Luxor Hot Air Balloon: What a Flight Costs and How the Morning Works

Pickup and the Nile Crossing

Balloons launch from the West Bank, so where you sleep decides how the morning starts. West Bank hotel guests are already on the right side of the river. East Bank guests are collected from their hotel and cross the Nile by motorboat as part of the experience, since the balloons launch from the West Bank.

If you cross on your own another day, a motorboat launch costs LE80 to 100 per Wikivoyage, and the national ferry is the cheaper local option. Final pickup and take-off times are set on the day, based on weather, wind direction and aviation clearance. Sunrise moves through the year, so the pickup hour moves with it, and no fixed clock time can honestly be printed for every date.

• Hotel pickup
• Motorboat crossing for East Bank guests, since the launch sites are West Bank
• Transfer to the launch field
• Inflation, boarding and the flight itself
• Landing, then the return to your hotel

Take-Off, Flight Time and Landing

Two operator listings give a realistic sense of the timing. One lists a flight of 45 to 60 minutes inside a total experience of about 3 hours, with round-trip hotel transfers, a flight certificate and light refreshments, and groups of a maximum of 20 travellers. A second lists a flight of about 45 minutes within a total of about 1.5 hours, with pickup time depending on sunrise.

The difference is mostly how much waiting and transfer time each operator counts. The basket holds passengers and pilot together, and one operator states that passengers must be able to climb into the basket unaided, so anyone with limited mobility should check this before booking. Landing is followed by the return to your hotel.

Wikivoyage cautions that sunset balloon tours generally do not include the sunset, which is a fair warning to book the sunrise flight instead. If you want the flight plus the tombs in the same day, Luxor: Hot Air Balloon Ride with Full-Day Sights Tour continues straight from the landing to the sites.

The West Bank Sites From Above

Launch sites are on the West Bank, whose neighbourhoods Wikivoyage lists as Gezira, Bairat, Qurna and Gurna. From the air, the lines of the landscape are easier to read than at ground level. The Valley of the Kings lies on the West Bank, and its tombs include Tutankhamun's tomb and the long tomb of Seti I.

The West Bank also holds the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. The Colossi of Memnon and Medinet Habu are on the same bank. The Nile itself, the green strip of farmland and the desert edge are all visible in one frame, which is the view no ground tour gives you.

• The Valley of the Kings
• Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari
• The Colossi of Memnon
• Medinet Habu
• The Nile, the floodplain and the desert edge

What the Flight Does Not Include

A balloon shows you shapes from above, not tombs. Nothing is entered, no guide walks you through painted corridors, and the flight cannot guarantee that any single site will pass directly below, because the wind decides the track. That is why the flight and the ground visit are two halves of one morning.

For the ground half, the practical details are in Valley of the Kings tickets, and the layout of the burial ground is on the Valley of the Kings map. A comparison of every bookable ground tour on this site, with what each includes, sits on the homepage under Valley of the Kings tours.

The Record and the Regulator

In 2013 a Luxor balloon crashed and 19 of the 21 people aboard were killed. The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority's final report blamed a leak in a fuel line, in use since 2005, which ignited as the balloon came in to land, and ruled out criminal conduct. The governor of Luxor banned flights after the crash and the civil aviation minister suspended balloon flights nationwide.

Flights resumed later in 2013 after more pilot training and designated launch sites were introduced. This was not the first suspension. After a 2009 crash, flights were suspended for six months and new rules limited how many balloons could be aloft at once and restricted take-offs to a new airfield.

Wikipedia states plainly that the overall safety record of hot air ballooning in Egypt is poor, citing several crashes between 2007 and 2018, including 22 tourists injured in 2016 and 12 injured plus one killed in 2018. The regulator is the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority, the ECAA, and operators advertising Luxor flights describe themselves as ECAA-certified. Flights began here in early 1988, and eight companies operated 32 balloons as of 2018.

• 2013: 19 of 21 aboard killed, nationwide suspension, resumption later in 2013 with pilot training and designated launch sites
• 2009: six-month suspension, balloon cap and take-offs moved to a new airfield
• 2016: 22 tourists injured, flights suspended three days
• 2018: 12 injured and one killed, flights suspended until unusually high winds subsided

Weather Calls and Cancellation Terms

Balloon flights are weather dependent, and the go or no-go decision is made on the day from weather, wind direction and aviation clearance. This is why cancellations happen and why you should never book a balloon for your only morning in Luxor if the tombs matter more than the flight. One operator offers a different date or a full refund if a flight is cancelled for poor weather, and lists free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.

A second operator lists free cancellation up to 48 hours before and describes the activity as weather dependent. Read your own voucher, because the free-cancellation window differs between listings. Insurance and gratuities are not included in one operator's balloon price, which is worth knowing before you arrive.

Operators recommend comfortable clothes and closed-toe shoes.

Ride-Only Prices and Bundled Options

The figures below compare the ride-only range published by Wikivoyage with the two bookable options on this site. The ride-only range is 950 to 1,900 EGP for a flight of at least 45 minutes. The bundled options are the balloon-and-sights package and the balloon add-on on a private Valley of the Kings tour.

Check the comparison table on the Valley of the Kings tours from Luxor for the full set of Valley of the Kings tours with what each includes.

Balloon Plus the Valley of the Kings in One Day

The honest way to think about a balloon day is that the flight is the short half. On Luxor: Hot Air Balloon Ride with Full-Day Sights Tour at $160 for 9 hours, the balloon portion is a 30-minute flight, and the listing says so plainly, so do not expect the 45 to 60 minutes some ride-only operators quote. The rest of the day covers the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak Temple, with entry fees and the balloon included and hotel pickup and drop-off.

The Valley of the Kings stop on this package is 30 minutes, so the visit is short. If you want longer underground, pair the balloon with the private 4-hour Valley of the Kings visit instead, and read Valley of the Kings tickets so you know which special tombs cost extra.

West Bank or East Bank

Staying on the West Bank means no river crossing before the flight. Staying on the East Bank means a motorboat crossing before the flight, which is built into the operator's plan, and puts you on the same bank as Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. A 1,550 metre bridge now links the two banks and gives vehicles direct access from the airport, so ground transfers work from either side.

Pick based on where you want your afternoon, not just the flight.