Tour Overview
This private day trip flies you from Sharm El Sheikh to Luxor, the ancient city of Thebes, and back before the night is over. No road trip can cover that distance in a day, and the flights connect through Cairo in both directions, so you take four short flights in total. Between them, an Egyptologist guide shows you the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple and the Colossi of Memnon on the West Bank, then Karnak on the East Bank after lunch on a Nile island.
Tour Highlights
- See Luxor without spending a night away from Sharm: all four domestic flights, connecting in Cairo each way, are booked for you and included.
- Go underground in the Valley of the Kings, where New Kingdom pharaohs such as Seti I and Ramses II were buried in painted rock-cut tombs.
- Stand below the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari, built against a wall of cliffs and one of Egypt's most recognizable buildings.
- Cross the Nile by boat for lunch on an island, a real pause between the West Bank tombs and the temples on the East Bank.
- Walk through Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall, a forest of 134 carved columns inside the largest temple complex ever built for the god Amun.
Tour Route
Can you visit Luxor from Sharm El Sheikh in one day?
Yes, but only by air. Luxor lies on the Nile in Upper Egypt, far from Sinai, and the flights on this trip connect through Cairo, so you take four flights in a single day. It is tiring, but you still see the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's temple, the Colossi and Karnak with a private guide.
If four flights in one day sounds like too much, the overnight version splits the same Luxor program over two days, adds Giza and the Cairo museums, and gives you a night in a 5-star hotel in Luxor.
Which Luxor sights does the trip include?
Four of the most important sites in Luxor, across both banks of the Nile, with every entrance ticket on the program paid. Together they cover the tombs, temples and statues of the New Kingdom, when Thebes was the religious capital of Egypt.
- Valley of the Kings: royal tombs of the 18th to 20th Dynasties.
- Temple of Hatshepsut: the terraced temple at Deir El Bahari.
- Colossi of Memnon: the twin statues of Amenhotep III.
- Karnak Temple: the great temple of Amun on the East Bank.
How should you prepare for a four-flight day?
Travel light: a small backpack is easier through four security checks than a large bag. Keep your passport on you, wear shoes that handle stone steps and uneven ground, and bring a hat and sunscreen, because the West Bank has very little shade even in winter.
Why does the Luxor day trip cost more than the Cairo trip?
You take four flights instead of two, and the flights are the biggest part of the price. Fares are higher from October to March, with a peak around Christmas and New Year. Because your guide and car are private, the per-person price also falls as your group grows.
What else can you book from Sharm El Sheikh?
If you want Luxor and Cairo together, an overnight trip covers both at a gentler pace. For the Pyramids only, there is a same-day flight to Cairo. And if you would rather stay near the coast, Ras Mohammed is Sinai's best-known reef.
Look at the 2-day Cairo and Luxor trip from Sharm by plane, the Cairo day trip from Sharm by plane, or the Ras Mohammed snorkeling trip for a day on the water.
Tour Itinerary
This is one of the longest single days we run: two flights to reach Luxor, the West Bank before lunch, Karnak after it and two flights home, so expect an early start and a late night.
Our representative picks you up at your hotel and drives you to Sharm El Sheikh Airport. You fly first to Cairo, then connect to a direct flight to Luxor. All tickets are issued in advance; carry your passport, because you need it at check-in for every domestic flight.
In Luxor, your Egyptologist guide and an air-conditioned car are waiting. The drive crosses the Nile to the West Bank, the side of the river where the sun sets and where the ancient Thebans buried their dead. Your guide uses the drive to explain how the old city was laid out.
In a dry valley behind the cliffs, the kings of the New Kingdom cut their tombs deep into the rock between about 1550 and 1070 BC. The walls are covered with texts and painted scenes meant to guide the king through the night to rebirth. Several tombs are open on each visit, and the selection changes over time.
Hatshepsut ruled as pharaoh for about twenty years in the 15th century BC. Her mortuary temple at Deir El Bahari rises in three wide terraces beneath the cliffs, and its reliefs record the trading expedition she sent to the land of Punt to bring back incense trees.
Heading back toward the river, you stop at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated stone figures of Amenhotep III that once guarded the entrance to his huge temple. In Roman times one of them was said to sing at dawn, and visitors came from across the empire to hear it.
A boat takes you across the Nile to an island for lunch, which is included. Sitting by the water is a good change of pace after the tombs, and the short crossing shows you green fields on one bank and the town of Luxor on the other.
Karnak grew for around two thousand years as ruler after ruler added gateways, halls, obelisks and shrines for Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. The centerpiece is the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 columns stand in rows. Your guide also shows you the sacred lake and Hatshepsut's obelisk.
Your car takes you to Luxor Airport for the flight to Cairo, where you connect to the flight home to Sharm El Sheikh. Our representative meets you on arrival and drives you to your hotel. It is a late return, so keep the next day light.
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 Sharm El Sheikh, where our representative picks you up for the airport. Your guide meets you when you land in Luxor, and after the flights home a representative meets you at Sharm airport and drives you back to your hotel. Send us your hotel name when you book.
Yes. The price covers all four domestic flights via Cairo, hotel and airport transfers, an air-conditioned car, a private Egyptologist guide, the boat trip and lunch on a Nile island, water and soft drinks, and entrance fees to every site in the program. Tips and extras are not included.
Yes, the guide and car are only for your group. Their cost does not change with group size, so each person pays less when more of you travel together. The price also follows the season, because domestic airfares are higher in the cooler months and over the holidays.
The program is built on connections through Cairo in both directions, which is how the flights in the price are booked. You change planes there and continue to Luxor, then do the same on the way home. If your dates allow a different routing, ask us when you book and we will check.
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.
