Things to do in Luxor
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Luxor
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Peak winter: 20 to 26C days, cold dawns, every site open and best balloon weather, with peak crowds and prices.
Spring sweet spot: 26 to 34C, crowds thinning, balloon season still prime and prices easing.
Heat builds fast; midday West Bank sightseeing becomes a dawn only proposition.
Summer at 40 to 46C: near empty sites and deep hotel discounts, only for the heat proof with dawn discipline.
Early autumn is still hot, mid 30s and up, but softening.
Best all round shoulder: October and November, with November the sweet spot for first timers on weather, price and crowds.
What's on
- Luxor African Film Festival Moves between February and April; check dates
Screenings and an opening ceremony around Luxor Temple with filmmakers from across Africa.
- Luxor Marathon January / February
A marathon running past Hatshepsut's temple on the West Bank; worth entering or spectating if dates align.
- Moulid of Abu Haggag About two weeks before Ramadan, Gregorian date moves yearly
Luxor's own Sufi festival: boat shaped floats around Luxor Temple, stick fighting, horse races and music.
- Abu Simbel Sun Festival 22 October (also 22 February)
Sunrise strikes the inner sanctuary statues at Abu Simbel; Luxor travellers detour south by 3am convoy tour.
- Avenue of Sphinxes celebrations Around 25 November
Processions and performances echoing the Opet Festival mark the anniversary of the avenue's 2021 reopening; check local listings.
Best things to do in Luxor
Valley of the Kings
Sixty plus royal tombs in a desert wadi; a standard ticket covers three, with Seti I and Tutankhamun as paid extras.
Karnak Temple Complex
A 200 acre, 2000 year temple city with the Great Hypostyle Hall; go at opening or late for light and fewer crowds.
Tomb of Nefertari
The most beautiful painted tomb in Egypt, capped at about 150 visitors a day; the one splurge to secure first.
Medinet Habu
Ramesses III's mortuary temple: the best preserved and quietest major temple on the West Bank, with vivid colour.
Luxor Temple
Best seen floodlit after dark, when the gold sandstone, colossi and Abu Haggag Mosque glow and the heat is gone.
Deir el-Medina and Tombs of the Nobles
The tomb builders' own village and the Nobles' tombs show daily ancient Egyptian life at eye level, usually crowd free.
Temple of Hatshepsut
Three terraces rising into the Theban cliffs for Egypt's most successful female pharaoh; magical at dawn, brutal at noon.
Luxor Museum
Egypt's best curated small museum, air conditioned and perfectly timed for the midday heat break on an East Bank day.
Where to stay in Luxor
East Bank Corniche (central)
first trip, all-round base
Nile views and walking distance to Luxor Temple, the museum, the souk and most restaurants.
West Bank (Gurna / Gezira villages)
return visitors, slow travellers and balloon mornings
Guesthouses among farmland minutes from the Valley of the Kings and balloon fields; few restaurants, ferry or bridge to dinner.
Karnak / north Corniche
resort calm, families and heat-season stays
Big resort properties with gardens and pools trade a short ride into town for space and quiet.
Kings Island
resort stays with children
A private island resort in the Nile reached by bridge from the East Bank; isolation is the point and the cost.
Think twice about
- Station and souk-fringe blocks, inland East Bank
The densest touting and persistent selling in the city, with traffic choked streets. Pay a small premium for the Corniche side.
- Far-south and far-north highway resorts beyond the city
Isolated properties where every dinner, site and felucca becomes a negotiated car ride. A poor base for sightseeing.
- Unnamed West Bank villas far from the ferry landing and Gurna crossroads
Remote farm addresses with no guesthouse restaurant strand you after dark on unlit lanes. Choose a named, reviewed guesthouse.
- A moored cruise boat as your whole Luxor stay
Boats raft several deep on the Corniche, cabins can face another hull and sailing schedules own your days. Cruise as a segment only.
Best restaurants in Luxor
Sofra Restaurant & Café
The consensus best Egyptian table in Luxor: mezze, koshari, molokhia and lamb fatta in a lamplit old villa with a garden.
Al-Sahaby Lane Restaurant
Grills and tagines on the Nefertiti rooftop facing floodlit Luxor Temple; arrive at sunset for the romantic budget dinner.
El Tarboush
Lebanese fine casual with the strongest ratings in town; mezze built for sharing makes it the group dinner pick.
1886 Restaurant
French European fine dining in the Winter Palace's period dining room; the classic special occasion booking in Luxor.
El Hussein Restaurant
A busy local institution for home style Egyptian daily dishes and fresh juices, recommended by local guides for authenticity.
Aisha Restaurant
A reliable international Egyptian all rounder; lentil soup and mixed grill are the dishes reviewers name most.
The Lantern Room
A British run expat institution for steaks, fish and chips and proper puddings; the comfort food night of a long trip.
Casa di Napoli
Wood fired Neapolitan pizza and fresh pasta at the Nile Palace; a lifeline for families a week into tagines.
Outdoor things to do in Luxor
Sunrise hot-air balloon over the West Bank
Forty five minutes at dawn over the Valley of the Kings, temples and green fields; book a licensed operator and a spare morning.
Dendera and Abydos day trip
Abydos for Seti I's reliefs and king list, Dendera for Hathor's intact roof and ceiling: Egypt's two best preserved temples.
Sunset felucca to Banana Island
A lateen sailed hour or two at sunset to Banana Island for groves, fruit and tea; agree the total price before boarding.
West Bank by bicycle
Flat lanes link the ferry, Colossi and Medinet Habu past farms and villages; ride early, guided rides add village stops.
Horse, camel or donkey ride on the West Bank
Two hour rides loop the desert edge and farmland past the Colossi and Medinet Habu at sunrise or late afternoon.
Desert quad-bike safari to Wadi Ziad
Two to three hours of guided quad riding into the wadis behind the Theban hills, best timed for sunset.
Kayaking the Nile at Luxor
Small guided sunrise and sunset paddles on the calm main channel, with herons and kingfishers the feluccas never notice.
Royal Valley Golf Club
A real 18 hole par 72 desert course with range, rental and caddies; play early and treat it as a rest day activity.
Best hotels in Luxor
Sofitel Winter Palace Luxor
The grand dame of the Corniche since the golden age of Egyptology, with vast gardens and Luxor Temple a short walk away.
Pavillon Winter
The Winter Palace's younger, cheaper sibling set in the same gardens, for the address without the full splurge.
Steigenberger Nile Palace
The best value big Corniche five star: Nile view rooms, several strong restaurants and a pool deck made for sunset.
Nefertiti Hotel
A family run budget hotel behaving like a boutique, with a rooftop restaurant facing the floodlit temple and the Nile.
Sonesta St. George Luxor
A Corniche mid ranger whose pool terrace reaches toward the Nile; sunset drinks as the feluccas pass is its signature.
Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa
Quiet resort calm at the northern end near Karnak, with an infinity pool on the Nile and the city's best spa offer.
Jolie Ville Hotel & Spa Kings Island
A private island family resort of 165 acres, multiple pools and gardens; splendid isolation, a commute for temple days.
Al Moudira Hotel
The West Bank's one true luxury boutique: domed suites, painted interiors and a restaurant East Bankers cross for.
Is Luxor expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | EGP 1,800 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | EGP 5,000 a person |
| Splurge | EGP 11,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Tomb of Nefertari: a few days ahead
- Sunrise hot-air balloon over the West Bank: a few days ahead
- Kayaking the Nile at Luxor: a few days ahead
- Nile cruise Luxor to Aswan: months ahead
- Nefertari and Seti I are capped or rotate for conservation; ask your hotel the week before and arrive at opening.
- Book the balloon 2 to 5 days ahead for your first full morning so a wind cancellation can roll to the next dawn.
- Good Egyptologists go first from October to April; book guides and drivers the week before, with your tomb wish list.
- Popular Nile cruise boats sell out 2 to 3 months ahead for December to February; book the boat before flights.
- Set up egymonuments.com before travel, screenshot bookings, and keep small cash for ferries, water and tips.
Is Luxor safe?
- Luxor is among Egypt's safest tourist cities; realistic risks are fare disputes, touting, traffic and heat, not violent crime.
- Heat is the genuine danger: dawn starts, a hat, 2 plus litres of water a day and indoors from 12 to 3pm in warm months.
- Drink sealed bottled water, favour cooked food and busy kitchens, and peel fruit yourself.
- Dress modestly away from hotel pools; women should use hotel and guide networks after dark rather than unlit lanes alone.
- Emergency numbers: police 122, ambulance 123. Tourist Police at major sites settle most fare disputes fast.
Luxor travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Caleche carriage rides that stretch into shop stops and fare disputes; fix route, total price and duration via your hotel.
- Unsolicited detours to alabaster factories, perfume shops and special exhibitions are commission stops; decline and stay in the vehicle.
- Tutankhamun's tomb is small and largely plain; go for the mummy and story, or spend the premium on Seti I instead.
- The Colossi of Memnon are a ten minute photo stop, and Banana Island is a felucca price add on, not a half day tour.
- See Karnak properly by day first; the Sound and Light Show alone leaves visitors unmoved.
Getting around Luxor: public transport and more
- Hire a private driver plus licensed Egyptologist guide for West Bank days; sites, parking and ticket offices are spread out.
- Taxis are unmetered: agree the total fare, currency and destination before moving.
- Take the public ferry by Luxor Temple to the West Bank for a few pounds; motorboats charge 10 to 20 times more.
- Walk the Corniche and West Bank villages, never between West Bank sites at midday; carry water, shade is scarce.
- Luxor is about 1 hour by air from Cairo or 9 to 10 hours by train; Aswan is 3 to 4 hours by road or train.
Who Luxor suits
| Solo travellers | OK |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Luxor your trip
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