I saw an article online that said all cash, traveler's cheques and gold over E£ 500 should be declared upon arrival in Egypt.

Does that seem like a fairly low amount to have to declare to you?

I have come across some outdated information from time to time.

I haven't personally read that article, but I'm sure you have to declare a certain amount. One place I was checking out said that you had to declare ANY foreign currency when entering Egypt.

I thought that I had read on here somewhere that that wasn't the case any more. But I could be wrong. I will see if it was on here that I seen this.

Alot of countries say they require it but rarely actually bother looking. Mostly they are looking for people bringing in huge amounts of cash for reasons other than tourism so the average person doesn't have to be too concerned. I don't declare anywhere because I don't want a record of what I'm carrying around. Funny the people who end up with that info lol.

Thanks for explaining that. I don't get out of the country that much at all but I know I have never done it myself.

Does anyone know if there is a penalty or something for failing to declare your foreign currency? If there is, I'm thinking it would probably be best to NOT carry cash but traveller's checks until you get into a country, then stop in a bank and exchange it for local currency.

With the worldwide availability of ATM machines, I no longer use traveler's checks. They can sometimes be a problem especially if you use them to pay for hotel bills. Say you're checking out and on your way to an airport ...you end up with more currency because of the change you get and have to exchange it where the rates aren' too good. Also, in places in Asia, it got hard to change them anywhere but a bank which is a pain to find one open sometimes. With an ATM card you don't have to worry and you get a better exchange rate.