Hot-air balloon in Luxor: prices, pick-up times, safety and cancellations

A hot air balloon in Luxor is the one early alarm of an Egypt trip that nobody regrets. You are collected in the dark, cross to the West Bank airfield, and lift off as the sun comes up over the Nile, with the temples, the green strip of farmland and the desert hills below. Most flights last 30 to 45 minutes and you are back at your hotel or ship for a late breakfast.

This page covers what a Luxor balloon ride costs on GetYourGuide, Headout and directly, what time you will be picked up in each season, how cancellations work, the honest safety record, and what to do if your trip starts in Aswan.

Hot air balloon Luxor price: platforms vs booking direct

The cheapest standard flights on the platforms start from $63 (Headout, with hotel transfers), and the best-reviewed sit around $88–115. Booking direct with a licensed operator costs about the same in euros: Sindbad Balloons lists its sunrise flights at €100 (Standard), €120 (Deluxe) and €150 (Comfort), with private baskets on request (sindbadballoons.com).

What changes with the price is mostly the size of the basket and the time in the air. Sindbad's Standard basket takes up to 28 guests for 30–40 minutes; Comfort caps it at 20 guests for 30–45 minutes; Deluxe flies 30–60 minutes. Platform "deluxe" and "small balloon" listings follow the same logic. Baskets in Luxor range from two passengers to 32.

Luxor balloon flights worth booking

1

Most reviewed

The standard sunrise flight over the West Bank, from $88, rated 4.8 by 1,869 travellers. The safe default.

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: Hot Air Balloon Ride over Luxor Relics

4.8 (1,869)

from $88Check dates

2

Cheapest on GetYourGuide

From $70 with hotel pick-up, rated 4.7 by 337 travellers. Good value if you don't mind a bigger basket.

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: West Bank Hot Air Balloon Ride with Hotel Pickup

4.7 (337)

from $70Check dates

3

Higher rated, a little dearer

Dawn flight advertised over the Valley of the Kings, from $115, rated 4.8.

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: Dawn Hot-Air Ballooning over the Valley of the Kings

4.8 (257)

from $115Check dates

The platforms do not say which balloon company flies each listing, and neither can we. If the operator's name matters to you, ask the seller before you pay.

The same kind of sunrise flight costs different amounts on each platform. Today Headout's flight with round-trip hotel transfers is the cheapest of the three below; the operator, basket size and pick-up can differ, so compare the "includes" list.

Combos. A balloon plus a guided day on both banks costs from $160 (balloon with a full-day sights tour, rated 4.7) or $175 (balloon with an all-inclusive tour of both banks). Booked separately, the most-reviewed flight ($88) plus the shared full-day tour of both banks ($30) comes to $118. The combos may include private guiding, lunch or tickets, so compare the "includes" list before deciding. Headout sells three newer combos, from $115 to $141, with no reviews yet.

Luxor balloon ride time: pick-up and sunrise by month

Balloons launch around sunrise, and pick-up is usually 1 to 1.5 hours earlier. In Luxor that means roughly 05:00–05:30 in winter and 04:30–05:00 in summer. The earliest starts fall in March and April, before Egypt moves its clocks forward on the last Friday of April, and again in early October. Your listing gives the exact time; the table below shows how far sunrise moves through the year.

Pack a warm layer: Luxor's average January low is only 7 °C, and that is the hour you will be standing outside.

Where the balloons take off and what you see

Every Luxor flight takes off from the dedicated balloon airfield on the West Bank, opposite the town. Listings advertise views of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple, but the balloon goes where the wind takes it, so no seller can promise a particular temple directly below you. Expect the West Bank fields and temples, the river and the town across it.

If you are planning the rest of your stay, our guide to things to do in Luxor has the West Bank ticket prices and hours. Flying on the same morning as a West Bank tour works well: you are already on the right side of the river and the sites open at 06:00.

Is the Luxor balloon ride safe? Accidents and the rules since

The record is mixed, and you should know it before you book.

• 26 February 2013: a balloon caught fire and 19 of the 21 people on board died. Afterwards the number of balloons in the air at once was capped and flights moved to a dedicated balloon-only airfield.
• 2016: an incident injured 22 Chinese tourists; flights were grounded for three days.
• 5 January 2018: a balloon crashed in strong wind, killing one South African tourist and injuring 15. Twenty-two balloons had flown that morning (Egypt Independent).
• June 2019: after a drift incident, flights were suspended for 80 days and GPS tracking of every flight became compulsory. They resumed on 10 September 2019.
• July 2022: a drift incident left two passengers lightly hurt; rides stopped for two days and the two operators involved were suspended.

No fatal accident has been reported in recent seasons. The UK Foreign Office notes that some UK tour operators no longer sell balloon flights because they could not verify safety standards (FCDO safety advice).

Hot air balloon Luxor cancelled: what happens

The decision is not the operator's. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority cancels flights when the wind is too strong. In May 2026, for example, flights were halted for four days and resumed on 7 May. Wind, not rain, is the risk in Luxor: the town gets only about 8 mm of rain a year.

What happens next depends on where you booked:

• Direct with Sindbad: weather or authority cancellations are rescheduled free or refunded minus bank fees. If you cancel, more than 48 hours ahead gets a full refund minus a 3 % bank fee, and less than 24 hours ahead is non-refundable.
• GetYourGuide: most bookings can be cancelled free up to 24 hours ahead; check the listing for your flight.
• Headout: check the cancellation box on the listing before paying.

Hot air balloon Luxor age limit and who should not fly

Pregnant women may not fly, according to Sindbad's own rules. For children, minimum ages differ by company and are not printed on most listings, so ask the seller before booking. Anyone with mobility problems should ask how passengers climb in and out of the basket.

Dress in layers, closed shoes and a hat; you will be standing for the whole flight. Phones and cameras are fine, but hold on to them over the side. Drones are a different matter: flying one in Egypt without Ministry of Defence permission is illegal.

Can hot air balloons fly in hot weather?

Yes, because they fly at dawn, the coolest hour of the day. Summer pick-ups simply move earlier, to about 04:30–05:00. Sindbad still names October to April as the best season, when the mornings are cool. From June to August, Luxor's average daytime high is above 41 °C, so plan the rest of the day around a long rest. Our when to go page has the month-by-month picture.

Aswan hot air balloon: why there isn't one

There are no hot-air balloon flights in Aswan. Listings with "Aswan" and "balloon" in the title are Nile cruises that start in Aswan and fly the balloon when the ship reaches Luxor. That is a perfectly good way to do it: book an Aswan to Luxor cruise that includes the flight.

The most-reviewed 3-night option is a 4-day cruise (3 nights) from Aswan with Abu Simbel and the balloon, from $580 and rated 4.5 by 555 travellers. It runs on "a 5-star ship or similar", so ask the seller for the ship's name before you pay. Headout sells a similar package for $700 with no reviews yet, which makes GetYourGuide the cheaper option today. Ship, cabin, inclusions and dates can differ.

The 3-day version with a balloon has the most reviews of any Aswan cruise, but it is a 2-night trip from $1,000, which is poor value next to the 3-night package. See our 4-day cruise guide for the comparison. If you are based in Aswan without a cruise, the realistic options are the train or a private transfer to Luxor the day before; our things to do in Aswan covers the town itself.

Luxor balloon ride from Hurghada or Cairo

From Hurghada, Luxor is about four hours by road, so a balloon day trip means leaving in the middle of the night: a small-group Luxor day tour with the sunrise balloon is from $210 and rated 4.6, with an 18-hour day on the listing. The 2-day option with a night in a Luxor hotel (from $270, 4.5 from 1,215 reviews) is far kinder. More in Nile cruise from Hurghada.

From Cairo, a private trip by plane flies you to Luxor for the balloon and the sights in one long day, from $540. Flights take about an hour, and EgyptAir, Air Cairo and Nile Air serve the route.

Is the Luxor balloon ride worth it?

For a first visit, yes. For $63–115 you see the West Bank, the river and the desert edge in one view, which no temple visit can give you. It is less worth it if you have only one morning in Luxor (a cancellation leaves no second chance), if you hate early starts, or if a cheap big-basket flight with 28 people would spoil it for you; in that case, pay for a smaller basket. Prefer to stay at river level? A private sunset felucca in Luxor costs from $25 booked online.

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: Hot Air Balloon Ride over Luxor Relics

4.8 (1,869)

from $88Check dates

☀ Sunrise

Headout1 hLuxor

Luxor Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Flight with Round-Trip Transfers

4.5 (123)

from $90Check dates

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: Dawn Hot-Air Ballooning over the Valley of the Kings

4.8 (257)

from $115Check dates

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuide3 hLuxor

Luxor: 360° Hot-Air Balloon Ride Over Temple of Hatshepsut

4.8 (186)

from $112Check dates

☀ Sunrise

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

Hurghada: Luxor Highlights All-Inclusive Tour & Balloon Ride

4.5 (247)

from $345Check dates

☀ Sunrise

Headout3 hLuxor

Sunrise Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor with Round-Trip Hotel Transfers

4.3 (116)

from $68Check dates

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

Questions about the hot air balloon in Luxor

SightsThings to do in Luxorfrom $23 Under sailFelucca in Luxorfrom $25 CruisesAswan to Luxor cruisefrom $450 SightsThings to do on the Nilefrom $30