Overnight Trip to Luxor Highlights from Hurghada

Posted By : C4480VBmarka
One of the highlights of my 12-day trip to Egypt. The colorful, preserved tombs in the Valley of the Kings are a must-see, along with the Temple of Hatshepsut. I opted for the hot air balloon excursion (1 hr), and it was beautiful—I recommend it. The Luxor and Karnak temples are impressive—even in temps of close to 115F! My tour guide, Hassan Ali, was helpful, easygoing, and knowledgeable.
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Posted On : 2024-06-19 07:03:40

Posted By : Vishvesh K
Seeing the face mask and tomb of king tut was a very surreal experience. Without Abanoub’s information seeing the mask wouldn’t have been as exciting.
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Posted On : 2024-06-15 13:28:02

Posted By : johannavN3055XN
The tour in Luxor was great and we did it with the best guide we've had so far. Hassan Ali is a real expert in Egyptian history and he made the day in Luxor completely worth it. We visited Valley of the kings, Hatshepsut Temple and Karnak Temple and he explained everything we needed in detail and made the day really fun and enjoyable. We totally recomended him as a tour guide.
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Posted On : 2024-06-13 10:30:00

Posted By : 537lauraS
We visited the Valley of the kings, Hatshepsut temple and Karnark temple, amazing places rich in history and mythology, be sure to visit them with a guide like Hassan Ali, who was very passionate about mythology and filled us with great stories, even though it is summer and we reach temperatures of 43C I would say it’s not the worst time to come, since the places were not packed with tourists
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Posted On : 2024-06-13 10:28:50

Posted By : D4522UWjohnp
Our driver Hussein collected us from our hotel in Hurghada at 9am and we drove across the dessert to Luxor in about 4 hours. The journey was smooth with some good views of the Nile and dessert terrain on the way.

When we got to Luxor we checked into our very nice hotel The Sonneta St. George on the Nile. We had a view of the river which was fantastic! In the afternoon we met with Samar Nagi our tour guide and went to Karnak then onto Luxor Temple in the evening light. Samar’s guiding was great! Lots of stories, mythology and history and also time for us to see the sites in our own time.

In the evening we enjoyed dinner at the hotel looking over the Nile and cocktails.

The next day we were picked out again by Hussein and Samar and went to the West Bank to see The Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and The Colossi of Memnon. Each of these is breathtaking in the history and beauty. Some fabulous memories made.

The lunch and all the organisation was great! Hussein and Samar worked together as a great team to deliver a great experience for us.

Thank you and ETP so much!

John & Becky
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Posted On : 2024-03-13 12:28:54

Posted By : E4307KKaa
Spent 2 days with Samar Nagr in Luxor, visited the different temples and the valley of the kings, definitely recommend, very interesting.
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Posted On : 2023-09-30 07:14:38

Posted By : 756zaynahs
Samar was a great tour guide, she allowed us plenty of self-guided time to explore the sites. She also organised a lovely lunch on both days which was great!
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Posted On : 2023-09-30 07:13:09

Posted By : serenadalmatian
We (5 Brits, 3 teens, 1 ancient history nerd, the other two not so much) had a fantastic overnight Luxor trip - we had a great driver (Mustafa) and a fabulous guide Omar Haridi. Omar is a postgrad Egyptologist so his background knowledge was incredible- we learnt so much about all the sights we visited plus some basic hieroglyphics which was fab! We visited Karnak and Luxor temples, Karnak in the morning was fascinating if very hot! We had a break at the hotel to cool down and then Luxor in the evening was illuminated which was beautiful. The next day we saw the Colosses of Memnon and the temple of Hatshepsut which continued the stories from the temples the day before and then on to the Valley of the Kings. Omar was incredibly helpful when our card wasn’t accepted at the Valley of the Kings and sorted everything out for us. The tombs of King Tut and Rameses V and VI were definitely worth paying a little extra for. Omar then took us on a boat ride on the Nile and then for lunch He even took us to a local cafe after visiting Luxor temple just to have time to answer more of our questions. The Nile Palace hotel was great and upgraded us to rooms with Nile views which was an unexpected treat.
Overall the trip was fantastic, we would highly recommend especially with Omar as a guide 😃
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Posted On : 2023-07-26 05:19:07

Posted By : esteev-o
Overall, the booking process with Egypt Tours Portal (ETP) went smoothly – email responses were prompt, and they were able to accommodate our specific choice of hotel in Luxor. It was difficult to get clear answers to some specific questions relating to timings, contacts and logistics, but I think that is because ETP simply don’t know the detail, as you are very much in the hands of the local guide and driver once on the tour. On that subject - special mention to our driver Hussein and our guide Hossam Rashwan.

Hussein picked us up from Makadi at the time confirmed by ETP (who also re-confirmed the time the day before). He safely transported across the relatively quiet desert roads and multiple security checkpoints (paperwork all sorted in advance by ETP), and also the chaotic final stretch from Qena to Luxor. The journey took around 4 hours – with a 20 minute break at a “roadstop”. We’d assumed that Hussein would hand us over the guide and/or local driver in Luxor, but in fact he coordinated with Hossam and would pop up during the day each time we needed transport from one location to the next. Our overnight gear was safe in the car.

We picked Hossam our guide up en-route and went directly to Karnak for about 11am – one huge bonus in taking the private/2 day tour is beating the coach day trips from the Red Sea coast. Hossam is an absolute mine of information, and clearly loves his job. His narrative combined the history of the architecture and the people, and a rich background of ancient stories and mythology. He was flexible with the itinerary, and we opted for lunch next (at a large, clean and airy restaurant right on the Nile) – with a large selection of buffet food.

We took a small diversion to a perfume centre (which it turns out is government run, and probably a compulsory inclusion in licensed itineraries) – we didn’t stop long, it was difficult to fake interest to be honest but each to their own, however there was no hard sell from the staff who were very pleasant.

Next stop Luxor temple – smaller than Karnak, but the highlight of day 1. The Avenue of the Sphinxes runs directly from the Luxor Temple gates up to Karnak – a short walk along the avenue was enough for us in the afternoon heat, but it is possible to walk the couple of miles all the way to Karnak.

Day 1 itinerary was concluded by 1500, however we could have stayed longer at any of the locations had we chosen to do so. We opted for some R&R at the hotel (in the stunning Winter Palace gardens), however there would have been time to visit the nearby Luxor Museum, and later in the day, the Luxor Temple or Karnak illuminations/ light shows – all in addition to the scheduled excursion. Night time Luxor felt save, but busy. There was very little “hassle” and we felt safe, taking a 10 minute walk from the hotel to the excellent Sofra restaurant.

We agreed a 7am start for day 2 with Hossam – again he was flexible, but an early start is well worth it – no only to beat the crowds, but also the heat, and to ensure an early departure from Luxor to save night travel across the desert road. As we left the hotel (on the East Bank of the Nile) we witnessed the spectacular sight of 20-30 hot air balloons over the opposite West Bank. The balloons were visible for the whole of the 30 minute journey – and a great photo opportunity. Once again, the excursion itinerary (certainly with our guide) is flexible enough to incorporate a balloon trip of your own should you wish.

Hossam pointed out many sights on the journey to the Valley of the Kings – we passed the Colossi of Memnon (where we stopped later), and Howard Carters house. The Valley of the Kings is an “enter through the gift shop” kind of place, Hossam hurried us through the sellers, but did recommend a guide book they were selling – which was very good value at less than £3 (with no haggle). The “Noddy Train” up to the tombs was a short journey – and free contrary to some reports, with a small tip to the driver. There is also no “camera pass” required for mobile phone cameras at least, which worked fine for us.

Hossam had sent us photographs of many of the tombs (and other Luxor sites) the previous evening, and we’d discussed and planned which ones we’d visit so tickets were arranged already. Guides are not permitted to enter the tombs, so we were on our own from this point. It seems that about 8-10 tombs are open at any one time, and the standard ticket permits entry to any 3 of the standard tombs, which were spectacular in their own right – and we paid extra for Rameses V/VI and Tutankhamun (arranged by the guide on the day), both of which were well worth it, an experience made all the better by the relatively few people. The artwork and level of preservation is absolutely awesome in all tombs. Managing to find ourselves alone in Tut’s tomb was the absolute highlight – just us and the mummy of Tutankhamun.

Next short stop on the way to Hatshepsut Temple was an Alabaster Factory – not advertised, and not especially wanted, but must admit it was fascinating and entertaining. 4 or 5 workers gave us a had a well-rehearsed “this is how its done” routine at the entrance which was both informative and entertaining – with each one hitting his mark perfectly. There were also some interesting tips on how to spot fakes. The gallery was interesting, and again, no hard sell – and it turned out they have an online shop and deliver all over the world, so you'd have time to reflect!

Hatshepsut temple was impressive from the exterior, but a little less so straight after the tombs in the Valley of the Kings - which are all about the interior. Again we caught a train and entered without guide.

We then moved onto our (mini!) Nile Cruise – with a small tour boat to ourselves. This item appeared on one version of the itinerary, but not on another – for us, ETP threw it in as an extra for a quick booking when I enquired if it was in or out! After a cooling and scenic half hour trip, past some wonderful sights of farming and fishing, we stopped for lunch on Banana Island (…an Island where bananas are grown)– the restaurant was quiet, but the owner was incredibly friendly and the food was great – huge portions and a variety of dishes which was way too much for us to eat. We were also presented with a huge bunch of bananas on our departure!

The boat then dropped us back to Luxor Temple where Hussein the driver met us, and whisked us back to Makadi – arriving by 5pm. Due to the early start, we were finished with our itinerary in Luxor by 1pm – which might seem early, but we felt like we’d had a full day by that time. The 2 days was a great introduction to Luxor – made all the better by Hossam’s expert knowledge and passion for his subject - we hope to go back for a longer visit before too long.
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Posted On : 2023-06-25 13:42:56

Posted By : Jenna F
We had an amazing overnight trip to Luxor from our hotel in Hurghada. We’d received information via email in advance of our trip which was detailed and gave us confidence in the company as we’d booked in advance from the UK finding the company ourselves on Trip Advisor.

We were collected at 7am and drove the four hours to Luxor, stopping briefly at a Bedouin village area for toilets with the option to buy snacks and souvenirs if we wished, but there was no pressure. Our driver was amazing, and the minivan was great quality and just for us so plenty of space and comfort. (Afraid we don’t remember his name).
We met our guide, Hassan Ali, at Karnak temple. He was really friendly, knowledgeable and spoke excellent English. He kept us all captivated during our 2 days and had the right balance of information giving, and giving us to explore as a family. After a traditional lunch we then went to Luxor temple and arrived at our hotel, Winter Palace, at approximately 4pm which gave us time to swim in the pool, admire the amazing gardens and walk across the road to the River Nile for sunset. We chose to eat at hotel but you could venture out.
The next day we set off at 8am to visit the Valley of Kings and Hatshepsut temple. The tour ended after lunch at the beautiful roof top restaurant Africa.
We wanted to thank Hassan for making our trip so interesting- you’ve inspired us to find out even more about ancient Egypt when we return to UK.

We do realise you can do the trip in a day, but from seeing others there who had chosen that option they were exhausted. Also, we did decide to forfeit a day/night in our all inclusive package but I’m so glad we decided to go for the overnight option as felt much more relaxed. We even got back for a quick dip in pool before dinner!

Would recommend this company and hope you luck out with a guide as great as Hassan.
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Posted On : 2023-04-15 13:51:12