Tour Overview
This private day trip takes you from Aswan to Luxor and back by first-class train, so you can see the highlights of ancient Thebes in a single day. In Luxor, an Egyptologist guide takes you to the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, then, after lunch, to Karnak Temple on the East Bank. Train tickets, entrance fees, lunch and hotel pickup in Aswan are included.
Tour Highlights
- Ride the train north along the Nile in first class, watching fields, villages and river views pass by instead of spending the day on the highway.
- Go underground into the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried for some 500 years.
- See the Temple of Hatshepsut rise in three terraces against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, built for one of the few women to rule Egypt as pharaoh.
- Stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated stone giants of Amenhotep III that have guarded the West Bank plain for more than 3,000 years.
- Walk among the 134 columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak, the largest temple complex of the ancient world, with your own Egyptologist.
Tour Route
Can you do Luxor as a day trip from Aswan?
Yes, and the train makes it practical. You travel north in the morning, see the four best-known sites of Luxor with a private guide, and ride back in the evening. It is a long day with an early start, so it suits travelers who have only one free day and want to see Luxor without changing hotels.
Should you take a Nile cruise instead?
If you have three or four days, a cruise between Aswan and Luxor is the more relaxed way to travel, because Kom Ombo and Edfu are stops on every Aswan to Luxor cruise and you arrive in Luxor with time to spare. This day trip is for travelers who are based in Aswan and only have one day.
If you are already booked on one, check your cruise program before booking this trip, so you do not visit the Valley of the Kings or Karnak twice.
What will you see in Luxor in one day?
Four of the most important sites of ancient Thebes: the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, then the vast temple of Amun at Karnak on the East Bank. Together they show how New Kingdom pharaohs honored their gods and prepared for the afterlife.
What else can you do from Aswan?
If you would rather spend the night, the 2-day Luxor and Cairo trip from Aswan adds the Pyramids. Staying in Luxor instead? The Luxor East and West Bank tour covers the same sites from your hotel there, and the Edfu and Kom Ombo day trip shows you the temples on the road between the two cities.
Tour Itinerary
A long, full day: an early train north, the West Bank in the morning, lunch, Karnak in the afternoon and the train back to Aswan.
We collect you from your hotel in Aswan and take you to the railway station for the first-class train to Luxor. Your seats are booked in advance, and the line follows the Nile north for most of the way, so keep a window seat if you can. In Luxor, your private Egyptologist guide meets you on arrival.
On the West Bank, the rulers of the 18th, 19th and 20th Dynasties cut their tombs deep into a desert valley below a pyramid-shaped peak. More than 60 tombs have been found here. Inside, corridors and burial chambers are covered with painted texts and scenes meant to guide the king through the underworld to rebirth with the sun.
Close by, at Deir el-Bahari, the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut climbs the cliff face in three wide terraces. Designed by her official Senenmut, it records her trading expedition to the land of Punt and the story of her divine birth. Your guide explains how a woman came to rule as pharaoh and why her successors tried to erase her name.
On the way back toward the river you stop at the two huge seated statues of Amenhotep III, which once stood at the gate of his temple. Greek and Roman visitors believed one of them sang at dawn and left inscriptions on its legs to say they had heard it. It is a short stop, good for photos.
A sit-down lunch at a local restaurant in Luxor, included in the price. After a morning of tombs and temples it is a welcome rest out of the sun, and a chance to talk over what you have seen with your guide before crossing to the East Bank.
Karnak was the great temple of Amun, added to by pharaohs for some 2,000 years. You walk through the pylons into the Great Hypostyle Hall, pass the obelisk of Hatshepsut and reach the Sacred Lake. Your guide shows you how each king left his mark on the complex and how the temple served the city of Thebes.
After Karnak you are taken to Luxor station for the first-class train back to Aswan, where we meet you and drive you to your hotel. Train tickets, your guide, entrance fees, lunch and water are all covered, so the only money you need on the day is for tips and personal extras.
What's Included
What the tour price covers, and what to plan for separately.
Paid
★
Your
Own
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about this tour. For anything else, message us on WhatsApp — we reply fast.
The trip starts at your hotel in Aswan. We collect you there and take you to the railway station for the train to Luxor, and in the evening we meet you off the return train and drive you back to the same hotel. Tell us where you are staying when you book so we can confirm the pickup.
The price includes hotel pickup and drop-off in Aswan, first-class train tickets from Aswan to Luxor and back, a private Egyptologist guide, entrance fees to all the sites listed, lunch, bottled water in the vehicle, and all service charges and taxes. Tips and any extras outside the program are not included.
It is a private tour, so your guide in Luxor is only for you and your group, while the train is a public service. The cost of the guide and transfers is shared by everyone in the group, so the price per person falls as the group grows. Prices also change by season, from {price} per person.
The tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings needs its own separate ticket, which is not part of the standard entry. If you want to go inside, tell us when you book and we will confirm whether it fits the day and what it costs.
Yes. Avicon Travel is a Class "A" travel agency licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism under License No. 1962 and registered since 2010. Our office and team are in Karnak, Luxor, so the guides, drivers and cars on this tour are our own local team, not a booking desk abroad.
