If you’re planning a trip to Egypt anytime soon, Luxor should definitely be on the itinerary. I did a group tour in Cairo with Escape Travels first, followed by a trip for just me and my husband to Luxor. My first bit of advice for you – spend at least two full days in Luxor. Second bit of advice – don’t go to Egypt in the Summer (lesson learned by going to Egypt in the Summer LOL).
Luxor is a sleepy little town compared to Cairo. The city is divided by the Nile River into two sides – the East Bank and the West Bank. The East Bank is where all the action is. If you want to be in the thick of the action, walk out of your hotel right into street markets, and restaurants, then make sure to stay in the East Bank. If you prefer a quieter stay, go with the West Bank. My husband and I stayed in the West Bank at a place called Al Hambra Hotel. The room was spacious, and clean, the staff was friendly, and always willing to help. We were offered tea, and coffee every time we walked through the doors. If you book at Al Hambra Hotel, however, be sure to have cash to pay the final bill as they will not accept credit cards. If you don’t have any excursions booked when you arrive to Al Hambra, they can assist you with booking some.
There is only one bridge that connects the East Bank to the West Bank, so if you are commuting by car (you can also take a felucca across the river), plan for a 30-40 minute trip to get from one side to the other. The drive through the West Bank will be quiet, with no traffic, and lots of farm views. Once you cross the check point to the East Bank, there’s a bit more traffic, lots of shops, and restaurants, and a lot more people.
According to our guide, Aladdin (yes… our guide’s name was Aladdin!), what my husband and I did in one day, most people do in 2 days. He suggests splitting the East Bank and West Bank into 2 half day excursions, which, in retrospect, sounds like a much better way to see Luxor.
The Highlights
Let’s start with the Valley of the Kings. One ticket will allow admission into 3 tombs. There are some tombs that require you to pay an additional fee to enter. If you plan on taking photos (and you should), you’ll need to purchase a photo pass which is 300 Egyptian Pounds, approximately 17 USD.
My favorite tomb we visited was Ramses IV. It’s incredible to be standing in a place that is thousands of years old, looking at almost perfectly preserved hieroglyphics with some of the original color still on it!
If you do have a tour guide, they will not be allowed into the tombs with you, so you will be left to fend for yourself inside. There are guards inside each of the tombs, and they will be very friendly, telling stories, and offering to take photos. If you allow them to do any of the above, they will expect a tip, so keep small notes of cash on you at all times.
We also decided to pay the extra fee to go into King Tut’s tomb. No photos are allowed in this tomb, but his actual mummy is in there (it’s only slightly creepy to be underground in Egypt with an actual mummy), as well as one of the sarcophagi originally found in his tomb. Most of the things that were found in his tomb, however, are now on display in the Cairo Museum.
Once we finished our visit to the Vally of the Kings, we headed over to Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. If you don’t know who Hatshepsut is, let me tell you. She was the only woman to ever rule Egypt by herself, without a man. I won’t ruin the whole story for you, but she is the only woman buried in the Vally of the Kings, and if she was still around, I’d wanna be friend’s with her!! GIRL POWER. Hatshepsut’s Temple has a long, intimidating set of steps to climb to get to the top. We did this in over 100 degree weather with no escape from the sun! Needless to say, it was HOT, but definitely worth it once we conquered the steps. There are two levels to explore, so you can certainly spend quite a bit of time here.
Now off to the East Bank to see Karnak Temple. You could easily spend over an hour exploring Karnak Temple. It is a mix of temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings all built over time by multiple kings, and queens. My favorite part were the giant columns all carved with hieroglyphics. They are MASSIVE! Karnak Temple also advertises a light and sound show in the evenings…. In my opinion, you can skip it, but DEFINITELY go during the day!
Our last stop was Luxor Temple. Another temple rich in history, and full of giant statues, columns, and walls inscribed with hieroglyphics. The sheer size of these structures makes you wonder how they were able to pull this off thousands of years ago with no technology, and no sophisticated machinery.
Of our two stops in Egypt, Luxor was my favorite. I plan to go back, without a guide this time, and spend more time wandering the streets of this lovely little town. This time I’ll be sure to visit in the Wintertime!!
Until next time! #LauraTheeExplora over and out!
Adventures of Laura B 