There are several taxi variations from Cairo International Airport. Taxis are paid for by a flat fee at the end of the ride and nothing is discussed beforehand. The fee should be around US$5 plus a small airport exit fee. To the city centre is14 miles (22km). Cairo taxis are black and white, Alexandria taxis are black and orange.

Parking is available adjacent to Terminal 1, at a rate of EGP 5 per hour.

Car hire companies at the airport include Avis, Budget, Europcar and Hertz. However, driving in Cairo is best avoided, otherwise visitors can hire a driver with their car for a small additional charge.

There are taxis outside the main arrivals hall; the journey to central Cairo takes around 45 minutes. An Airport Shuttle bus is a convenient way to get from the airport to downtown Cairo and along the Pyramids Road in Giza. Public buses and air-conditioned coaches also leave regularly from Terminal 1.

Tel: +20 (0)2 265 4611.

None.

Facilities include a restaurant and several cafeterias, banks and ATMs, bureau de change, pharmacies, an Internet café in Terminal 1, five-star lounges for business and first class passengers, smoking rooms (Terminal 1), tourist information desks and travel agencies. Duty-free is also available. Facilities for disabled passengers are good, but those with special needs should contact their airline in advance.

Arabic is the official language although English and French are widely spoken, especially in the tourist areas.

The unit of currency is the Egyptian Pound (EGP), which is divided into 100 piastres. Most credit cards are accepted in major hotels and restaurants. Visitors are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars or Pounds to avoid additional exchange rate charges. Banks are usually closed on Friday and Saturday, but private exchange bureaux, called 'Forex', are open daily and banks in major hotels are open 24 hours. Cairo branches of the Egyptian British Bank and Banque Misr now have ATMs available that accept Visa, MasterCard and Cirrus and are quite common in the main tourist areas.

The two terminals are two miles (3km) apart and are linked by a free shuttle, which departs about every half an hour.