The Top Things To Do & Attractions in Luxor

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My recommendations are below. I think the tours are majorly short-changing people on seeing all the Tombs of The Valley of The Kings. It is a fast tourist run and I think it can be done better. Here are my recommendations for you below.

If you can today, quickly get up to King’s Valley and see Seti I (extra ticket — it is totally worth it — must do this) Ramses V & VI (extra ticket), Merenptah, Ramsses III, Queen Tausert, and if you can below Ramses IX, and maybe King Tut for 300 EGP. There is also Ramsess I which is small and good colors, but you could skip and just Google photos.


The other must see is Medinet Habu temple if you have time today. You have to stop at a little ticket office close to there to buy the ticket, it is cheap and it is stunning. It is on the way west toward the street that will then turn north toward King’s Valley. Queens Valley is to the left or in front of Medinet Habu temple. I’ll send you a photo of this map that is right by the this Ministry of Antiquities office.

If you can make it to Valley of The Queens, Queen Nefertari tomb 66 is absolutely stunning (1400 EGP or you could probably pay the guards off or buy Luxor Pass as below).






So here is some of the intelligence below I’ve collected (& just mailed to some other people I met here as well) — hope this may help for when you return to Luxor:
  • First, there are two Luxor Passes
    1. Luxor Pass ($100) which gets you into all Luxor sites for 5 days except for Queen Nefertari and King Seti I tombs.
    2. Luxor Premium Pass ($200) for five days which includes everything (including Queen Nefertari & King Seti I tombs).
You have to go to a Ministry of Antiquities ticket office or West Bank ticket office (right to the left of the big map sign you see when first driving past Collosseli of Memnon to the triangle dead-end—there is a village behind this sign/map up on a hill) to buy all tickets for tombs I will describe below EXCEPT Valley of The Queens, Valley of The Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple and the East Bank museums as you buy the tickets for these sites at their respective locations.

FIRST West Bank:
  1. Valley of The Queens (tombs)
    • QV66:  Queen Nefertari tomb(MUST SEE)
      • extra ticket costs ~1400 EGP (but worth it)
    • Three other tombs you can see at Valley of The Queens right next to Nefertari which are also good
      • best one QV 55:  Amun-her-khepeshef, eldest son of Ramesses III; really good color
      • can skip the other two if you don't have time, but might be included with a ticket; are right next to each other, so could just walk in and see them in 5 minutes
        • not sure how much ticket is for these three tombs in Valley of The Queens (not including Nefertari)


 

  1. Valley of The Kings (tombs)
    • KV17:  Seti I tomb (MUST SEE)
      • extra ticket costs ~1000 EGP (but worth it)
    • KV9:  Ramesses V & VI tomb (MUST SEE)
      • extra ticket costs ~100 EGP
    • KV62:  Tutankhamun
      • extra ticket costs ~300 EGP
      • worth seeing as so famous, small tombs and Tut's mummy is in there
    • If you buy a King's Valley ticket, it only allows you to see three tombs, so may want to find out how you can see all the rest of the tombs also by asking the ticket office / people there; again I had the Luxor Premium Pass so didn't buy individual tickets at KV; here are other KV tombs below and best ones in my opinion:
      • KV1:  Ramesses VII - good tomb, worth seeing quick
      • KV2:  Ramesses IV - closed now for renovation i think
      • KV6:  Ramesses IX [SEE IT] - very good tomb, not too deep and on main tourist route; worth seeing
      • KV8:  Merenptah [MUST SEE] - great tomb, worth seeing; very big and deep
      • KV11:  Ramesses III [MUST SEE] - excellent tomb, great colors
      • KV14:  Queen Tausert & Setnakht [SEE IT] - excellent tomb, only women buried in King's Valley, deep and two big openings
      • KV15:  Seti II - good tomb, unfinished toward end, worth seeing quick
    • KV47:  Siptah - good tomb, unfinished toward end, worth seeing quick
Also, Ramesses I tomb is small and has good colors, you could skip and google photos.
  1. Medinet Habu Temple [MUST SEE] (next to ticket office and just south of Valley of The Queens)
    • Absolutely stunning temple, on par with Karnak Temple
    • Make sure you walk around outside walls also
  2. Deir-el-Medina (artisans, artists and workers tombs; next to Queens Valley; )
    • One main ticket (#6 at ticket office) that gets you into three tombs; they are all very, very good; you can see them quick too as right next to each other - you could literally walk in for 5 to 10 minutes in each and it would be enough if that was all the time you had; plus now, there are hardly any people visiting so could squeeze this in tomorrow or next day
      • There is also a temple at the end of the archaeological site calledHathor Temple; it is included with your Deir-el-Medina ticket; it is amazing [MUST SEE]
    • There is one more ticket (#11 at ticket office) for a tomb there called Pashedo Tomb; it is the best one there, amazing colors
  3. Tombs of The Nobles (viziers, aristocrats, etc. where I ran into Admiral of French Navy Pierre Vandier last week)
    • At West Bank ticket office, tombs:  #3 (Nakht, Menna & Amenemopet), #4 (Sennefer & Rekhmire), #5 (Ramose, Userhet & Khaemhet), #9 (Khonsu, Userhet, Benia) and #7 (Khoka, Neferronpet, Nefersekheru, Dhutmosi) is a short walk east of the others
      • Best ones are #4:  Sennefer & Rekhmire [MUST SEE]
      • #3 and #5 are great too, if you have time (again, these are all fairly close and you can do them quick if you walk in to each one for 5 to 10 minutes to see it)
      • Could skip #7 and #9 if you don't have time, but also good to see if you have time
      • #10 is Roy & Shroy and is a bit further west from #7 and you can skip
  4. Ramessum Temple [MUST SEE] (excellent small temple, can walk through in 30 minutes to 1 hour, worth seeing if you can, right across from Tombs of The Nobles)
  5. Seti I Temple:  this is okay and you can skip if you don't have time
  6. Cartar's House:  house of guy that found Tut; can see exhibts in the rooms and has a replica of King Tut's tomb there as well with information (can skip if you don't have time)
  7. Merenptah Temple (i didn't visit yet but you can skip), ISIS Temple (can skip as far away and small), Quarnet Murei (can skip)
Thought Hatshepsut was okay. I’m sure you visited there.



SECOND East Bank:
  1. Karnak Temple [MUST SEE]:  absolutely stunning and huge; walk all around this
  2. Luxor Temple [MUST SEE]:  smaller, but very nice, can see from outside if you don't have time to go in; but worth it to walk through quick and around both sides
  3. Luxor Museum & Mummification Museum (both fairly small), can skip if you don't have time. Most interesting thing I saw in there was bow & arrows from Tut's tomb and there are a couple mummy's, etc. Good but again can skip if you don't have time
Also, there is a Tomb of Ay, in Valley of The Monkeys, just north of Valley of The Kings (you walk there from Valley of The Kings) is very, very good and secluded, can be like a 10 or 15 minute walk there from Valley of The Kings so be aware of this, but totally worth it.
You may be aware of a lot of the above or what I will mention now, but just in case you are not:  there are also other major and very famous temples at towns north and south of Luxor and in Aswan. I have not visited these yet, but they are in these cities and you can find them by searching on Google.


 

Abydos Seti I temple, Dendera, Esna, Edfu Horus Temple, Kom Ombu. Abydos & Dendera are just north of Luxor and can do both in a day. Esna, Edfu, and Kom Ombu temples can be done on travel between Luxor & Aswan, either way, in one day. There is also a temple Phillae to Isis in Aswan and another one a few hours south Abu Simbel which is supposed to be excellent (toward Sudan). These are all worth visiting. There are also a few other tombs and sites in Aswan to see.

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