Luxor from Hurghada

Luxor lies roughly 240-290 km from Hurghada by road, reached through the Eastern Desert via Qena in about four to five hours each way. The route crosses the Red Sea Mountains and makes a day trip from Hurghada in Egypt a very long outing, which is why most visitors travel by private car with a driver or on an organised tour that leaves around 05:00 and returns near 20:00. Go Bus and Super Jet coaches also run the route for much less money, but fixed schedules leave little time at the sites. Luxor, ancient Thebes, is often described as the world's largest open-air museum. On the West Bank, the Valley of the Kings holds the rock-cut royal tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs, and the nearby Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari rises in terraces against the cliffs. Colossi of Memnon usually appear as a short photo stop. On the East Bank, Karnak Temple is a vast complex of pylons, halls and obelisks, while Luxor Temple, linked historically to Karnak by the Avenue of Sphinxes, is especially atmospheric when lit at dusk. A workable one-day arc is the West Bank in the morning, when the Valley of the Kings is cooler and quieter, a long lunch at a restaurant near the Nile, then Karnak or Luxor Temple in the afternoon before the drive back. Arriving at the Valley of the Kings soon after opening avoids the heat and the tour-bus crowds. The best season is October to April, when daytime temperatures are manageable; from May to September the Upper Egypt sun can be punishing, and the trip is best done with a pre-dawn start. Food stops are limited on the desert road, so drivers normally pause at a roadside rest area near Qena for tea and snacks, and lunch is taken in Luxor, where tourist restaurants line the Corniche and the area around Karnak. Site tickets are paid separately in most cases, roughly EGP 500-1,000 (about $10-20) per major site, and some tombs in the Valley of the Kings need extra tickets. Because of the checkpoints on the Qena road, visitors should carry passports. Many travellers find that overnighting in Luxor is far less tiring than the single-day version.