Luxor East & West Bank Tour in One Day

About this trip

Both banks in one long day, for travelers with only one day in Luxor. The West Bank comes first while it is cool, then a boat crosses the Nile to lunch on an island, and the afternoon is Karnak followed by Luxor Temple. Private car, guide, boat, lunch and entrance fees are included.

The day

1. Morning

   Pickup from your hotel or Nile cruise

   Your private Egyptologist guide and driver collect you from your Luxor hotel or cruise boat. The day begins on the West Bank because its sites are open, shadeless and best seen before the heat builds, while the East Bank temples can wait for the afternoon.

2. Morning

   Valley of the Kings

   The royal burial ground of the New Kingdom, with more than 60 known tombs cut into the rock, including those of Ramses II, Seti I and Tutankhamun. You enter several open tombs with your guide, who explains the painted scenes of the king's journey through the night.

3. Late morning

   Temple of Hatshepsut

   Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh in the 15th century BC, and her mortuary temple rises in three terraces beneath the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. In ancient times it was a stop on the Beautiful Festival of the Valley, when the statue of Amun crossed the river from Karnak.

4. Late morning

   Colossi of Memnon

   A short photo stop at two giant seated statues of Amenhotep III, made around 1350 BC for the entrance of his mortuary temple. The temple behind them has almost vanished, but the statues were already famous with Greek and Roman visitors.

5. Midday

   Boat across the Nile and lunch on an island

   From the West Bank you cross the river by boat and have lunch on an island in the Nile. The boat trip and the meal are both included, and it is the calmest hour of the day, a chance to sit down with the West Bank hills behind you.

6. Afternoon

   Karnak Temple

   Karnak was built and rebuilt from the Middle Kingdom into Roman times, and its temples, pylons and obelisks spread over a huge area. Your guide leads you through the Great Hypostyle Hall, with its 134 columns, and explains how the complex grew pharaoh by pharaoh.

7. Late afternoon

   Luxor Temple

   Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramses II and dedicated to the same three gods as Karnak, Luxor Temple hosted the Opet festival, when the kingship was ritually renewed. An avenue of sphinxes once linked the two temples, and parts of it are visible again today.

8. End of the day

   Return to your hotel or Nile cruise

   Your driver takes you back to your hotel or boat after Luxor Temple. The guide, car, boat, lunch, bottled water and entrance fees are already covered, so tips and any extra tickets you choose to buy are the only costs left to plan for.

Questions about this trip