Things to do in Luxor: East Bank temples, West Bank tombs and the dawn balloon

The best things to do in Luxor fit into two days and two banks. The East Bank is the modern town with Karnak and Luxor Temple; the West Bank, across the river, holds the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's terraced temple at Deir el-Bahari and Medinet Habu. Add a hot-air balloon at dawn and a felucca (a wooden sailing boat with one triangular sail) at sunset, and you have done what most visitors come for.

What the tour listings rarely say is what the gates cost. Below are the official foreign-visitor prices from the ministry's ticket shop, the hours that matter (two big sites stay open after dark, every West Bank site closes its gates in the afternoon), and which Luxor tours are worth the money.

How Luxor works: two banks, two days

Luxor sits on the Nile about 200 km downstream of Aswan. The living town, the Corniche, the hotels, the cruise-ship quays, Karnak and Luxor Temple are on the East Bank. The West Bank is the necropolis: royal tombs cut into the Theban hills, mortuary temples on the edge of the farmland, and the balloon airfield.

The simple plan that works in every season:

• Day 1, West Bank, early. Gates open at 06:00. Do the Valley of the Kings first, then Hatshepsut, then Medinet Habu or the Ramesseum before the heat builds. Last entry is 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter.
• Day 1, late afternoon. Rest, then a felucca at sunset from the East Bank Corniche.
• Day 2, East Bank. Karnak in the morning (last entry 16:00), the Luxor Museum's evening session, then Luxor Temple lit up after dark.
• Balloon. Fly on your first morning, so a wind cancellation can roll to the next dawn.

If you arrive on a cruise from Aswan, the ship usually covers Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut in its guided programme; the rest of this page is what you add on your own. See Luxor to Aswan cruise for how the sightseeing is split on board.

Karnak Temple: ticket, hours and what is included

Karnak is the one site in Luxor to give a whole morning. The EGP 600 ticket (student EGP 300) now includes the Open-Air Museum inside the precinct, which older guides still list as a separate ticket. Only the Mut precinct to the south costs extra, at EGP 200.

Karnak opens at 06:00 and the last entry is 16:00 all year. Arrive at opening and you get the cool hours before the coach groups from the cruise ships. It is a big site, so do not leave it to a dash before the 16:00 cut-off.

The Karnak sound and light show runs in the evening: USD 20 for adults and USD 11 for children aged 6 to 12, with an English show at 20:00 nightly and a multi-language show at 21:00 (Arabic at 21:00 on Thursday). The operator says dates are subject to change, so check soundandlight.show on the day.

Luxor Temple after dark

Luxor Temple sits in the middle of town on the Corniche. The ticket is EGP 500 (student EGP 250) and the last entry is 19:00, which makes it, with Kom Ombo, one of only two headline temples you can walk through lit up at night without buying a show ticket. Ignore older guides that promise opening until 22:00.

Look for the gap at the entrance pylon: one of its two obelisks has stood in the Place de la Concorde in Paris since 1836. Inside, painted Roman-era reliefs in the former imperial-cult chamber are being restored, and the Abu el-Haggag mosque sits within the temple itself.

Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and the West Bank

The Valley of the Kings general ticket is EGP 750 (student EGP 375). It covers a set number of the tombs open that day, usually quoted as three; the open tombs rotate, so the list at the gate is the one that counts. Three tombs need their own extra ticket:

• Tutankhamun (KV62): EGP 700, student EGP 350.
• Seti I (KV17): EGP 2,000, with no student discount: the single most expensive ticket in Luxor.
• Ramesses VI (KV9): EGP 220, student EGP 110: the cheap add-on.

Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari costs EGP 440 (student EGP 220). Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, the Valley of the Queens and Howard Carter's house each cost EGP 220, and the El-Assasif tombs EGP 200. All of them open at 06:00 with last entry at 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter. The two Colossi of Memnon stand by the road, and most West Bank tours stop there for photos.

The Tombs of the Nobles, the private tombs of officials in the hills between the temples, are quieter than the royal valley. They are sold as nine separate ticket groups on the official shop (Rekhmire and Sennefer, Nakht and Menna, Ramose and others), so choose one or two rather than expecting a single ticket.

Photographing with a mobile phone is free at ministry sites. For other cameras, check at the gate.

What Luxor costs on official prices

Here is the bill for one foreign adult doing Luxor properly, on the ministry's prices:

Students pay half on most tickets, but only with a student card and only if they are 24 or under; Seti I has no student rate. Children under 6 go free.

You can buy timed e-tickets in advance on the ministry's shop, egymonuments.com, with prices in EGP. A multi-day Luxor Pass is also sold at the Karnak and Valley of the Kings ticket offices: check the price there, and remember that with Nefertari closed the Premium version mainly adds Seti I. Carry a card and some cash.

Luxor tours: shared, private or on your own?

Luxor is easy to do alone with a taxi and the fee tables above. A guide earns their money in the Valley of the Kings and at Karnak, where the context is half the visit. The well-reviewed options on GetYourGuide:

Luxor tours worth booking

1

Best value, both banks in a day

A shared full-day tour of the West and East Banks from $30, rated 4.6 by more than 2,200 travellers. Long day, big groups, but nothing else covers this much for the price.

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Luxor: Full-Day Shared Tour to West and East Banks

4.6 (2,229)

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2

West Bank only, half day

The Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut from $23, rated 4.5 over 2,000 reviews. Pair it with Karnak on your own.

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Luxor: Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple Day Tour

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3

Private, with Tutankhamun's tomb in the title

Both banks with a private guide from $80, rated 4.8. Better pace for families and anyone who wants questions answered.

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Luxor: West & East Banks & Tut's Tomb Private Full-Day Tour

4.8 (263)

from $80Check dates

Before you book any of them, open "what's included" and look for entry tickets. Most day-tour prices cover the guide, transport and sometimes lunch; the tickets are often extra, and for the core sites they can cost more than the tour itself. For a Karnak and Luxor Temple tour with lunch, Luxor: Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple Tour with Lunch is from $52.

Hot-air balloon at dawn

The balloon is the one Luxor experience that looks as good as the photos. Flights leave only from the West Bank airfield, at sunrise, and last around 30 to 45 minutes; with pick-up and drive back the outing takes about three hours. Pick-up is roughly 05:00–05:30 in winter and 04:30–05:00 in summer; your listing gives the exact time.

Platform prices start from $70 (Luxor: West Bank Hot Air Balloon Ride with Hotel Pickup, with hotel pick-up, rated 4.7) and the most-reviewed flight, Luxor: Hot Air Balloon Ride over Luxor Relics, is from $88 with 1,869 reviews at 4.8. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority grounds the balloons in wind, which is why you should fly on your first morning. Our Luxor hot-air balloon guide covers safety, prices and the cancellation rules.

Things to do in Luxor at night

In summer, evenings are the only comfortable time to be outside.

• Luxor Temple, last entry 19:00. Lit after dark.
• Luxor Museum, EGP 400. It opens twice a day, and the evening session from 17:00 (last entry 19:00 in summer, 20:00 in winter) is the cool way in. The best answer to a hot afternoon.
• Karnak sound and light, USD 20, English at 20:00.
• Mummification Museum, EGP 220, on the Corniche, with the same split hours as the Luxor Museum.
• A sunset felucca. Sunset moves from about 17:00 in December–January to about 19:40 in June–July, so check the time before you book. Boats leave from the East Bank and the sun drops behind the Theban hills. The top-rated private sail, Luxor: Private Sunset Felucca Sailing on the Nile, is from $29 for the whole boat (4.9, 400 reviews), and its own listing admits it is towed by a motorboat when there is no wind. More in felucca rides in Luxor.

Things to do in Luxor other than temples

After two days of hieroglyphs, a change of pace helps.

• Banana Island by felucca. A classic short sail south of town. Agree any landing fee with the captain before you go; prices are per boat, not per person.
• Howard Carter's house on the West Bank (EGP 220), an easy stop on the way back from the Valley of the Kings.
• The Moulid of Abu el-Haggag, Luxor's own festival, on 14 Sha'ban, about two weeks before Ramadan. For about three days boats are paraded around Luxor Temple, with horse races, Sufi music and tahtib stick fighting.
• Day trips north. Dendera's Temple of Hathor (EGP 300, plus EGP 100 each for the roof and the crypt) is a half day from Luxor; From Luxor: Dendera Temple All-Inclusive Tour & Felucca Ride adds a felucca ride, from $65. Abydos (EGP 260) and its Temple of Seti I is a full day. Our day trips guide has both.
• South along the river. Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo are cruise stops, but a private day by road is possible (From Luxor: Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan Private All-Inclusive Tour, from $193); see Edfu and Kom Ombo.

Never swim or wade in the Nile: bilharzia (schistosomiasis) is present. Hotel pools are fine.

Things to do in Luxor with kids

Luxor works for children if you plan around the heat and the early starts. Under-6s get into every ministry site free. The West Bank in the first hours after 06:00, a pool at midday and a felucca in the evening is a rhythm most families can manage. A felucca, the balloon and the Mummification Museum make good breaks between temples.

For the balloon, pregnant women may not fly; ask the operator about a minimum age before booking. From June to August daytime highs average about 41 °C, so do the sightseeing between 06:00 and 10:00.

Luxor tours from Hurghada and from Cairo

From Hurghada, Luxor is about four hours by road each way, so a day trip means a 14-hour day. It is still the most-reviewed Luxor product on GetYourGuide: Luxor Day Trip from Hurghada Small Group & Tutankhamun Tomb, a small-group tour with Tutankhamun's tomb, from $94.50 with 8,801 reviews at 4.8, and Hurghada: Luxor Tour with Valley of the Kings & Tutankhamun from $93, rated 4.9. Transfers leave early and pass police checkpoints. With more time, a Luxor night or a short cruise is far less tiring; see Nile cruise from Hurghada.

From Cairo, flights take about an hour (EgyptAir, Air Cairo and Nile Air fly the route). The Abela sleeper train is the alternative: train 86 leaves Giza at 20:15 and reaches Luxor at 06:10, in time for a full day (abelatrains.com). A Luxor day with flights and a balloon, From Cairo: Luxor & Hot Air Balloon Private Trip by Plane, is from $540.

From the UK, easyJet (Gatwick) and TUI (Gatwick, Manchester) fly direct to Luxor on seasonal schedules.

When to go

High season runs from October to April. December to February is the coolest and busiest stretch: Luxor averages 23–25 °C by day and only 7–9 °C at night, so pack a fleece for the balloon and the evening felucca. From May to September days average 39–42 °C and sightseeing is done before 10:00, though prices drop. The full month-by-month picture is in when to go.

One summer date stands out: the total solar eclipse of 2 August 2027 passes over Luxor, with more than six minutes of totality nearby (NASA path). Expect hotels, ships and balloon slots around that date to sell out early.

Two rules to know: flying a drone without Ministry of Defence permission is illegal and can bring up to seven years in prison, and you should dress modestly around town and at the mosque inside Luxor Temple.

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Luxor: Full-Day Shared Tour to West and East Banks

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Luxor: Private Sunset Felucca Sailing on the Nile

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Luxor: Valley of the Kings and Queens Guided Tour with Lunch

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Luxor: Private Full-Day Luxor Highlights Tour with Pickup

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Luxor: Deluxe Sunrise Hot Air Balloon

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Luxor: West and East Banks All-Inclusive Tour & Balloon Ride

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