Luxor day trips from Hurghada and Marsa Alam

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

From Hurghada the road crosses the Eastern Desert towards the Nile near Safaga and Qena, then turns south to Luxor. Without stops that is about 295 kilometres and 3 hours 45 minutes, and in practice reviewers describe around four hours each way once police checkpoints and a break are added. A day trip therefore runs on a fixed rhythm: pickup in the dark, arrival in Luxor around the middle of the morning, about six or seven hours at the sites and a drive back in the late afternoon.

How the day runs

Most reviews describe pickups between 3 and 5 am, and the exact time usually comes from the tour company the day before. A reviewer on the small-group minivan trip was collected at 4:40 and reached Luxor at 9:45. On the road, vehicles may have to wait at checkpoints. One reviewer on an overnight trip waited 40 minutes for another car because vehicles may not cross the desert alone at night. The toilet stops along the way charge a small fee, so carry some Egyptian pounds in cash. Reviewers also point out the long stretches without phone signal and recommend a travel pillow.

A typical programme, as one Karnak and Valley of the Kings listing lays it out, begins at Karnak, adds a photo stop outside Luxor Temple, breaks for lunch and crosses to the West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Tour companies want to leave Luxor before dark, so the afternoon can feel hurried, and a review of one trip describes Luxor Temple being dropped for lack of time. Return is in the late evening; one family got back two and a half hours later than planned after a problem with the transport.

Minivan, coach or private car

The small-group trip travels by minivan. Its listing includes entry fees, and reviewers describe lunch by the Nile with a boat ride, a stop at the Colossi of Memnon and an alabaster workshop. You choose an extra tomb for a supplement. One reviewer found Ramses V and VI better value than Tutankhamun; the guide also let another guest pay for Tutankhamun on the spot after he forgot to select it.

The coach trip has a toilet on board, though its listing says the vehicle may be a minivan, minibus or coach depending on group size. The Nile boat, drinks and the tomb of Ramses V and VI are not included, while the programme does include a 35-minute stop at an alabaster factory. Other group trips give you the choice between Tutankhamun and Ramses V and VI as your extra tomb; reviewers of one praise the guides but describe small seats in the van and half an hour at a souvenir shop.

With a private car the timetable is yours. The VIP day by Memnon Reisen gives about two hours each at Karnak and in the Valley of the Kings, adds Hatshepsut, the colossi, a Nile ride and lunch, and includes the tickets for every site on the list. Its listing marks it as wheelchair accessible. Zakharious Tours collects at around 5 am anywhere from El Gouna to Port Ghalib, with a surcharge for the far ends of the coast, and its description mentions a German-speaking Egyptologist.

From Makadi Bay, El Gouna and Marsa Alam

Several Hurghada trips also collect from Makadi Bay, Sahl Hasheesh, Soma Bay, El Gouna or Safaga, often as a paid add-on. The Makadi Bay trip by Nice Tours lasts about 16 hours and includes tickets for the Valley of the Kings, Tutankhamun’s tomb, Karnak and Hatshepsut’s temple, with a short felucca crossing of the Nile.

From Marsa Alam the road is longer, about 360 kilometres and 4 hours 20 minutes without stops. The group trip from Marsa Alam picks up from hotels in the resort but not south of the airport, includes a buffet lunch and a 30-minute shopping stop, and treats Tutankhamun and Ramses V and VI as options. Our page on getting to Luxor covers the flights into Luxor and Marsa Alam if you would rather not do the drive twice in a day.

Overnight trips with a sunrise balloon

Some trips use the night for the drive. The small-group tour with a sunrise balloon picks up between 11 and 11:30 pm, serves tea at a café on arrival, then goes up in a balloon over the West Bank before a full day at the Valley of the Kings, Karnak and Hatshepsut, a felucca ride and lunch. Children can fly from 6 years. A balloon flight is never guaranteed: wind and the authorities can cancel it at short notice, and reviewers whose flight was cancelled report getting only part of the money back. The balloon page explains how the flights work.

The two-day package adds a hotel night in Luxor, the balloon flight and a boat ride. Reviewers mention small charges paid on site, such as a fee for the short ride up to the tombs, and mixed opinions of the hotel and restaurant.

Safety on the desert road

The German Federal Foreign Office describes the risk of road accidents in Egypt as very high and advises against travelling at night. The UK Foreign Office also advises not driving outside the main cities and resorts after dark. Day trips from the Red Sea leave in the dark all the same, which is worth weighing before you book. A night in Luxor, or a flight into Luxor, avoids the early start; the itineraries page shows how two days on the Nile compare with a single long day.

The pyramids of Giza are a separate trip from the Red Sea coast. Our sister site visitgreatpyramids.com covers them.