20 guides to Luxor

Two days is enough to see the essentials on both banks of the Nile if you start early and split your time 50/50 between East and West.

Seven days lets you cover both banks properly, add two day trips, and still have a slow morning or two on a rooftop with a pot of hibiscus.

You can do Luxor's headline sites on under $50 a day if you use the public ferry, share taxis, and eat where the guides eat.

Three days with a private Egyptologist, Nile-view suites, and the tombs that cost extra — for around $500-700 a day per couple.

Dendera sits 65km north of Luxor and has the best-preserved painted ceiling of any Egyptian temple — a 90-minute drive each way and worth every hour.

Abydos is 165km northwest of Luxor and holds the Temple of Seti I with the Abydos King List — three hours each way but the most complete relief cycle in Egypt.

Esna is 55km south of Luxor and its Temple of Khnum has emerged from a decade of restoration with astonishing painted ceilings — a half-day trip, easily.

The Temple of Horus at Edfu, 115km south of Luxor, is the most complete temple in Egypt — a full-day round trip and often combined with Kom Ombo.

Aswan is 220km south of Luxor — doable as a long day trip by train or car, but staying a night unlocks Philae and the Nubian villages.

Choose between five very different areas: the Corniche, the souq quarter, the East Bank suburbs, the West Bank villages, or a Nile island — each with clear trade-offs.

October to April is the sensible window; May to September is 40-45°C and only cheap. The sweet spot is late November through early March.

Luxor is small — the East Bank centre is walkable — but crossing the Nile and reaching West Bank tombs needs planning. Here's what to use when.

Luxor runs on cash for small transactions and card for hotels. Tipping (baksheesh) is expected and small — budget $5-10 a day for tips alone.

Luxor is safer than most European capitals for violent crime. The daily challenges are heat, hassle at sites, and taxi scams — all manageable.

Ten dishes that define Egyptian cooking and where in Luxor to try them — from $1 street koshari to $15 stuffed pigeon.

The main souq is a five-minute walk from Luxor Temple. Two smaller markets are worth the detour — plus the daily produce market where locals actually shop.

You can eat well in Luxor for $2-8 a meal all week. Ten places that locals rate, all a short walk from the East Bank centre.

You need a ticket for temples but a surprising amount of Luxor's atmosphere is free — including one of Egypt's most photographed monuments.

Luxor is not a party town. It has one iconic sound-and-light show, a handful of expat bars, and a genuinely magical after-dark temple visit — that's the honest picture.

The sun sets behind the Theban hills every evening — five places to watch it, ranging from free to $50.