-Visa costs USD 30 and a multiple-entry e-Visa costs USD 65. The single-entry e-Visa is valid for three months from approval and permits a stay of up to 30 days; the multiple-entry version is valid for six months with each stay capped at 30 days. A visa on arrival is also obtainable at major Egyptian airports (e.g., Cairo) for roughly USD 30 in exact cash for single entry, but pre-applying online avoids airport queues and the risk of being turned away. Your passport must be valid for at least six months from arrival and have at least one blank page. A narrow exception applies if you travel only to the South Sinai resort zone (Sharm El Sheikh, Dahab, Nuweiba, Taba): a free 15-day entry permission stamp is issued on arrival, but this does not cover the rest of Egypt, including Cairo and the pyramids at Giza.