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
Luxor
Stay on the east bank of Luxor for most trips. It has the station, the airport, Karnak, Luxor Temple, the restaurants and nearly every large hotel. Pick the west bank if you want quiet evenings and the shortest trip to the Valley of the Kings at opening. The Nile splits Luxor in two, and the bank you sleep on decides how your mornings start. On a guided tour it matters less, because a driver collects you and the river crossing is planned for you.
East bank
West bank| East bank | West bank | |
|---|---|---|
| Karnak and Luxor Temple | Close. Luxor Temple is in the town centre | Across the river. A few minutes by ferry, longer by road |
| Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut | Across the river. Add the crossing to every west bank morning | Close. The shortest trip to the tombs at opening |
| Crossing the river | Local ferry in a few minutes, or the bridge, 20 to 30 minutes by road | The same ferry or bridge, the other way |
| Evenings | Restaurants, the corniche, shops and Luxor Temple lit up at night | Quiet. Few places to eat outside your hotel |
| Where you sleep | Most of Luxor's hotels, from large Nile-side hotels to small ones | Small hotels and guesthouses among fields and villages |
| Station, airport, cruise boats | All on this side | All across the river |
| Best for | First visits, short stays and anyone who wants choice at night | Second visits, three or more nights, and early tomb starts |
The short answer
Pick the east bank for a first visit or a stay of one or two nights. Pick the west bank for three or more nights, if quiet evenings and early starts at the tombs matter more than restaurants. You can also split the stay and use the ferry.
Luxor sits on both banks of the Nile. The ancient Egyptians built for the living on the east bank, where the sun rises. They buried their dead on the west bank, where it sets.
That split still shapes a visit. The east bank holds the modern town, Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Luxor Museum, the station and the airport. The west bank holds the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut, Medinet Habu and the Colossi of Memnon.
Most visitors stay on the east bank and cross the river for one or two mornings. That works well, because the ferry is quick. The west bank suits people who want peace more than choice.
The east bank is where nearly every hotel is. Large hotels line the corniche along the river, and smaller ones sit in the streets behind. Luxor Temple is in the middle of town and is lit up at night. Karnak is a short drive north.
Evenings are easy here. You can walk the corniche, eat out and visit Luxor Temple after dark. The station and the airport are on this side, and the Nile cruise boats moor here too.
The cost is noise and attention. Calèche drivers and boatmen work the corniche hard. Agree any price before you get in. Step a street back from the river and it calms down.
The west bank is farmland, villages and desert cliffs. Places to stay here are mostly small hotels and guesthouses, spread out among the fields. Evenings are quiet, and there are few places to eat outside your hotel.
The gain is the morning. The tombs have no airflow and fill up by mid-morning, so the first hour is the best time to see them. From the west bank you can be at the gate when it opens. Balloon flights also launch from this side at first light.
The sites are spread over several kilometres of desert edge, with no shade and no useful public transport. You still need a car and driver for the day. To reach Karnak or a restaurant in town, take the ferry or a taxi over the bridge.
The local ferry crosses in a few minutes, for about the price of a coffee. It lands close to Luxor Temple. Private motorboats do the same trip on demand, for more.
The road bridge is several kilometres south of the centre. By car, the crossing takes 20 to 30 minutes each way. That quietly takes an hour out of a west bank day, so plan one west bank morning rather than several short trips.
We sell the tours of one Egyptian operator, Memphis Tours. Six of the sixteen set itineraries we sell include hotel nights in Luxor. Each uses one of three east bank hotels, depending on the accommodation option you choose when you book.
Sonesta St. George Hotel is on Corniche El Nile Street, in the centre of Luxor's shopping district. Steigenberger Nile Palace has its own jetty on the Nile, facing the Valley of the Kings across the river. Its address is Khaled Ibn El Walid Street. Iberotel Luxor is on the same street on the east bank, according to hotel listings. We checked these locations in November 2026.
On these trips your guide collects you each touring day, and the west bank crossing is part of the plan. Cairo and Luxor, five days, starts at US$1,480 per person, land only, with one night in Luxor. Cairo, Luxor and Hurghada, eight days, starts at US$2,040. Cairo, Luxor and a Nile Cruise, twelve days, starts at US$3,160, with two hotel nights in Luxor before the boat.
On a Nile cruise, the boat is your hotel. Cruise boats moor on the east bank at Luxor, often side by side. Luxor is the first or last stop, so you get one west bank morning and Karnak with the group.
That is enough for the main sights. If Luxor is the heart of your trip, add a night or two in a hotel before or after the cruise. Our Nile cruise ships page compares the boats.
Two full days is the working minimum: one west bank morning and one east bank afternoon. Three days is the comfortable number. It adds the Valley of the Queens or Medinet Habu, an hour in the Luxor Museum and a slower pace in the heat.
Do the west bank first and start early, before the tombs get hot and busy. Save Karnak and Luxor Temple for the late afternoon, when the light is low and most coaches have gone.
The east bank, for most trips. It has the temples in town, the restaurants, the station, the airport and nearly every hotel. The west bank is quieter and closer to the Valley of the Kings, and suits a stay of three or more nights.
The east bank, near the corniche. You can walk to Luxor Temple, eat out in the evening and reach the west bank by ferry in a few minutes. Plan one early morning on the west bank for the tombs.
Take the local ferry, which crosses in a few minutes and lands near Luxor Temple. Private motorboats cost more. By car, the bridge is several kilometres south of the centre and takes 20 to 30 minutes each way.
Yes, if you have three or more nights and like quiet evenings. You reach the tombs at opening, ahead of the heat. You give up restaurants and nightlife, and you need the ferry or a taxi to reach the town.
Memphis Tours, the operator whose tours we sell, uses three east bank hotels: Sonesta St. George Hotel, Steigenberger Nile Palace and Iberotel Luxor. Your hotel depends on the accommodation option you choose.
The best hotel depends on the bank. On the east bank, look for a hotel on the corniche with a Nile view, close to Luxor Temple. On the west bank, look for a small hotel near the ferry landing. Pick the bank first, then the hotel.
Two nights at least, three for comfort. Two full days cover one west bank morning and one east bank afternoon. A third day adds the Valley of the Queens, Medinet Habu or the Luxor Museum without rushing.
For current advice, read the US State Department and UK FCDO travel pages for Egypt before you book. In practical terms, expect persistent selling on the corniche. Agree prices for calèches and boats before you set off.
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
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
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
