Tour Overview
This private day trip takes you from Cairo to Luxor by plane and back again the same day. You fly south in the morning, tour the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, cross the Nile by boat to lunch on an island, then finish at Karnak Temple. Both domestic flights, your Egyptologist guide, a private car, lunch, water and entrance fees are included.
Tour Highlights
- Fly Cairo to Luxor and Luxor to Cairo on the same day, so you see ancient Thebes without packing a bag or changing hotels.
- Walk down into royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the New Kingdom burial ground where Tutankhamun's tomb was found in 1922.
- See Hatshepsut's terraced temple set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, built for one of the few women who ruled Egypt as pharaoh.
- Take a short boat ride on the Nile to lunch on an island, a calm break between the West Bank tombs and the East Bank temples.
- Finish in Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 carved columns at the center of the largest temple complex in Egypt.
Tour Route
Is a day trip from Cairo to Luxor worth it?
Yes, if you have only one free day and want to see Luxor's main sites. The flight is short, so you get a full day on both banks: royal tombs, Hatshepsut's temple and Karnak. You miss Luxor at sunset and its quieter corners, which a night or a Nile cruise would give you.
How is this different from the 2-day Luxor trip from Cairo?
This trip fits the essentials into a single day and brings you back to Cairo the same night. The 2-day version adds a night in a 5-star Luxor hotel, Luxor Temple and the Karnak Sound and Light Show, and spreads the West Bank over a second, calmer morning.
Choose the day trip if your Cairo hotel is booked and your time is tight. Choose the overnight if you want to see Luxor without rushing and to walk Karnak again in the evening.
What should you bring for a day in Luxor?
Bring your passport for the domestic flights, comfortable shoes for the tomb corridors and uneven ground, a hat and sunscreen, and a light scarf or long sleeves for the sun. Luxor is warmer and drier than Cairo, and there is little shade on the West Bank, so dress in light layers.
- Passport: needed at the airport for both flights.
- Cash: small notes are handy for tips and for anything outside the program.
- Water: mineral water is provided in the car during the day.
What else can you see in Luxor?
If you can stay longer, our Luxor day tours cover each bank in more depth, including the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu and the Ramesseum. Early risers can float over the West Bank on a Luxor hot air balloon ride at sunrise.
Tour Itinerary
A long day with two flights and five stops: you trade a night in Luxor for a lighter bag and a return to your Cairo hotel.
Our representative collects you from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and drives you to Cairo Airport for the domestic flight south. When you land in Luxor, your private Egyptologist guide is waiting for you with an air-conditioned car, and the touring starts straight from the airport.
On the West Bank, the pharaohs of the New Kingdom cut their tombs deep into a desert valley below a pyramid-shaped peak. More than 60 tombs have been found here, including those of Seti I, Ramses II and Tutankhamun. Your entry ticket covers a set of open tombs, with painted walls that still hold their color.
Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for about two decades in the 15th century BC, and her mortuary temple rises in three long terraces against a wall of cliffs. Her architect Senenmut designed it, and the reliefs tell of her divine birth and a trading expedition to the land of Punt.
Two giant seated statues of Amenhotep III are all that stands above ground of his once vast temple. After an earthquake cracked one of them in ancient times, Greek and Roman visitors heard it 'sing' at dawn and linked it to Memnon, a hero of the Trojan War.
A boat takes you across the Nile to an island for lunch, which is included in the price. It is a quiet hour on the water with farmland, palms and the hills of the West Bank behind you, and a good moment to rest before the afternoon.
Karnak was the great temple of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, and kings added to it for some 2,000 years, from the Middle Kingdom to the Roman period. Your guide walks you through the pylons, the Great Hypostyle Hall, the obelisks and the sacred lake, explaining who built what.
From Karnak you drive to Luxor Airport for the flight back to Cairo. On landing, a driver meets you and takes you to your hotel in Cairo or Giza, which closes a long but well-paced day. You will have seen both banks of Luxor and still sleep in your own bed.
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.
It starts at your hotel in Cairo or Giza, where our representative picks you up for the drive to Cairo Airport. Pickup from downtown Cairo and the Giza area is included; other areas, such as hotels farther out, can be arranged for an extra charge. The trip ends back at the same hotel.
The price covers both domestic flights between Cairo and Luxor, a private Egyptologist guide, a private air-conditioned car, the Nile boat trip, lunch, mineral water, entrance fees to every site in the program, and all taxes and service charges. Tips and anything outside the program are extra.
Yes. The guide and car are only for you and your companions. The per-person price falls as your group grows, because the car and guide costs are shared, and it changes by season, mainly because domestic airfares rise in the busy winter months and over Christmas and New Year.
The standard ticket for the Valley of the Kings covers a set of open tombs, and the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I and a few others need their own separate ticket. Tell us when you book if you want one of them, and we will confirm what is open on your date.
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.
