Private Day Trip from Hurghada to Luxor & the Valley of the Kings with an Egyptologist

Why Choose a Private Day Trip from Hurghada to Luxor?

Your Own Car, Your Own Egyptologist

On a coach you wait for other hotels, other guests and other people’s plans. On a private trip it is just you: the car collects you from your hotel, stops whenever you need a break, and your Egyptologist explains as much as you want to know. For families, couples and history lovers it is the most relaxed way to meet the pharaohs.

No Shopping Stops

No alabaster factory, no papyrus shop on the schedule: your time belongs to the temples and tombs. If you would like to do some shopping after all, just tell your guide.

The Route from Hurghada to Luxor

Through the Desert to the Nile Valley

The road runs along the coast from Hurghada to Safaga, then crosses the Eastern Desert to Qena and the green Nile Valley. Allow about four hours each way. In the air-conditioned car you can sleep on the way – or watch sand and mountains turn into sugar-cane fields and date palms.

Breaks Whenever You Like

The car is yours for the day, so you stop whenever you want. Soft drinks in the vehicle are included.

Itinerary: Your Private Day in Luxor and the Valley of the Kings

Times are approximate. Your Egyptologist adapts the order to crowds and heat – an advantage only a private trip can offer.

05:00: Hotel Pickup in Hurghada

Your driver meets you in your hotel lobby. Ask reception the evening before for a wake-up call and a breakfast box – many hotels are happy to prepare one for early excursions. That way you can enjoy breakfast in the car while the sun rises over the desert.

The first kilometres follow the coast. After Safaga the road turns inland through the mountains of the Eastern Desert. If you like, catch up on sleep – your driver will wake you when the Nile Valley comes into view.

Around 09:00: Karnak Temple on the East Bank

Your first stop is Karnak, Egypt’s largest temple complex and the great sanctuary of the god Amun. For almost two thousand years pharaohs built here, extended it and left their mark. You have around two hours to explore its courtyards, halls and chapels with your Egyptologist.

The Great Hypostyle Hall

134 giant columns stand close together like a forest of stone – the twelve in the centre are more than 20 metres high. Your Egyptologist shows you where the colours of the reliefs still glow and reads you the cartouches of the kings who built here.

The Obelisk of Hatshepsut

In the middle of the temple, the obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut rises almost 30 metres into the sky – carved from a single block of granite. It is one of the tallest obelisks still standing in Egypt.

The Sacred Lake and the Scarab

Priests purified themselves in the Sacred Lake before their rituals. Right beside it stands a large stone scarab: walk around it, people in Luxor say, and it brings you luck.

The Avenue of Sphinxes

A processional way almost three kilometres long, lined with sphinxes, once linked Karnak with Luxor Temple. At the entrance to Karnak you pass the ram-headed sphinxes that guard the way.

Around 11:30: Lunch in Luxor

At lunchtime you enjoy Egyptian dishes at a local restaurant. Drinks at the restaurant are paid locally. It is a welcome break before you head to the West Bank of the Nile, where the pharaohs built their tombs and mortuary temples.

Around 12:30: Motorboat Ride on the Nile

You spend about 45 minutes on the Nile by motorboat. From the water you see Luxor at its most peaceful: fields, palm trees and the mountains of the West Bank. For many guests this is the moment they understand why the ancient Egyptians worshipped the Nile as the source of all life.

Around 13:30: the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank

For around 500 years the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in the Valley of the Kings, in tombs cut deep into the mountain and painted from floor to ceiling. More than 60 tombs are known today – the most famous is the tomb of Tutankhamun, found by Howard Carter in 1922.

Three Tombs in the Valley of the Kings Included

Your ticket includes three tombs. Guides are not allowed to explain inside the narrow tombs, so your Egyptologist tells you beforehand what you are about to see – from the king’s journey through the underworld to his rebirth with the sun. Then you go in and discover the paintings with new eyes.

Extra Tickets: Tutankhamun and Ramses VI

The tombs of Tutankhamun and Ramses VI are not included in the standard ticket. Tutankhamun’s tomb still holds the mummy of the young king, and the tomb of Ramses VI is famous for its astronomical ceiling. If you would like to see one or both, buy an extra ticket on site – your guide will help you.

Which Tombs Are Open?

The tombs open and close in rotation so the paintings can recover. On the day, your Egyptologist picks the three tombs most worth seeing.

Tip for the Valley of the Kings

The valley is dry and hot, and some passages are steep. Wear comfortable, sturdy shoes and bring water and a hat.

Around 15:00: the Temple of Hatshepsut

At Deir el-Bahari, the terraced temple of Queen Hatshepsut rises in three levels in front of a sheer cliff – one of the most striking sights in all of Egypt. Hatshepsut was one of the few women to rule as pharaoh and even had herself portrayed with a royal beard.

The Terraces of Deir el-Bahari

Your Egyptologist leads you up the ramps and explains why this temple looks like no other: it was built for the queen’s mortuary cult and blends into the landscape like nothing else.

The Reliefs of the Expedition to Punt

On the walls, Hatshepsut tells the story of her famous trading voyage to the land of Punt: ships, incense trees, exotic animals. With a little help from your guide you spot the details most visitors miss.

Around 16:00: the Colossi of Memnon

Your last stop is the two seated statues of Amenhotep III, around 18 metres tall, which have looked out over the fields of the West Bank for some 3,400 years. They once stood in front of his mortuary temple, of which little survives today.

The Legend of the Singing Colossus

After an earthquake in antiquity, one of the statues is said to have made a sound at sunrise. The Greeks believed it was Memnon greeting his mother, the goddess of dawn – hence the name. Since a repair in Roman times, the colossus has been silent.

Around 16:30: Return to Hurghada

Full of impressions, you head back to the coast. You can relax in the car and ask your Egyptologist any last questions before he says goodbye in Luxor. You are back at your hotel in Hurghada around 20:00.