Luxor in One Day: East Bank, West Bank or Both?

You can see both banks of Luxor in one day if you start early: the Full Day Tour to East and West Banks of Luxor takes the Colossi of Memnon, Hatshepsut's temple and the Valley of the Kings in the morning, then Karnak and Luxor Temple after lunch. If you would rather give each side more time, book the Luxor West Bank Tour Full Day Tour or the Luxor East Bank Tour separately.

Key Takeaways

• Three private day tours cover Luxor: both banks in a full day, the West Bank in a full day, or the East Bank in a half day. Lunch, entrance fees for the listed sites and an English-speaking Egyptologist are included in each.
• The West Bank tour does not include entry to the special tombs in the Valley of the Kings, such as Tutankhamun, Seti I or Ramses VI, or camera tickets inside the tombs.
• Karnak is open daily from 06:00 to 17:00, Luxor Temple from 06:00 to 20:00, and the Temple of Hatshepsut from 06:00 to 17:00.
• Luxor's average daily high is 35.3 °C in April and October and 41.4 °C in July, so the morning start matters most in summer.
• For the evening, the Karnak sound and light show runs about 75 minutes.

Three ways to do Luxor

The full day, in order

The Full Day Tour to East and West Banks of Luxor starts on the West Bank at the Colossi of Memnon, two statues of Amenhotep III standing over 18 meters high. Next is the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir El-Bahari, carved into the cliffs, and then the Valley of the Kings, where over 60 tombs were cut into the mountains for New Kingdom royalty. A stop at a local alabaster workshop comes before lunch. In the afternoon the day crosses to the East Bank for Karnak, the Great Hypostyle Hall and Hatshepsut's obelisk, and ends at Luxor Temple in the middle of the city.

When to take the split days

Choose the West Bank day when the tombs and mortuary temples are the point. It adds Medinet Habu, the mortuary temple of Ramses III with deeply cut reliefs where original paint survives, and Deir El-Medina, the village where the tomb builders lived. Choose the East Bank half day for a slower look at Karnak, built for Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonsu, with your guide explaining who added what, and at Luxor Temple, begun by Amenhotep III and extended by Ramses II. It picks you up from any hotel or Nile cruise boat in Luxor, which suits people staying on a boat.

For background on each place, see our pages on Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon.

After dark, and beyond Luxor

The Sound and Light Show at Karnak Temple walks you through the lit hypostyle hall, past the last remaining pillar of Pharaoh Taharqa, and ends beside the sacred lake dug by Tuthmosis III. If you have more than a day, the Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples Day Tour from Luxor goes by road along the Nile Valley, and the Cairo Day Tour from Luxor by Flight flies to Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum. All of them are listed under Luxor day tours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really see both banks in one day? Yes. The full day tour does the West Bank in the morning and the East Bank after lunch.

Is Tutankhamun's tomb included? Not on the West Bank tour: entry to the special tombs, including Tutankhamun, Seti I and Ramses VI, is listed as not included.

Is lunch included? Yes, at a local restaurant, on all three tours.

What if I am staying on a Nile cruise boat? The East Bank half day collects from any hotel or Nile cruise boat in Luxor.

Do prices change at holidays? The East Bank page notes that prices may vary over Christmas, New Year and Easter.