The first time a friend from Lisbon asked me what Alexandria would cost her, I quoted a number and she laughed, because she assumed I’d forgotten a zero. I hadn’t. I’m Egyptian, I grew up counting pounds carefully, and I’ve done Alexandria on a budget more times than I can count (sometimes by choice, often not). So here’s the honest version. Three full days in this city, with Roman ruins, a fortress on the sea, grilled fish by the harbor and a bed every night, can come in just under fifty dollars. The trick is knowing where the money actually goes, and where it quietly leaks out of your pocket. What follows is the exact plan I’d hand a friend, day by day, with prices I checked against official sources this October.

Before You Start: The Numbers This Plan Runs On

Everything here assumes one dollar buys about 52 Egyptian pounds, which is roughly where Egyptian banks were quoting it at the start of October 2026. That number moves (it swung between about 47 and 55 this year alone), so check it the week you fly. A weaker pound means your dollars stretch further, which is the whole reason this trip works at all.

I’m also writing for a solo traveler sleeping in a hostel dorm. Share a private room with a friend and the math gets kinder. If you want the longer version, I’ve broken down what a day in Alexandria really costs, including what changes when you upgrade.

Coming in from Cairo? That leg can be cheap too, and I’ve written about how to actually get here from Cairo without overpaying for the privilege.

Day 1 of Your 3-Day Alexandria Itinerary: Sea Air and the Library

Start on the Corniche. The seafront road curves along the Mediterranean for kilometers, and early in the morning, before the traffic properly wakes up, it belongs to fishermen and old men doing slow laps. You don’t need a plan here. Walk for a while and let the city introduce itself. If those first hours make you nervous, I wrote a whole piece on surviving your first day in Alexandria.

Breakfast for less than a dollar

Foul and taameya from a street cart near Raml Station is the real Egyptian breakfast. Foul is fava beans mashed with garlic and lemon, and taameya is our falafel, made from fava beans instead of chickpeas (Alexandrians will defend this choice forever). A plate with bread usually costs 25 to 40 EGP. Staying at Ithaka? Breakfast comes with your bed and always includes foul and falafel, so you leave the hostel full before spending a single pound.

The tram is gone for now, so take a microbus

This part changed in 2026, and a lot of older guides haven’t caught up. The Raml tram, the blue line that had rattled through the city since the 1860s, began shutting down in stages in February and has since stopped completely while it’s rebuilt as a light rail line. Locals are still a bit sad about it. Me included.

Microbuses fill the gap. They run constantly along the main roads, a ride costs around 7 to 10 EGP, and if you say “Shatby” or “Maktaba” to the driver’s assistant, someone will wave you on or off at the right spot. Keep small notes ready, because nobody on a microbus wants to break a 200.

Inside the Bibliotheca Alexandrina

The library sits close to where the ancient Library of Alexandria is believed to have stood, and the building alone is worth the trip, that huge tilted granite disc leaning toward the sea. Foreign adults pay 150 EGP for the main library ticket (about $3), which includes guided tours and the permanent exhibitions. The inclusive ticket adds the Antiquities and Manuscripts museums for 300 EGP. Students pay far less, so bring your card. Give it ninety minutes at least, and my Bibliotheca Alexandrina visitor guide tells you which halls to prioritize.

Lunch is koshary or a shawarma wrap, both easy to find for 40 to 60 EGP. Then walk the Corniche toward Qaitbay as the light turns gold and watch the sunset from the seawall. That part’s free.

Day 1 rough spend (not counting your bed): around 300 EGP, about $6.

Day 2: Qaitbay Citadel and Lunch in Anfushi

Qaitbay Citadel stands on the spot where the Lighthouse of Alexandria once rose, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Mamluk sultan Qaitbay built the fortress between 1477 and 1479 over the lighthouse ruins, and once you’re up on the outer walls with the harbor on one side and open sea on the other, you understand exactly why he chose it.

Here’s where I have to correct something. You’ll read online that entry costs under 100 EGP. It doesn’t anymore. The official price for foreign adults is now 200 EGP (about $4), and students pay half. Still cheap, just not as cheap as the old blogs promise. It’s open daily from 9 am to 8 pm, so you can go in the late afternoon and stay for the light.

Getting there from downtown is a short microbus ride or a cheap ride hailing trip. Ask your hostel what the fare should be before you get into anything.

Fish by the kilo in Anfushi

Behind the citadel is Anfushi, the old fishing quarter, and this is where Alexandria stops performing for visitors. Boats sit pulled up on the sand. In the small cafes, the same men seem to have been playing dominoes for forty years. At the harborside grills you pick your fish, it gets weighed, and a modest lunch with bread and salad runs somewhere between 80 and 150 EGP depending on the catch. (Ask the price per kilo before they clean it. I learned that one the expensive way.)

Spend the afternoon at Stanley Bridge, which costs nothing and looks its best around golden hour, then sit on the little beach below it until you feel like moving again.

Day 2 rough spend: around 450 to 500 EGP, roughly $9 to $10.

Day 3: Roman Alexandria and the Antique Streets of Attarine

Kom El Dikka sits right in the middle of downtown, and most travelers walk straight past it. It holds the only Roman theater ever found in Egypt, with tiered marble seats, and around it you’ll find Roman baths and the Villa of the Birds, a house whose floor mosaics are still surprisingly vivid. Foreign adults pay 200 EGP (students 100), and it’s open from 9 am to 5 pm. Go early, before the sun turns that marble into a frying pan.

From there, wander into Attarine, the old antique and furniture district. You don’t have to buy a thing. Men repair wooden chairs on the pavement and brass lamps hang in doorways, and if you do want a souvenir, you’ll bargain better here than anywhere near the Corniche.

Lunch at Mohamed Ahmed, a long running local institution for foul and falafel, where a full meal usually costs 50 to 100 EGP. After that the afternoon is yours. I usually end up with ice cream near Saad Zaghloul Square, which is under 50 EGP and, in my opinion, nonnegotiable. If you somehow still have energy, my list of the must-see sights in Alexandria has a few more to save for next time.

Day 3 rough spend: around 400 EGP, about $8.

Where Your $50 Actually Goes

Your bed decides whether this trip lands under fifty or drifts over it. A dorm bed in Alexandria usually runs 300 to 600 EGP a night, and everything else in this plan is small change next to that. Still weighing a dorm against a cheap hotel room? I compared hostels and hotels honestly in another post.

Here’s the full math at 52 EGP to the dollar, with a bed around 400 EGP a night:

Find a bed at 300 a night and you’ve got money for a second fish lunch. Pay 600 and you’ll land closer to $60, which is still a very cheap three days on the Mediterranean, just not the headline number.

Practical Tips for Doing Alexandria on a Budget

• Carry cash, in small notes. Cards work at bigger hotels and a handful of restaurants. Almost nowhere you’ll eat on this budget takes them.
• Use a ride hailing app after dark instead of flagging a taxi, mostly because the meters on street taxis have a funny habit of never being switched on. For the bigger picture on evenings out alone, here’s my honest take on safety for solo travelers in this city.
• Bring your student card if you have one. It halves the price at Qaitbay and Kom El Dikka.
• Ask the price first. At fish grills, juice stands and anywhere without a printed menu.
• Friday mornings are quiet since it’s the start of the Egyptian weekend. Lovely for walking, but double check opening hours before you plan a museum around it.
• Look for free stuff. Ithaka runs free city walks and community events, and you’ll find what’s on this week on The Vibe page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a 3-day trip to Alexandria cost on a budget? Roughly $45 to $50 for a solo traveler at about 52 EGP to the dollar. That covers a dorm bed for three nights, local food, microbuses, and entry to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Qaitbay Citadel and Kom El Dikka. Your bed is the biggest variable: at 300 EGP a night you’ll come in under $45, while at 600 you’ll be closer to $60.

What does the Bibliotheca Alexandrina ticket cost for foreigners? Foreign adults pay 150 EGP for the main library ticket, which includes guided tours, the Sadat Museum and the permanent exhibitions. The inclusive ticket, which adds the Antiquities and Manuscripts museums, costs 300 EGP. Students pay 20 EGP and 120 EGP respectively with a valid ID.

Is the Alexandria tram still running in 2026? The famous Raml tram isn’t. It began a phased shutdown in February 2026 and has stopped while it’s rebuilt as a light rail line, a project expected to take around two years. Microbuses now cover the same coastal route for about 7 to 10 EGP a ride.

Which is the cheapest way to get around Alexandria? Microbuses, without question. They cost around 7 to 10 EGP per ride and run constantly along the Corniche and main roads. Ride hailing apps cost more but are easier at night or when you’re carrying luggage.

Should I carry cash in Alexandria? Yes. Street food, microbuses, fish grills and most small restaurants are cash only, and small notes make everything smoother. Withdraw Egyptian pounds from an ATM when you arrive rather than relying on your card.

One Last Thing

Alexandria doesn’t ask much of your wallet. What it wants is your time, and a willingness to eat where the fishermen eat. Three days is enough to fall for the city a little, though probably not enough to stop you planning the next visit somewhere around day two.

If you want a base that keeps the budget honest, Ithaka has two hostels in Alexandria, both in the downtown streets this itinerary keeps returning to. Breakfast is included, the beds won’t wreck your $50, and the people at the desk will tell you the real microbus fare. Book now at Raml Hostel or Mansheya Hostel.

So tell me: if you had an extra ten dollars in Alexandria, what would you spend it on? Leave it in the comments. I’m genuinely curious.