Luxor was the 2nd stop of our history trip. We were coming from Cairo to Luxor by the Watania Sleeping Train. From Luxor we went to Athens, Greece.
The train reached Luxor at 7 am. Luxor is small city so no need to prebook any ride. Outside the station there are numerous taxis/tuktuks/tempos which will take you to your destination (East bank is close, West bank is quite far from Luxor station, bargaining is necessary). We reached our stay on the west bank of the Nile at 9am. That day we visited the Valley of Kings [Entry Fees: 240LE for 3 tombs and 4LE for Taftaf car, separate fees for King Tut’s tomb].
The rest of day was well spend in frolics in & around the pool on our AirBNB. Late evening we crossed over to the East Bank by the local ferry [5LE p.p.]. There we bought some souvenirs in the Souk and some Itars. The Itar shops will overwhelm you.
Early morning we went for a picturesque Hot Air Balloon ride [INR 7200 or 1800LE] over Luxor (we had booked our ride the previous day directly from the office). The view from top and sunrise was absolutely stunning, you really feel like a King.
Then after a great street side breakfast, we registered ourselves on a tour (by calling the previous day taxi driver) and visited the main sites of Valley of Queens [100LE], Valley of Nobles [40LE], Karnak temple [200LE], Hatsepshut’s Temple [140LE], Medinet Habu [100lE], Colossi of Memnon [free] and the Ramesseum [60LE]. A guide accompanied our group of 12 people.
At the end of our tour we took a felucca ride in Nile witnessing one of the best sunsets of our life. Post sunset we visited the Luxor Temple [160LE]. The night scene at Luxor temple took us back almost to the original era of the monument. The guard at the gate arranged us a guide [150LE] and he was awesome. After the memorable visit (at 10pm) we took a local ferry [5LE, runs every 15-30 minutes between East and West bank] to our stay on West Bank across the Nile. We felt safe. Our AirBNB host had arranged for a great dinner at his cousin’s house.
We had an early morning Egypt Air/Aegean Airlines flight from Luxor to Athens with a short layover in Cairo. We had arranged a drop by speaking with our host [500LE]
Tips:
• 1 Egyptian Pound (1 LE) is approx. INR 4.00
• Pre-book your train from Cairo to Luxor 4 months in advance at https://wataniasleepingtrains.com/ticket/index.html
• Book your hotel/AirBNB near the ferry stops of East or West bank of Nile as then you can easily crossover between the banks using the local ferry.
• Better to book hot air balloon rides in advance for the before-sunrise slot via AirBNB host or directly with agent (avoid online agents/sites). You can message me if you want contact number.
• Try not to miss the special tombs of Tutankhamen, Nefertiti (value for money even at the extra cost)
• Difficult to get transport in early morning or late night to the airport. So prebook.
• If you manage 1 more day in Luxor then plan a day trip to Aswan (Abu Simbel temple and Philae temple). The trip for 4 in AC car will cost you not more than INR 12000 (all inc.)
• Tap water is not drinkable in Egypt. Carry plenty of water wherever you are going as it involved lots of walking in the Sun and weather is dry.
