Luxor in 3 days on a budget
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.
Public ferry crossing the Nile with the West Bank hills behind
Sleeping cheap and eating cheaper
Book Bob Marley Peace Hotel, Nefertiti Hotel or Boomerang Hotel for $15-25 a night including breakfast, all within 400m of Luxor Temple. Skip room service. Eat koshari at Koshari Sayed Hanafy for $2, ta’ameya (Egyptian falafel) sandwiches from any corner cart for $0.50, and grilled chicken with rice at Al-Sahaby Lane Restaurant for $6.
A big bottle of water is $0.30 from a grocery, not $2 from a temple gate seller. Fill up before you leave the hotel.
Day-by-day plan
Day 1: Karnak at 6am ($12), walk the Corniche to Luxor Temple ($10), Luxor Museum ($10) in the afternoon. Total tickets: $32. Day 2: public ferry across ($0.30), share a taxi at the West Bank landing to Valley of the Kings ($15 for three tombs), Hatshepsut ($10), Colossi (free). Total: about $30 with transport.
Day 3: Medinet Habu ($8) and Deir el-Medina ($10) in the morning — the quietest, best-value West Bank sites — then a $3 felucca-share at sunset from the ferry landing.
Money-saving tricks that actually work
Buy a student card if you’re under 30 in full-time education — half price at every site, saves $60+ over three days. Ignore calèche drivers quoting $10; a shared microbus down the Corniche is $0.20. And never accept a taxi meter — agree the fare before you get in, $2-3 within the East Bank, $5 to the train station.
Frequently asked questions
What people ask before they set off on this one.
Yes, including hostel, one temple ticket per day, three cheap meals and local transport. Add-ons like the balloon or Tutankhamun's tomb are extras.
No. At $100 it needs six or seven premium sites to break even. Pay per entry.
Absolutely. Every major site has decent signage and the tomb layouts are self-explanatory. Buy a $5 guidebook at the hotel.
It's fine but crowded at rush hour. If you have a large bag, spend $3 on a motorboat crossing instead.
Hotels in Luxor
Hotels we cover across Luxor
- Abbady Tower Streat Modyryat Al Amn Gazirat Al Awameyah Luxor
- Abeer Guest House
- Ahmeds
- Al Baba Nile Villa
- Al FAHAD private apartments for rent
- Al Fardous house
- AL Farida Guest House
- Alam B&B Luxor
- Ali habou 4
- Amber Cruise
- Amenirdis Villa
- Ammar Guest House
- Asmara Apartment Hatshepsut
- Boutique hotel Neferu Stay
- Casa Helvetica
- Casa Helvetica
- Cinderella Malika
- Continental flat
- Dahabiya ECO Queen Cleopatra
- Deluxe Nile Cruise Aswan To Luxor 3 Night
- Desert Rose
- Desert Rose apartments
- Djorff Guest House
- Downtown apartment
More guides to Luxor
All guides
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48 hours in 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.
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One week in Luxor
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.
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Luxor in 3 days, upgraded
Three days with a private Egyptologist, Nile-view suites, and the tombs that cost extra — for around $500-700 a day per couple.
Compare hotels across the East Bank, West Bank and Karnak Village — every booking funds one verified tonne of carbon removal.