Eight to ten hours on the road for Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut in one day.
The short answer
A Luxor day trip from Hurghada is worth it if seeing Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut matters more to you than a comfortable day: you spend 8 to 10 hours on the road for roughly 5 hours at the sites, with pickup between about 3:30 and 6:00.
It is not worth it if you sleep badly in a moving vehicle, dislike shopping stops or want time to explore on your own. Then a two-day tour with a night in Luxor is the better trade.
Pick a day, or the first and last day of your stay on the Red Sea coast. We check the booking calendar of every Luxor tour from Hurghada and show which ones still take bookings.
Tutankhamun's tomb: Optional extra
Tutankhamun's tomb: Included
Duration: 48 h
Luxor holds the temples of ancient Thebes on both banks of the Nile, about 290 km from Hurghada by road. The listings give 14 to 16 hours for the whole day. Whether that is a good deal depends less on the sites, which reviewers rarely fault, than on how you cope with the day around them.
Ranco Travel's small-group day lists 30 minutes at the Colossi of Memnon, 50 at the Temple of Hatshepsut, two hours in the Valley of the Kings, an hour for lunch, a 15-minute boat crossing and two hours at Karnak. That is the core of a visit to Luxor, with a guide who explains the sites and tickets that are bought for you. What a day trip leaves out: the inside of the Luxor Temple (usually a photo stop from outside), Medinet Habu, the museums and any time on your own in the town.
Three points come up across most tours. The pace: several reviewers on the Ranco Travel tours felt rushed at the sites, one because the group had to head back before dark. The shopping: most day trips stop for about 30 minutes at an alabaster workshop, and reviews on several tours describe café or spice-shop stops with a sales pitch. And the extras: Tutankhamun's tomb, Ramses V and VI or a boat ride are often sold on the day, in cash, above the official price.
About the drive, reviewers mention the long road through the desert without phone signal, worn minibuses on some days and comfortable vans on others.
Several listings say the tour is not suitable for wheelchair users, and some exclude pregnant women and people with back problems or claustrophobia. Walking in the Valley of the Kings and the temples is on uneven ground. For children the length of the day is the main issue; reviews of the Ranco Travel two-day tours mention families with children who were well looked after at a relaxed pace.
If the trade does not suit you, two days in Luxor split the drive and add the sites a day trip skips. Day trip or 2 days compares both.
Reviews from the booking pages, each under the tour it was written for. Most guests find the sites worth the drive. The critical voices are about rushed visits, stops on the way that stretched the day, a guide who was hard to follow, and extras sold for cash.
“Amazing day trip to the most important archeologic sites in Luxor! […] Don't bother about tickets, but choose what extra fee-tomb you want (In my opinion, Ramses V & VI are giving much more value than Tutankhamun!), lovely dinner by the Nile with boat tour. Stop at authentic alabaster workshop to learn about this technice an maybe buy a souvenir. […] Tipp: Get a travel pillow and a book on the van, it's a long drive through the desert without signal.”
“We had an absolutely fantastic day trip from Hurghada to Luxor. […] Our guide, Nana, was simply amazing. […] The day started with the magnificent Karnak Temple, continued with a wonderful boat trip on the Nile and ended with a visit to the Valley of the Kings. […]”
“Taken to tourist traps for mulitple bathroom breaks for unneccessary lengths of time there and back (30-40 min), extending an incredibly long day in the heat and crammed into a van. guide did not take us into exhibits and explain the sites. Some quick introductions only.”
“[…] We had a wonderful day overall, although we felt that the afternoon was a little too rushed and stressful in terms of timing, as we had to return fairly early because of the ban on driving in the desert at night. We particularly enjoyed the morning, which we found very interesting, but a little too short. […]”
“I choose tour in my language (Russian), but a guide barely knows it. I’ve understood just 10% information. One more thing. The Tour agency gonna offer you buy tickets in Tutankhamun and Ramses Tombs by cash, but you should buy it yourself. It save you 60% cost!!”
“We had a fantastic trip for 2 days with our guide Joo. Also our driver Mohamed was super. We enjoyed the program with all the sightseeing of the highlights of Luxor . It was great that they were making sure that we had a good time, especially because we were travelling with kids. The hotel in Luxor (Jolie Ville) was superb. Bring your swimwear and you can enjoy their fantastic pools. […]”
Reviews written by guests after their trip to Luxor, as shown on GetYourGuide, each under the tour it was written for. Shortened reviews are marked […].
About 5 hours at the sites, including lunch, on a day trip of 14 to 16 hours. The rest is the drive of 4 to 5 hours each way with rest stops.
They are different trips. Luxor is reached by road and shows the temples and royal tombs of Thebes. The tours from Hurghada that go by plane head to Cairo and the pyramids; see cairobyplane.com.
On most day trips, yes: about 30 minutes at an alabaster workshop is in the itinerary of several tours. Reviewers on some tours also mention café or spice-shop stops.
Check the listing for age rules; the day is 14 to 16 hours long with a very early start. Families in reviews of the two-day tours describe the slower pace as easier with children.
Opinions differ. Several reviewers on Ranco Travel's small-group day say the tomb of Ramses V and VI gives more for the extra ticket.
