By type of trip
Nile Cruises Luxor to Aswan: Routes, Boats and Prices
Classic Egypt Tours: Cairo, Luxor and Aswan Itineraries
Nile Cruise and Red Sea Holidays: Two-Week Egypt Trips
White Desert Tours from Cairo: Oases and Desert Camping
Short Breaks in Egypt: Three and Four Day Cairo Trips
Tailor-made Egypt Tours: Private Trips Built Around You
Route guide · Updated October 2026
Cairo to Luxor is about 640 km by road. The quickest way is to fly, and the flight takes about an hour. The overnight sleeper train takes about eight and a half to eleven hours and saves you a hotel night. The drive is about seven and a half hours without stops, so the road suits trips that stop on the way. Nine of our tours include the Cairo to Luxor flight, and none uses the train. Below, the flight, the train and the road are compared, with the trip back from Luxor to Cairo. Times were checked in October 2026.
| Flight | Overnight sleeper train | |
|---|---|---|
| Time on the move | About an hour in the air, plus airport time at each end | About 8½ to 10¾ hours, overnight |
| Leaves Cairo | Several flights a day | Between 19:20 and about 23:00 |
| Reaches Luxor | About an hour after take-off | Between about 05:15 and 09:00 |
| What it saves | Most of a day | A hotel night |
| On our tours | Included on nine tours | Book it yourself on Abela's website |
| Luxor to Cairo | Included on two of our tours | Leaves Luxor between 19:45 and 23:30 |
The short answer
Fly, unless you want the train for its own sake. The flight keeps your day, and our tours include it. Take the sleeper once if a night on the rails appeals and you sleep well. Drive only if you want to stop on the way, and give it a full day.
Fly if you want the day. The flight is about an hour, so you can land in Luxor in the morning and be in the Valley of the Kings that afternoon. That is how the Cairo and Luxor Short Break does it. Cairo is the hub of Egypt's domestic network, and the Luxor route carries several flights a day.
Take the sleeper train to save a hotel night, or to ride an Egyptian night train once. You board in the evening and wake up in the Nile valley. The price is a short, broken night before your first day of sightseeing.
Drive only if you want to stop on the way. Seven and a half hours is the driving time alone. Long-distance buses also serve the Nile valley and suit slow trips on a tight budget. Our getting around Egypt guide covers buses, Cairo taxis and the metro.
The flight takes about an hour. Add the drive to Cairo airport and check-in, then the short transfer at the Luxor end. Luxor's airport is small, so arrival is quick.
Egyptian domestic flights are often retimed, sometimes the day before. Leave a buffer if your Luxor flight connects with a flight home. Our flights to Egypt guide covers baggage limits, Cairo's terminals and how much time to leave.
Nine of the tours we sell include the Cairo to Luxor flight. You are taken to Cairo airport, flown south and met in Luxor. The Cairo and Luxor Short Break, Cairo, Luxor and the Red Sea, and the 8- and 9-day cruise trips fly on day 3. The 10-, 12-, 14- and 15-day trips fly on day 4.
Abela runs the sleeper trains. Its timetable lists eight trains from the Cairo end to Luxor. They leave between 19:20 and about 23:00 and reach Luxor between about 05:15 and 09:00. The journey takes about eight and a half to ten and three-quarter hours, depending on the train and its stops. We read this timetable on Abela's website in October 2026.
At the Cairo end, most trains list two boarding points: a station the timetable calls Upper Egypt, and Giza. Check which one is printed on your ticket. Giza departures run from 19:50 to 23:10.
Choose the train by what you want to do on arrival. The two 19:20 departures reach Luxor at about 05:15 and 05:35. The 20:35 arrives at about 06:50. The two 22:20 departures arrive at about 08:10 and 09:00, in time for breakfast and a late-morning start.
Check the fare and the cabin type on Abela's website when you book. The same trains run on to Aswan, and our Luxor to Aswan guide has that leg. For what the night is like, read the sleeper verdict in our getting around Egypt guide. All our tours fly this leg.
Egyptian National Railways also runs day trains along the valley. Its booking site asked for a login when we checked in October 2026, so this page gives no day-train times. Ask at the station or at your hotel.
The road distance from Cairo to Luxor is about 640 km. That is the OpenStreetMap route from Tahrir Square to central Luxor, checked October 2026. It gives about seven hours 25 minutes of driving with no stops. In a straight line the two cities are about 500 km apart.
Plan on most of a day. Security checkpoints sit on most intercity roads, and Cairo traffic adds time at the start. Our getting around Egypt guide covers checkpoints and night driving. Check the US State Department and UK FCDO pages for current advice on road travel in Upper Egypt before you go (both checked October 2026).
A private car and driver is the one way to stop where you like. Abydos lies about 150 km north of Luxor, and Dendera is near Qena, closer to Luxor. A day out from Luxor is the easier way to see both. Our 12-, 14- and 15-day tours and the Grand Tour of Egypt each give them a full day from a Luxor hotel.
The trip back works the same way. The flight takes about an hour. Two of our tours fly from Luxor to Cairo. The Cairo and Luxor Short Break flies back on day 4, after Karnak and Luxor temples. Cairo, Aswan and a Nile Cruise, 7 days, sails north from Aswan and flies from Luxor to Cairo on day 6.
Northbound sleepers leave Luxor between 19:45 and 23:30. They reach Giza between about 04:25 and 09:10, and the end of the line a little later. The trip takes about eight and a half to ten and a half hours.
A late train lets you spend a full day in Luxor first. It also lands you in Cairo early in the morning, so ask your hotel about an early check-in. By road it is the same 640 km. If you are heading for the Red Sea, Hurghada is about four hours from Luxor by road.
Regular Nile cruises sail between Luxor and Aswan. On a cruise holiday, the Cairo days happen on land, followed by a flight south to the boat. Our Nile cruise from Cairo guide explains the trips sold under that name and what to ask about them.
Nine of the tours we sell with our partner, Memphis Tours, include a domestic flight between Cairo and Luxor. Prices are from-prices per person in US dollars. International flights are extra on all of them.
Cairo and Luxor only: the Cairo and Luxor Short Break, 5 days, from US$1,480. It flies both ways, with one night in Luxor.
With a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan: Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise, 8 days, from US$2,135. A Nile Cruise and Two Days in Cairo, 9 days, from US$2,385. Cairo and a Nile Cruise, 10 days, from US$2,635. Each flies to Luxor, sails to Aswan and flies back to Cairo.
With extra days in Luxor before the boat: Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise, 12 days, from US$3,160. Cairo, Luxor, a Nile Cruise and the White Desert, 14 days, from US$3,815. Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise, 15 days, from US$3,985.
With the Red Sea: Cairo, Luxor and the Red Sea, 8 days, from US$2,040. It flies to Luxor, drives to Hurghada and flies back to Cairo. In the other direction, Cairo, Aswan and a Nile Cruise, 7 days, from US$1,890, flies to Aswan and back to Cairo from Luxor.
About 640 km by road, on the OpenStreetMap route checked October 2026, and about 500 km in a straight line. Aswan is about 215 km further south, so Luxor is roughly three-quarters of the way from Cairo to Aswan.
Once, for most people. It saves a hotel night and a travel day. Light sleepers, families with small children and anyone with a bad back are usually happier flying. Our getting around Egypt guide has the full verdict.
Yes, in the busy season. Cabins are limited and sell out. Book on Abela's website once your dates are fixed, and check the fare there.
It is possible by air, but most of the day goes on airports and transfers. Our getting around Egypt guide advises taking a night where one is available. Our shortest Cairo and Luxor trip, the Cairo and Luxor Short Break, spends one night there and covers both banks in a day and a half.
Yes. Six of our cruise trips work this way: fly Cairo to Luxor, sail to Aswan, then fly Aswan to Cairo. You never retrace the river, and both flights are in the price.
Yes. Abela's timetable lists one sleeper from Alexandria. It leaves at 19:20, calls at Sidi Gaber and Giza, and reaches Luxor at about 09:00. Going north, it leaves Luxor at 22:45 and reaches Alexandria at about 11:20.
Entry rules, opening hours, security advice and exchange rates all move. Check them at the source, not here.
Written and checked by the Nile Trip Guide editorial team · Last reviewed . Entry rules, prices and opening hours change — check anything critical against the official sources linked on this page.
Plan this trip
A real itinerary with real prices, usually within 24 hours. Nothing is booked and nothing is charged until you say yes.
5 days · Short break
Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight south for one night in Luxor covering both banks, and a flight back. Five days, two cities, both domestic flights in the price and every day guided privately.
from US$1,480 / per person
8 days · Classic Egypt
The route most people take first, at the length it was built for: Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, then a flight to Luxor and four nights sailing down to Aswan.
from US$2,135 / per person
8 days · Nile & Red Sea
No boat on this one. Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, a night in Luxor for both banks, two nights on the Red Sea, then back to Cairo for the Citadel, Coptic Cairo and the Royal Mummies.
from US$2,040 / per person
9 days · Classic Egypt
The standard Cairo and Nile cruise route with the day most itineraries cut: a second Cairo day at the end for the Royal Mummies, the Citadel and Coptic Cairo.
from US$2,385 / per person
10 days · Classic Egypt
Five nights in Cairo either side of a four-night sail from Luxor to Aswan. The Cairo days are private, just your party and a guide; the sightseeing off the boat is shared with a small group.
from US$2,635 / per person
12 days · Classic Egypt
The standard Cairo-and-cruise route with two extra nights in a Luxor hotel before boarding, which is what buys you the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu, the Ramesseum, and a day out to Dendera and Abydos.
from US$3,160 / per person
14 days · Desert & oases
Fourteen days that add the Western Desert to the usual route: Cairo, two days of Luxor on land, four nights sailing to Aswan, then a drive west to Bahariya and a night out among the white chalk formations.
from US$3,815 / per person
15 days · Classic Egypt
Fifteen days of the ancient sites without a beach stop: Cairo, two days of Luxor on land, four nights sailing to Aswan, a Nubian village, then back to Cairo for Alexandria, Saqqara and Dahshur.
from US$3,985 / per person
7 days · Classic Egypt
A 7 day Egypt itinerary that takes the river the other way round: Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum first, then a flight south to Aswan and three nights sailing down to Luxor.
from US$1,890 / per person
