Almost every Luxor tour from Hurghada visits Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut and stops at the Colossi of Memnon. So the verdict rests on what you can check in each listing: the tickets in the base option, the vehicle, the pickup area and the time in Luxor.
Why the Ranco Travel small-group day comes first
It lists the entry tickets for Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut as included, which several cheaper listings do not. It spends two hours at Karnak and two in the Valley of the Kings, crosses the Nile by boat, and picks up in Hurghada and the resorts around it without a surcharge. Ranco Travel can also drop you in Luxor at the end if you want to stay. The weak points: Tutankhamun's tomb costs extra despite the title, there is a 30-minute stop at an alabaster workshop, and the Luxor Temple is not on the programme.
Tutankhamun's tomb in the price
Few tours here include the tomb ticket. The Nice Tours highlights day from Hurghada has the full set: Karnak, three tombs including Tutankhamun, Hatshepsut and the Colossi, with an Egyptologist guide; pickup outside Hurghada costs extra. Its Makadi Bay version picks up there. Ranco Travel's Valley of the Kings tour also includes Tutankhamun but skips the Temple of Hatshepsut. Several reviewers say the tomb of Ramses V and VI is the better extra; what is included has the official fees.
The vehicle
The vans take groups of up to 12 to 15. Ranco Travel's big-bus tour describes a coach with a toilet, which helps on 4 to 5 hours each way, but switches to a minibus or people carrier when few people book. Reviews of that tour are mostly good, but one guest reports staff asking for five-star reviews at lunch; it has far fewer reviews than the van tours, so read the critical ones before you book. Small group or big bus compares every vehicle.
Pickup area and start time
Pickup starts as early as 3:30 on the FTS Travelss tours and at about 6:00 on Ranco Travel's tour with Tutankhamun included. If you stay in Makadi Bay, Soma Bay or El Gouna, check the surcharge: Ranco Travel includes these resorts, FTS Travelss, OceanAir Travel and Nice Tours charge extra. Pickup times and itinerary.
One day or two
A day trip gives you roughly 5 hours at the sites for 8 to 10 hours on the road. Ranco Travel's two-day tour takes up to 9 people, does Karnak on the first day and the West Bank on the second, with a 4-star hotel and lunch on both days; the listing does not say whether the tickets are included. Nice Tours sells a two-day tour by private car with a felucca and a sunrise balloon flight, without entry fees. Before you book a balloon, read the travel advice: the German Federal Foreign Office notes that balloon accidents caused by technical faults are relatively frequent, and reviewers report that the balloon does not fly in the summer heat. Day trip or 2 days.
