Luxor: Valley of Kings & Karnak Temple Private Full-Day Tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/18

Duration8h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · AR +2

PickupAt your hotel

Five temples in one day: the West Bank tombs, then Karnak at sunset

You visit five major temples and the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings in a single day, with a licensed guide who walks you through the history and architecture at each stop. Hotel pickup, private transport, lunch and all entry fees are included, so you don't arrange tickets or navigate between sites yourself. The pace is steady but not rushed, and you're back by late afternoon.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Luxor East and West Banks

Pickup from hotel or airport
Visit Valley of the Kings tombs
Tour Temple of Queen Hatshepsut
See the Colossi of Memnon
Lunch at local restaurant
Visit Karnak Temple on East Bank
Explore Luxor Temple
Return to hotel or airport

The Experience

Your driver picks you up from your hotel or Nile cruise in Luxor before dawn, and you cross to the West Bank in a private air-conditioned vehicle. The Valley of the Kings opens first — a dry riverbed lined with low stone entrances, each one leading down into a royal tomb. Your guide walks you through at least two of them: the painted walls inside are still vivid, and the scale of the burial chambers makes it clear why pharaohs spent entire reigns preparing these spaces. Tutankhamun is here, along with Ramesses and Thutmosis, though the most famous tombs rotate in and out of public access depending on restoration work.

After the valley, you drive to Hatshepsut's Temple — the one that looks like it's cut into the cliff itself, three tiers of colonnades stacked against the rock face. It was built around 1470 BC by the only female pharaoh to rule Egypt, and the architecture is so clean and geometric that it feels almost modern. The Colossi of Memnon come next, two massive stone statues sitting alone in a field, all that's left of Amenhotep III's mortuary temple. Then lunch at a local restaurant — full Egyptian meal, though you'll need to order drinks separately.

The afternoon shift you across the Nile to the East Bank. Karnak Temple is enormous, a sprawl of pylons, obelisks and hypostyle halls dedicated to Amun, the king of the gods. It's the largest religious complex ever built, and you'll walk through the Great Hypostyle Hall, where 134 columns rise in rows so thick they block out the sky. Your guide points out the cartouches of different pharaohs carved into the stone — each one trying to outdo the last. The day ends at Luxor Temple, right on the riverbank, built by Amenhotep III and finished by Ramesses II. By late afternoon the light hits the pylons at an angle that makes the carved reliefs jump out of the stone.

The whole tour runs about eight hours door to door. You're moving between sites constantly, but the private vehicle and guide mean no waiting for group departures or fighting through crowds at entry gates. Water is included; everything else — coffee, snacks, extra drinks — you pay for as you go. Drop-off is back at your hotel or the airport if that's where you're headed.

What’s included

Your day includes hotel or cruise pickup in a private air-conditioned vehicle, a licensed tour guide for the full eight hours, entry fees to the Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut, Colossi of Memnon, Karnak Temple, and Luxor Temple, lunch at a local Egyptian restaurant (if selected), all transfers between sites, a bottle of water, and return drop-off to your hotel or airport.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersNot for heart conditionsNot for back problems

Operated by Emo Tours Egypt

Is this one for you?Book this if you want to see the main Luxor temples and royal tombs in one day without arranging your own transport, tickets or timing — the private guide and vehicle mean you move between five major sites without waiting for group departures or navigating entry queues yourself.