West Bank
Green fields, mudbrick villages and the tombs of the pharaohs — quieter, cheaper, and where the boutique-hotel scene has moved.
Fields and mudbrick villages of the West Bank with the Theban hills behind
Why people stay in West Bank
The West Bank is another Luxor entirely — sugarcane fields, donkey carts, kids kicking footballs between mudbrick walls, and the Theban hills glowing pink at sunset. It's where the tombs are (Valley of the Kings, Valley of the Queens, Hatshepsut, Medinet Habu, Deir el-Medina) and where a growing number of small guesthouses run by Egyptian-European couples have made it the thinking traveller's base. Nights are properly dark and quiet. Roosters at 4:30am, muezzin at 5, then silence again until the tour buses arrive at 8.
Base here if you want to slow down, cycle between temples, and sleep somewhere that feels like a village rather than a hotel strip. Skip it if you need nightlife, ATMs on every corner, or a lobby with a marble floor. Wi-Fi is patchy, most guesthouses don’t take cards, and the last ferry back from the East Bank is around 10pm — after that a private motorboat costs $5-$10.
The best area is the strip along the main asphalt road between the ferry landing and the ticket office at Al-Gezira and Ramla — that's where Beit Sabée, Al Baeirat, Nour el-Balad and half a dozen other well-run guesthouses sit. Expect $40-$90 for a proper room with a mountain view. Further west into Al-Qurna feels more remote and rural. Avoid anything advertising itself as a 'resort' inland — you’ll be stranded without wheels.
What to see
Hotels in West Bank
Every hotel we cover in West Bank
- Gold Ibis Hotel 3★ · 4.3/5
- Shahhat House 5★
- Luxo Bankr West
Getting around West Bank
From Luxor Airport, a taxi direct to the West Bank costs $20-$25 and uses the new bridge south of the city (30 minutes). Cheaper: taxi to the East Bank ferry ($10) plus the public ferry ($0.20). Inside the West Bank, rent a bike ($3-$5/day), hire a taxi for a half-day tomb circuit ($25-$35), or take a shared minibus from the ferry landing to Al-Qurna for pennies. Nothing runs after dark — plan your evening return.
Questions about West Bank
Only if you want a big-hotel experience or need to be near the train station. For anyone spending 2+ days on the tombs, sleeping on the West saves an hour of ferry-and-taxi hassle each morning and puts you first in line at the Valley gate.
No — they’re separate tickets ($20 and $6 respectively), plus extra tickets ($5-$60) for the special tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti I, Nefertari and Ramses V/VI. The Luxor Pass is the only way to bundle them all.
