Valley of the Kings TourHurghada to Luxor Bus Tour: Small Group Day Trip
This Hurghada to Luxor bus tour is the cheapest of the Hurghada day trips listed on this site. Book Tour Egypt runs it on Viator at $18.22 per person, rated 4.7 from 806 reviews, in groups of up to 9 travellers. The route covers Karnak Temple, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and the Valley of the Kings, with a lunch break in Luxor. The catch is that the lowest-price option lists transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child as mandatory. This page sets out what is in the price, what the day looks like hour by hour, and who should book a different tour. Start with the full comparison of Valley of the Kings tours if you are still deciding.
About This Tour
Book Tour Egypt runs this full-day excursion from Hurghada to Luxor by air-conditioned vehicle in groups of up to 9. The route covers Karnak Temple on the East Bank, then the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple on the West Bank, with a lunch break at a restaurant in Luxor. An English-speaking tour guide leads the sightseeing, and the guide decides the order of the sites.
Four booking options change what entrance fees and Tutankhamun's tomb cost. The headline $18.22 price is the lowest-price option, and the listing says transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child are mandatory on it. If you pick an option that includes entrance fees, the tickets are handed to you.
$18.22 per person on the lowest-price option, with transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child listed as mandatory on that option
15-17 hours, door to door from Hurghada
Hotel pickup in Hurghada by air-conditioned vehicle. Pickup in Al-Ahyaa, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Safaga, Makadi or Soma Bay costs €10 per person extra
Small group, up to 9 travellers, with an English-speaking tour guide. A Spanish or Italian-speaking guide costs €40 per group
Karnak Temple, the Colossi of Memnon, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple. Entry depends on the option chosen, and one option adds Tutankhamun's tomb
Lunch at a restaurant in Luxor is included, drinks are not. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund
Check Dates and Availability
Pick a date on Viator to see live prices for the options, from the bare-bones $18.22 ticket to the version that includes entrance fees and Tutankhamun's tomb.
You'll confirm the exact date and time on the secure booking page.
Quick answer price, hours and the mandatory fee
This Hurghada to Luxor bus tour costs $18.22 per person and runs 15-17 hours in a group of up to 9. On the cheapest option the listing adds mandatory transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child. Lunch, the guide and transfers are included, entry tickets are only in the options that say so.
Key takeaways
- The $18.22 base is not the full cost, see what the price actually covers before you book.
- The day is 15-17 hours with around 4 hours of driving to Luxor, see the itinerary.
- If you want entry tickets and Tutankhamun's tomb in one all-in price, compare the Hurghada day trip with Tut's tomb.
- Travelling from Luxor instead? A shared West Bank half day with lunch cuts the road time entirely.
What the Price Actually Covers
The listing has four options and they differ a lot. Here is what Book Tour Egypt says is included, what is not, and what you may pay on the day.
In the Price and Out of It
Every option includes the tour guide, the air-conditioned vehicle, lunch in Luxor, and all taxes and services. Entrance fees to Karnak, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and the Valley of the Kings are only in the option that names them. The lowest-price option, the one shown at $18.22, states mandatory transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child, so read that as a ticket-and-fees bundle you pay on top.
Where an option includes entrance fees, the operator hands the tickets to the client. Drinks in the restaurant, a 40-minute Nile boat trip or Banana Island trip, outlying pickups and a Spanish or Italian-speaking guide are all excluded. The official Ministry prices, printed for reference only: Karnak 600 EGP for foreign adults, the Valley of the Kings general ticket 750 EGP, and Tutankhamun's tomb KV62 an extra 700 EGP per Wikivoyage.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tour guide and vehicle | Yes, all options | Air-conditioned bus, hotel pickup in Hurghada |
| Lunch | Yes, all options | Restaurant in Luxor, drinks excluded |
| Entrance fees | Only in the option that says so | Lowest-price option lists €60 per adult and €30 per child as mandatory |
| Tutankhamun's tomb KV62 | Optional | One option adds it. Official extra ticket 700 EGP per Wikivoyage |
| Nile boat trip or Banana Island | No | Excluded, a 40-minute ride if arranged |
| Outlying resort pickup | No | €10 per person from Al-Ahyaa, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Safaga, Makadi or Soma Bay |
| Spanish or Italian guide | No | €40 per group |
The Mandatory Extra, Honestly
The headline $18.22 is the lowest of the options and it does not include site entry. The listing says the transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child are mandatory on that option, so budget for that fee on top of the base price. The fix is simple: pick the option with entrance fees included instead, or the one that also adds Tutankhamun's tomb, and the entrance tickets are delivered to you.
Compare the totals across options on Viator before paying.
Sources: Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, Valley of the Kings, Wikipedia
The avenue of sphinxes running toward Luxor Temple between palm trees. Photo: MusikAnimal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
The listing gives durations per stop and no clock times, so plan the shape of the day rather than exact hours. The guide sets the order of the sights.
Stop by Stop
The air-conditioned bus collects you at your Hurghada hotel and drives to Luxor in around 4 hours, through Safaga and Qena. In Luxor, the English-speaking guide meets you at Karnak Temple and you get about 2 hours there. Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall holds 134 columns, with the 12 central ones 21 metres high, and Karnak is the second most visited historical site in Egypt after the Giza pyramids.
You then cross to the West Bank for the Colossi of Memnon, about an hour at the two 18-metre statues of Amenhotep III, damaged by an earthquake in 27 BC. The Valley of the Kings follows with around 2 hours. Your general ticket covers 3 tombs from those open that day, and the tombs rotate, so you cannot choose a tomb in advance. Guides are not permitted to lecture inside the tombs, so the explanations happen outside the entrances. The visit then moves to Hatshepsut Temple for about an hour. Her temple at Deir el-Bahari runs 273.5 metres across three terraces, and its middle terrace shows the expedition to the Land of Punt.
After the sights there is free time in Luxor, which the listing fills with a visit to an alabaster factory, a shopping stop dressed up as a demonstration of ancient technique. Treat it as commercial, and buy nothing you have not priced elsewhere. Lunch sits somewhere in the Luxor part of the day. Finally the bus drives back to your hotel.
Who This Tour Rules Out
A 15-17 hour day from the Red Sea is a big ask. Here are the stated limits, and a better-fit tour for each.
Check These Before Booking
The road day is 15-17 hours long, with around 4 hours in the vehicle to Luxor. If that sounds like too much road, the shared East and West Banks day from Luxor covers the same sights in 8 hours with no desert drive.
Entry tickets are only in the options that say so, and the cheapest option carries the mandatory 60 euro and 30 euro fee. If you want one price that already covers tickets and Tutankhamun's tomb, book the Hurghada day trip with Tut's tomb instead, which includes entry and KV62. The listing does not recommend the day for travellers with spinal injuries, pregnant travellers or anyone with poor cardiovascular health. It is listed as wheelchair accessible, with all areas and surfaces accessible. Luxor's mean daily maximum tops 41 degrees in July and August, so from May to September the heat between tombs is severe. The operator can cancel for bad weather. For a private guide instead, compare the private West Bank half day.
Tickets, Heat and the Rest of Your Day
If you visit Luxor independently, or you want to add a tomb on this tour, these are the official figures and the practical basics.
What the Tickets Cost
The Valley of the Kings general ticket is 750 EGP for foreign adults and 375 EGP for foreign students on the Ministry page, and it covers 3 tombs of your choice from those open that day. Only about 18 tombs can be opened to visitors at all, and they rotate, so you pick on the day. Tutankhamun's tomb KV62 costs an extra 700 EGP, Ramesses V and VI in KV9 is an extra 220 EGP, and Seti I in KV17 is 2,000 EGP.
Cash is no longer accepted at the valley, payments are by card at the ticket office or online. The tram from the visitor centre to the tomb area is 20 EGP round trip. Karnak is 600 EGP for foreign adults including the Open Museum.
Hatshepsut's temple shows 440 EGP on the temple page and 360 EGP on the Deir el-Bahari site page, so both figures circulate. The Colossi of Memnon have no entrance fee.
Hours, Heat and the Early Start
The Ministry lists the Valley of the Kings as open daily from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, though some sources give a 4:00 pm close in winter, so verify the season you travel in. Karnak, Hatshepsut's temple and Seti I's tomb all run 6:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Luxor Temple stays open to 8:00 pm. Crowds peak between 10 am and 2 pm. Expect queues of 15 to 30 minutes in peak season. Luxor's mean daily maximum is 39.1 C in May and 41.4 C in July, so carry water, and pack for cold early mornings in winter when the mean minimum is 7.1 C in January.
If you have a spare day or an evening in Luxor, read the Valley of the Kings tickets guide, the breakdown of Tutankhamun's tomb, the Temple of Hatshepsut guide, the Karnak Temple guide and the Luxor hot air balloon page. All of them fit around this tour or replace it entirely if you base yourself in Luxor.
The Day in Order
Durations come from the operator's itinerary. No clock times are stated, so steps are marked from the start of the day.
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Pickup
Hotel collection in Hurghada
The air-conditioned bus picks you up at your hotel. No pickup time is stated on the listing, so check your voucher.
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After about 4 hours on the road
Drive to Luxor
Through Safaga and Qena.
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First 2 hours in Luxor
Karnak Temple
The English-speaking guide meets you at Karnak. About 2 hours to see the Great Hypostyle Hall and its 134 columns.
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Then about 1 hour
Colossi of Memnon
Cross to the West Bank for the two 18-metre statues of Amenhotep III. No ticket needed here.
-
About 2 hours
Valley of the Kings
Visit the royal tombs. The general ticket covers 3 tombs from those open, the tombs rotate, and the guide explains outside the entrances.
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About 1 hour
Hatshepsut Temple
The three terraces at Deir el-Bahari, 273.5 metres long. The guide sets the final order of the sights.
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Last hour
Free time, alabaster stop and the drive back
Free time in Luxor with a stated visit to an alabaster factory, a shopping stop. Then the drive back to your Hurghada hotel.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of the listing, including the trap in the pricing.
What we genuinely like
- Cheapest listed Hurghada day trip at $18.22 per person
- Small group of up to 9, not a 50-seat coach
- All four headline Luxor sights in one day, including both banks
- Lunch at a restaurant in Luxor and hotel pickup included
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure
- Infant seats and strollers accommodated, listed as wheelchair accessible
The honest downsides
- The lowest-price option lists mandatory transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child, so the real cost is far above $18.22
- 15-17 hours door to door with around 4 hours of driving to Luxor
- Drinks at lunch, the Nile boat trip, outlying resort pickups and non-English guides all cost extra
- A shopping stop at an alabaster factory sits on the itinerary
- No pickup time, return time or time on site is stated, so planning is on you
- The operator can cancel for bad weather
Who it's NOT for: Not for anyone who wants entry tickets, Tutankhamun's tomb and a short day bundled into one upfront price, for whom the Hurghada day trip with Tut's tomb is the closer match.
Questions About This Tour
How much does this Hurghada to Luxor bus tour really cost?
The base price is $18.22 per person, but the lowest-price option adds mandatory transport taxes and entrance fees of €60 per adult and €30 per child. Compare the all-in options on Viator before you pay, and see the Valley of the Kings tour.
Are entrance fees included in the $18.22 price?
No, entrance fees are only in the options that say so, and one of those also adds Tutankhamun's tomb. Where fees are included, the tickets are handed over. The official general ticket at the valley is 750 EGP, per the tickets guide.
Can I see Tutankhamun's tomb on this tour?
Only if you book the option that adds it, listed as Entrance fees and Tutankhamun. KV62 costs 700 EGP as a standalone extra ticket, as covered in the Tutankhamun's tomb guide.
How long is the drive from Hurghada to Luxor?
The listing states around 4 hours to Luxor, through Safaga and Qena. If that road day puts you off, the shared East and West Banks day starts in Luxor itself.
Which tombs do you get to enter in the Valley of the Kings?
The general ticket covers 3 tombs of your choice from those open that day, and the open set rotates, so no specific tomb is promised. The guide explains outside the entrances because guides cannot lecture inside, per the Temple of Hatshepsut and West Bank coverage on this site.
Is lunch and hotel pickup included?
Yes, lunch at a restaurant in Luxor and hotel pickup in Hurghada are included, but drinks at lunch are not, and pickup from Al-Ahyaa, El Gouna, Sahl Hasheesh, Safaga, Makadi or Soma Bay costs €10 per person. More practical notes are on the Valley of the Kings tour.
What happens if the weather is bad?
The operator can cancel for bad weather, and you can cancel free up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund. Luxor's mean daily maximum is 41.4 C in July.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
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