Felucca ride in Luxor: sunset sails, prices and where to board

A felucca is the traditional wooden Nile sailing boat: one tall lateen sail, no engine, a low open deck and a captain at the tiller. A felucca ride in Luxor is the cheapest good hour of a trip to Egypt, and the one most people want at sunset. Boats leave from the East Bank, where the town and Luxor Temple are, and the sun sets behind the Theban hills on the West Bank, over the Valley of the Kings. You sit facing the right way without trying.

The catch is the clock. Sunset in Luxor runs from about 17:00 in December to about 19:40 in June and July, and the clocks change on the last Friday of April and the last Thursday of October. A "sunset felucca at 17:00" is right in winter, but in summer it starts well over an hour too early.

Felucca ride Luxor price: booked or on the Corniche

Feluccas are hired per boat, not per seat. On the Corniche you agree a price with the captain for the whole boat and a set time on the water, and bargaining is expected; there is no official fare table, so agree the price per boat and the duration before you board, and pay in cash. Booked online, a private sail costs from $25 to $31 per person and includes a fixed pick-up time, often hotel transfers and tea on board.

Book for a first evening or with children; walk up once you know the town and want a longer sail on your own terms.

The best sunset felucca rides in Luxor

Three listings carry real review numbers, and they are close in price. The difference is mostly what happens when the wind drops and whether a car collects you.

Luxor felucca rides worth booking

1

Best overall

Private, two hours, tea at sunset, 4.9 from 400 reviews. Its own description says the boat is towed by a motorboat when the wind is calm, which is honest and common.

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuide2 hLuxor

Luxor: Private Sunset Felucca Sailing on the Nile

4.9 (400)

from $29Check dates

2

Hotel pick-up included

A two-hour sunset sail with hibiscus tea and collection from your hotel; 4.6 from 272 reviews, from $31.

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuide2 hLuxor

Luxor: Sunset Felucca Boat Trip with Hotel Pickup

4.6 (272)

from $31Check dates

3

Cheapest private boat

From $25 with air-conditioned transfers; 4.4 from 65 reviews, so a thinner track record.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuide2 hLuxor

Luxor: Private Felucca Ride with Panoramic Nile Views

4.4 (65)

from $25Check dates

Headout also sells a Luxor sunset felucca with private transfers from $25, with no reviews yet. Check the cancellation box on that listing before paying.

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuide2 hLuxor

Luxor: Private Sunset Felucca Sailing on the Nile

4.9 (400)

from $29Check dates

◑ Sunset

Headout3 hLuxor

Luxor Sunset Felucca Ride on the Nile with Private Hotel Transfers

No reviews yet

from $25Check dates

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

Hot-air Balloon Visit Kings Valley Tombs Hatshpsuit Boatride

5.0 (11)

from $245Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

Luxor: Hatshepsut, Valley of Kings and Felucca Ride, Guided

5.0 (9)

from $98Check dates

◑ Sunset

GetYourGuideHalf dayLuxor

Sunset Felucca Ride, Sound & Light Show at Karnak Temple

4.4 (4)

from $65Check dates

☾ Evening

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: Romantic Nile Felucca Dinner Experience.

5.0 (1)

from $86Check dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Headout →See everything on Tiqets →Prices checked on 19 October 2026

When there's no wind: the towing question

A felucca has no engine. On a still evening there may not be enough wind to make way against the current, and the boat is then pulled by a small motorboat for part of the trip. The best-rated private sail in Luxor says so in its own description; most other listings don't mention it at all.

Rain is almost never the issue in Luxor (about 8 mm a year). Wind and heat decide how a sail feels: hot from May to September, and a sharp temperature drop after dark in winter, when Luxor's night lows fall to about 7–9 °C. Take a layer for the return.

Sunset felucca ride in Luxor: what time to go

Book or board 60–90 minutes before sunset so you are out on the water, not still at the quay, when the light turns. The table shows sunrise and sunset in Luxor month by month.

A winter evening, as an example:

In June and July the same sail starts around 18:00 and finishes after dark, which means it ends after Luxor Temple stops admitting visitors. In summer, do the temple first or swap it for the Karnak sound and light show (English at 20:00, USD 20; details on the official show site). GetYourGuide sells a sunset felucca with the Karnak show as one five-hour evening from $65, rated 4.4 from only 4 reviews.

Luxor Temple after dark and other things to pair with a sail

Luxor Temple is the obvious match: it sits on the East Bank Corniche, and it is one of the few headline temples you can visit after dark (last entry 19:00, EGP 500; official ticket page). In winter a 15:30 sail and an 18:00 temple visit fit neatly into one evening. Our Luxor guide covers the rest of the East and West Bank.

Several day tours add a short felucca to the sightseeing, which saves a separate pick-up:

• Private East and West Banks tour with a felucca: eight hours, from $68, 4.7 from 238 reviews. Good value if you want a guide for the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut anyway.
• Dendera temple with a felucca ride: five hours from Luxor, from $65, 4.4 from 285 reviews. More on the half-day to Dendera in day trips from Luxor and Aswan.
• A romantic felucca dinner: three hours, from $86, but only one review so far.

Entry tickets are usually on top of a tour price; check "includes" on the listing.

Banana Island by felucca

Many captains offer a longer sail south of town to Banana Island. There is no published landing fee, so treat it as a negotiation: agree the total price, the time on the island and whether any fee there is included, before you leave the bank. Allow longer than a plain sunset sail and expect a tow on a calm day.

Felucca ride from Luxor to Aswan: does it exist?

Not as a felucca. Aswan is about 200 km upstream, against the current, and no platform sells a Luxor-to-Aswan felucca trip. A GetYourGuide listing called "5 Days Sailing Tour from Luxor to Aswan" is a 5-star cruise ship package, not a sailing boat, and is rated 3.2 from two reviews.

There are two real ways to travel the river under sail:

• A dahabiya, a larger two-masted sailing houseboat with cabins: the classic route is five nights from Esna, south of Luxor, to Aswan. See dahabiya cruises.
• A few new multi-night felucca trips start in Aswan and sail north for one to three nights before a road transfer to Luxor. They have one review or none; the Aswan felucca guide explains what they are.

For the normal Luxor-to-Aswan trip on a cruise ship, see the Luxor to Aswan cruise.

Safety on a Luxor felucca

Feluccas are small open boats, and there is no published life-jacket rule for Luxor's tourist feluccas. The UK Foreign Office notes that overcrowding and poor safety standards have caused accidents on Nile cruises (FCDO safety advice). Practical rules:

• Ask for life jackets, and don't board a boat that is clearly overloaded.
• Don't swim, wade or dangle your feet in the Nile: schistosomiasis (bilharzia) is a risk in fresh water (TravelHealthPro). Hotel pools and the Red Sea are fine.
• Carry cash for the tip and small notes; captains don't take cards.
• Sun protection matters even at 17:00: the deck has little shade.

Felucca in Luxor: FAQ

More boat trips: felucca rides compared, Cairo's Nile feluccas, and the dawn alternative, the Luxor hot-air balloon.