Luxor Day Trip from Cairo: Valley of Kings & Temples by Plane

★★★★★★★★★★ 5.00 (15 reviews)

Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/17

Duration6h–8h

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN · PT +2

PickupAt your hotel

See Five Millennia of Temples in One Day Without Renting a Car

You fly from Cairo to Luxor in the morning, spend the day with an Egyptologist visiting the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, eat lunch, and fly back by evening. Hotel pickup and drop-off, all transport between sites, entry fees and a guide are included—the only thing you arrange is showing up at your hotel on time.

6h–8h

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Luxor's ancient temples and tombs

Fly from Cairo to Luxor
Visit the Valley of the Kings
Tour the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
See the Colossi of Memnon statues
Explore the Luxor Temple complex
Visit the Karnak Temple Complex
Return flight to Cairo

The Experience

So you're standing in Cairo thinking there's no way you can actually get to Luxor and back in a day—and then you realize the flight is only an hour. That's the whole thing right there. The distance that makes Luxor feel impossible from Cairo just evaporates once you're on the plane, and suddenly you've got a full day to walk through the Valley of the Kings, stand in front of the Colossi of Memnon (two statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III that have been sitting there since 1350 BCE), and actually spend time at Karnak Temple instead of just reading about it. Hotel pickup happens early, the flight gets you there by mid-morning, and then a qualified Egyptologist guide takes over.

The itinerary moves fast but doesn't feel rushed because everything is already arranged—no negotiating with taxi drivers, no figuring out which temple is which or how to get between them. You start on the west bank with the Valley of the Kings, where pharaohs were buried in rock-cut tombs for nearly 500 years during the New Kingdom. Then Hatshepsut Temple, the mortuary temple built into the cliffs at Deir el-Bahari that archaeologists call one of the incomparable monuments of ancient Egypt. The Colossi of Memnon are next—two massive stone figures that stop you cold when you see them in person, even though you've seen the photos. Lunch happens somewhere in there, and then you cross to the east bank for Luxor Temple (built around 1400 BCE and dedicated to the rejuvenation of kingship) and Karnak, the vast complex that started construction around 2000 BC and kept growing for over two thousand years.

The guide makes the difference. An Egyptologist who knows the dynasties, the gods, the reasons these temples were built the way they were—not just the dates and the names. You get the actual history instead of just walking through old buildings. And because you're traveling by private air-conditioned vehicle between sites, you're not melting in the heat or waiting for a group van to fill up. By evening you're back at your Cairo or Giza hotel, which sounds impossible until you've actually done it.

What’s included

Round-trip domestic flights between Cairo and Luxor, hotel pickup and drop-off in Cairo or Giza, all ground transportation in Luxor by private air-conditioned vehicle, entry to the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Colossi of Memnon, Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple, a qualified Egyptologist guide for the day, and lunch.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyInfant seats available

Operated by Roxana Travel

Is this one for you?Right for anyone staying in Cairo who wants to see Luxor's major temples without arranging flights, transport between sites, or entry tickets separately—the fixed itinerary and included guide mean you spend the day looking at temples instead of figuring out logistics.