🇪🇬Luxor
Ancient Thebes, split by the Nile: the temples of the living on the east bank, the tombs of the pharaohs on the west. The densest concentration of ancient monuments on earth, in a small town that works hard for your money.
Mid-range figures, per person
Per person, no flights — those are just below. The mid-range figure is researched; budget and luxury scale it, so treat the two as rough. The trip calculator and hotels below break the day down properly.
Fares are into Cairo. Luxor and Aswan have almost no long-haul service: connect through Cairo, or take the roughly one-hour domestic flight or the overnight sleeper train. Ranges are typical fares booked 1–3 months out, checked mid-2026 — school-holiday peaks run higher, and patient shoppers beat the bottom end.
Prices checked · how we work these out
Entry & visa
Most visitors do. US, UK, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and EU passport holders can get an e-visa online before flying — US$30 single entry or $65 multiple entry on the official visa2egypt.gov.eg portal — or buy one on arrival for US$30 in cash at the airport. Luxor airport has a few international flights, but most people arrive through Cairo. Check the rules for your passport before booking.
Visa rules turn on your nationality and change often — always confirm the current requirement for your own passport with an official government source before you book.
Quick facts
Money & what things cost
Luxor's economy is tourism, and it shows. Entry tickets at the temples and tombs are card-only now — Visa or Mastercard at the ticket window — but everything else runs on cash: calèches, ferries, felucca captains, taxis, and the steady stream of small tips. ATMs are plentiful on the East Bank along the corniche and in town, much rarer on the West Bank; draw cash before you cross. Carry small notes; EGP 200 is hard to break. If you plan to see nearly everything, look at the Luxor Pass — about $130 for five days covering most sites, or about $250 including the premium tombs of Seti I and Nefertari — bought in clean dollar or euro notes (cash only) at the office beside the Karnak ticket window or at the Valley of the Kings visitor center; bring your passport, a passport photo and a copy of your passport's photo page.
What locals earn
| Average monthly salary (national) | ≈ EGP 8,000–9,000 ($155–175) | Upper Egypt earns below the national average; much of Luxor lives off tips and seasonal work |
| Minimum wage (private sector) | EGP 7,000/month ($135) |
Food & drink
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Ful, ta'ameya or koshary at a local spot | EGP 30–80 | $0.60–1.50 |
| Casual Egyptian restaurant, per person | EGP 200–400 | $4–8 |
| Rooftop or hotel dinner, per person | EGP 500–1,000 | $10–19 |
| Tea at a street café | EGP 15–30 | $0.30–0.60 |
| Stella beer (hotels and a few licensed restaurants) | EGP 150–250 | $3–5 |
Transport
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Public ferry to the West Bank | EGP 10–20 | $0.20–0.40 |
| Careem or inDrive across town | EGP 50–150 | $1–3 |
| Airport (LXR) → town, taxi (agree first) | EGP 150–300 | $3–6 |
| Taxi with driver for a West Bank day | EGP 800–1,500 | $15–29 |
| Sunrise hot-air balloon flight (with pickup) | $45–120 |
Sights (foreign-visitor prices, card only)
| Item | Local price | ≈ USD |
|---|---|---|
| Valley of the Kings (any three open tombs) | EGP 750 | $14.50 |
| Tomb of Tutankhamun (extra) | EGP 700 | $13.50 |
| Tomb of Seti I (extra) | EGP 2,000 | $39 |
| Karnak Temple | EGP 600 | $11.50 |
| Luxor Temple | EGP 500 | $9.70 |
| Temple of Hatshepsut | EGP 440 | $8.50 |
| Medinet Habu | EGP 220 | $4.30 |
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Where to sleep & what it costs
| Tier | Per night | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hostel or simple guesthouse | $10–20 (EGP 520–1,030) | Mostly on the West Bank, often family-run, with rooftop views of the fields and hills |
| Budget hotel | $20–35 (EGP 1,030–1,800) | East Bank backstreets behind Luxor Temple, or West Bank mud-brick guesthouses |
| Mid-range hotel | $40–90 (EGP 2,100–4,700) | Nile-view hotels on the East Bank corniche, and boutique places on the West Bank |
| Luxury | $180+ (EGP 9,300+) | The 1886 Winter Palace on the corniche is the classic; big resort hotels line the river south of town |
Been recently? Check our prices
One tap per figure. Check-ins reset whenever this guide is re-priced, so they only ever vouch for the numbers you see here.
Trip cost calculator
$117 per person per day · 4 nights of lodging (Mid-range hotel)
A rough estimate from this page’s daily budget and hotel prices — not a quote. Lodging assumes one room for the group; flights use the midpoint of the Getting there ranges above.
Getting around
- From the airport
- Luxor airport (LXR) is about 15–20 minutes east of town. There is no Uber; take a taxi from the rank and agree the price before you get in — roughly EGP 150–300 ($3–6) to the East Bank — or have your hotel send a car, which costs a little more and removes the negotiation.
- Crossing the Nile
- The public ferry runs back and forth between the East Bank corniche near Luxor Temple and the West Bank landing all day for a few pounds — the cheapest and most pleasant crossing. Private motorboats are quicker and will quote a tourist price; agree it first. There is also a road bridge south of town, useful by car.
- West Bank sites
- The Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple, Medinet Habu and the Colossi of Memnon are spread over several kilometers of heat and dust. Hire a taxi with driver for the morning, agreeing the route, the waiting time and the total price in advance, or join a small-group tour. Cycling is possible in winter, and punishing after 10am the rest of the year.
- Careem & inDrive
- Uber doesn't operate in Luxor, but Careem and inDrive do, and they are the easiest way to get around the East Bank without haggling. inDrive lets you propose a fare; check it's close to what Careem would charge.
- Calèches and on foot
- The East Bank corniche between Luxor Temple and Karnak is walkable, about 3 km. Horse-drawn calèches will offer rides constantly; they can be a pleasure, but agree the total fare, the route and the currency first, and check the horse looks healthy.
Map
Drag to look around, or open Google Maps ↗ · Apple Maps ↗
Neighborhoods to stay in
- East Bank (town and corniche)
- Where the restaurants, ATMs, shops and Nile-view hotels are, walkable to Luxor Temple and a short ride to Karnak. Lively, and the most hustle.
- West Bank
- Villages, sugarcane fields and mud-brick guesthouses at the foot of the Theban hills, minutes from the tombs. You're first at the Valley of the Kings, and nights are quiet. Fewer restaurants, few ATMs.
- The corniche resort strip
- Big-name hotels south of the center, with pools and river frontage. Comfortable and insulated, a taxi ride from everything.
Things to do
West Bank
East Bank
Early starts & evenings
Tipping & etiquette
- Cover shoulders and knees in town and in the villages. Luxor is more conservative than Cairo, especially the West Bank.
- Phone photos without flash are allowed in the Valley of the Kings tombs; bigger cameras need a separate permit, and the premium tombs have their own rules. Never touch the painted walls, whoever says it's fine.
- In Upper Egypt, hospitality is taken seriously. If you're invited in for tea, it's usually genuine — but tea in a shop is usually the start of a sale.
- Ramadan hours shrink: sites close earlier, and many local restaurants don't open until sunset.
How to spend a trip to Luxor
Luxor runs on the sun: the West Bank sites open at 6am and should be done by lunch, the middle of the day is for shade, and Luxor Temple is best after dark. The Nile splits the town, so plan one bank per morning.
One day does the essentials — the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Karnak and Luxor Temple — if you start at dawn and rest at midday.
- DawnValley of the Kings at 6am opening, three tombs, Tutankhamun's if it matters to you.
- MorningTemple of Hatshepsut before the heat, and the Colossi of Memnon on the way back to the ferry.
- AfternoonShade and a long lunch, then Karnak Temple from about 3pm until it closes.
- EveningLuxor Temple after dark, then dinner at Sofra.
Three days is this guide's own answer: the West Bank properly, the East Bank properly, and a morning in the air.
- Day 1West Bank: the Valley of the Kings at opening, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon. Afternoon off.
- Day 2East Bank: Karnak Temple at 6am, the Luxor Museum in the heat of the day, Luxor Temple after dark.
- Day 3A sunrise balloon over the West Bank, then Medinet Habu. A felucca at sunset, and a drink on the Winter Palace terrace.
Luxor fills four days for people who love temples; for everyone else, three is right and the extra days are better spent moving up the Nile.
- Days 1–3The three-day plan above: the West Bank, the East Bank, the balloon and Medinet Habu.
- Day 4A second round of tombs — Seti I if the budget allows, or the Luxor Pass if you're seeing everything — and a slow afternoon on the West Bank.
- Day 5Head south to Aswan by Nile cruise (three or four nights, stopping at temples along the way) or by road, or north to Cairo on the overnight sleeper train.
Safety & common scams
Luxor is a safe small town with a heavy tourist-police presence at every site. The UK's travel advice specifically leaves Luxor and the Valley of the Kings out of the areas it warns against, and the US rates Egypt as a whole at Level 2 (exercise increased caution); check both before you travel, as the wider region can change quickly. The real problems are heat exhaustion, dehydration on the West Bank, and the most persistent touting in Egypt. Carry water, wear a hat, and plan to be indoors from noon to 3pm in summer.
Scams to know
- The calèche price switch — a horse-cart driver quotes EGP 20 'for the ride', then at the end says it was per person, per hour, or in dollars or euros. Agree the total, the route and the currency before you climb up, and say it back to him.
- Tomb guards' 'special access' — inside the Valley of the Kings and at the temples, a guard beckons you behind a rope to see a 'closed' chamber or offers to take your photo, then asks for baksheesh. It can be worth it; decide before, not after, and never touch paintwork on anyone's invitation.
- The alabaster factory stop — drivers on the West Bank add a 'quick look' at an alabaster workshop on the way to the tombs. It's a commission stop with a hard sell. Say at the start that you want no shopping stops.
- The per-person felucca — a captain agrees a price for a sunset sail, and at the dock it becomes per person. Confirm 'for the whole boat' and the duration before stepping aboard.
- 'My brother works at your hotel' — a friendly stranger knows your hotel, or claims to work there, and suggests a restaurant, a spice shop or a boat. It's a commission chain. Staff don't recruit on the street; smile and keep walking.
- Unlicensed balloon sellers — street touts sell cheap balloon tickets for operators with poor safety records or overcrowded baskets. Book through your hotel or directly with an established, licensed company, and don't pick on price alone.
Emergency numbers: 126 tourist police (posts at the main sites) · 122 police · 123 ambulance · 180 fire · 112 unified emergency line
Phone & internet
Coverage is good on both banks and at the West Bank sites. If you already bought a SIM in Cairo, it works here; otherwise Vodafone and Orange have shops in town — bring your passport, and expect about EGP 500–600 ($10–12) for a tourist package of around 30 GB. Foreign tourists are exempt from Egypt's imported-phone charge for 90 days per visit, and an eSIM avoids local registration entirely.
First-timer FAQs
How many days do I need?
Three: one for the West Bank (the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon), one for the East Bank (Karnak, the Luxor Museum, Luxor Temple at night), and one for a sunrise balloon, Medinet Habu and a felucca. Temple lovers can use a fourth.
Is the Tutankhamun tomb worth the extra ticket?
It's small and simply decorated compared with others in the valley — the treasures are in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo — but his mummy is still here, and many people find that worth EGP 700 ($13.50). If you only pay for one extra, Seti I is the more spectacular tomb, at almost three times the price.
Should I stay on the East Bank or the West Bank?
West Bank for quiet nights, early tomb starts and guesthouses with a view; East Bank for restaurants, ATMs, walking to Luxor Temple, and the Nile corniche. First-timers usually do better on the East Bank.
Nile cruise or not?
A three- or four-night cruise between Luxor and Aswan is the classic way south, stopping at Edfu and Kom Ombo, with temple entries and a guide often included. Standard five-star boats run roughly $350–600 per person; deluxe boats $650–1,900; traditional dahabiya sailboats roughly $1,000–3,000. It's slower and more social than the road, and a long day of temples starting at dawn is part of the deal.
Is the sleeper train from Cairo any good?
It's practical rather than romantic: about ten hours overnight, simple two-berth cabins, and dinner and breakfast included. A cabin costs about $90 per person sharing, or $130 alone, one way. Book ahead in winter. Flights from Cairo take about an hour.
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