Tour Overview
This private day trip takes you from your hotel in Marsa Alam to Luxor and back in one long day, with your own car and Egyptologist guide. On the west bank you visit the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. A boat on the Nile then takes you to lunch on an island, and the afternoon is spent in the Karnak Temple complex. Entry fees, lunch, the boat ride and water are all included.
Tour Highlights
- Leave the Red Sea for a day and cross the desert to Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes and the richest collection of temples and tombs in Egypt.
- Walk into royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, where New Kingdom pharaohs, Tutankhamun among them, were buried with painted walls and texts for the afterlife.
- Stand below the terraces of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari, built for one of the few women to rule Egypt as pharaoh.
- Cross the Nile by boat for lunch on an island, a calm break between the west bank sites and Karnak.
- Explore Karnak, the vast temple complex of Amun, Mut and Khonsu, with its forest of columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall.
Tour Route
Is a day trip from Marsa Alam to Luxor worth it?
Yes, if you want to see ancient Egypt during a beach holiday and have only one day to give. It is a long day with a lot of time in the car, but it covers the most famous sites on both banks of Luxor, and a private car and guide make the pace easier to manage.
What makes this a private trip?
The car and the Egyptologist guide are for your party only. You do not share a bus with other hotels or wait for strangers at each stop, and your guide can spend longer on what interests you most, within the program.
That matters on a long day trip. Starting on time, leaving each site when you are ready and resting in your own car between stops all help the day feel less rushed, even though the distance is the same.
What will you see on Luxor's two banks?
The day covers four major sites, three on the west bank and one on the east. You start with the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, then the terraced temple of Hatshepsut and the giant Colossi of Memnon, and after lunch you cross the river for the vast temple complex of Karnak.
- Valley of the Kings: rock-cut royal tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs.
- Temple of Hatshepsut: a terraced mortuary temple for a female pharaoh.
- Colossi of Memnon: two giant statues of Amenhotep III.
- Karnak Temple: the vast temple complex of Amun, reached after lunch.
How should you prepare for a long day trip?
Sleep well the night before, eat breakfast if your hotel can prepare it early, and dress in light, loose clothes with good walking shoes. Bring a hat, sunscreen and a refillable bottle. Carry small cash for tips and toilets at the sites, and a phone charger for the drive.
What else can you do in Luxor?
If one day is not enough, Luxor rewards a slower visit. A night in the city lets you add Luxor Temple and the Karnak sound and light show without rushing, and there are many more tombs, temples and experiences in Luxor than one long day from the coast can hold.
Spend a night there on the 2-day Luxor trip from Marsa Alam, which adds Luxor Temple and the Karnak sound and light show. Browse all Luxor day tours for more sites, or, if you can stay overnight in the city, look at the Luxor hot air balloon ride over the west bank at sunrise.
Tour Itinerary
A long day that starts early: the drive to Luxor, the west bank in the morning, a Nile boat to lunch, Karnak in the afternoon, then the drive home.
Your private air-conditioned car collects you from your hotel in Marsa Alam early in the morning for the road to Luxor, with mineral water on board. The early start gives you the most time at the sites. Bring a light layer for the car, a hat, sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes.
With your Egyptologist guide you enter the Valley of the Kings, the burial ground of New Kingdom pharaohs cut into the hills of the west bank. Inside the tombs, painted corridors show the king's journey through the underworld. Your guide explains how to read the scenes and who was buried where.
Next is the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, set in three wide terraces against a cliff. Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh in the 18th Dynasty, and her temple records events of her reign, including a trading expedition to the land of Punt.
A short stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two huge seated statues of Amenhotep III that once guarded the entrance to his mortuary temple. Most of that temple has gone, which makes the scale of the statues even more striking. Greek and Roman visitors came here to hear one of them 'sing' at dawn.
A boat carries you across the Nile to an island for lunch. It is a welcome rest after the morning on the west bank, with the river, palms and fields around you. Tell us about allergies or diets when you book so the meal suits everyone.
The afternoon belongs to Karnak, the great religious center of Thebes, enlarged by pharaohs for nearly two thousand years. Walk the Avenue of Sphinxes entrance, through the columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall and past obelisks, while your guide explains how the complex grew.
After Karnak your private car drives you back to your hotel in Marsa Alam. The guide, car, entry fees, boat ride, lunch and taxes are already paid, so you only need cash for tips and personal purchases. Most people use the drive to rest.
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.
Your private air-conditioned car picks you up from your hotel in Marsa Alam early in the morning and brings you back to the same hotel in the evening. Send us your hotel name when you book, and we confirm the pickup time with you before the day of the trip.
Hotel pickup and return in Marsa Alam, a private air-conditioned vehicle, a private Egyptologist guide, entrance fees to the listed sites, a Nile boat ride, lunch, mineral water in the car, and all service charges and taxes. Tips and extras outside the program are not included.
Yes, the car and guide are for your party only. The per-person price depends on how many people travel together and on the season: it falls as your group grows, and it changes between the summer, autumn, holiday and winter periods. Prices start from {price} per person.
Your ticket opens a set number of tombs, and which ones are open changes as the authorities rotate them for conservation. Your guide picks the best open tombs on the day. Some tombs, such as Tutankhamun's, need a separate ticket; ask us before the trip if you want one.
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.
