My husband and I went to Luxor for our honeymoon. We chose it as it was so central to the majority of the must-see sights that Egypt is famous for.
Luxor is really a one street town. This street runs the length of the town and most of the major hotels are situated on it. The Sheraton at one end, the Hilton at the other.
We stayed in the Hilton. This is at the very end of the road and a 5 minute bus journey from the center of town.
First piece of advise: don't attempt to walk it unless its night, the road is a sun-trap and its no fun being stuck out in the Luxor sun, we learned the hard way!
We went with Thomas Cook and booked our excursions with them. This was a good move as there aren't really any shops that you can go in and book excursions. If your hotel offers this, best to take them up on it. The essential trips are: West Bank, Karnak [both during the day and at night], Cairo and the Banquet night. Things like the Luxor Museum and Luxor Temple you can comfortable do on your own.
The West Bank trip, which is an all day event encompassing the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's temple, a stop to buy souvenirs [pressure buying if it ever saw it!] and various other stops along the way. You do have to pay extra to get into Tutankhamen’s tomb, we didn't but spoke to some that had and there is very little decoration and generally nothing
left down there to see - it’s all in the Cairo Museum. Early to bed the night before, take plenty of film for your camera, water and a hat! To note: flash photography isn't allowed in the tombs as the decoration would suffer with a million flashes going off every holiday season.
Karnak temple is down at the Hilton end of Luxor. It is mind blowing, my favourite place [even over the pyramids!]. We took a guided tour around the temple during the day and got on all the facts, wonderful. We also booked to go and see the light show at night, stunning. You are guided through a dramatically light temple, sit and listen to a dramatised version of its history with the temple being lit up accordingly. Prepare yourself for goose bumps!
We booked a trip to Cairo which included a breakfast stop [the price of breakfast is not included - be careful to check these things when booking you or you will get a hefty bill!] the Pyramids, Sphinx a camel ride, visit to the Cairo Museum.
You set off about 10pm for the overnight train to Cairo. You are in the first class carriage but people can walk through this so be very very careful of your belongings. Try to get some sleep as the day ahead is a long one.
Pyramids in the morning, stunning. Our excursion didn't take us into the big one, was disappointed at first but then I realised the sheer volume of people already in there, very claustrophobic indeed. We went into one of the smaller ones, which was plenty. Then off to the Sphinx, always under maintenance as the settlement nearby puts the future of this magnificent monument in jeopardy. Camel ride was such a giggle.
Cairo museum is huge and very hot. Like being in an Indiana Jones movie, so much history...everywhere, they definitely need somewhere bigger! You have to pay extra to get into the Mummy room. The highlight being visiting all the treasure from Tutankhamun's tomb, apart from the very welcome air conditioning, it is truly a wonder. In Cairo you can walk around in short and t-shirt no matter what sex or hair colour and no one bothers you.
The Banquet night was an unexpected highlight. We were taken to one of the outer lying resorts. There we were given our Gallabaya’s [the cotton traditional dress you see the locals in, as you can imagine much hilarity from everyone, not least the Egyptians who thought we were all daft [have to say they are very comfortable but don’t wear heavy clothing as you will sweat the night away]. Then we were treated to a sunset sail on the Nile in a Felluca, very romantic. Then we joined the nomad banquet, where we sat on little stools, under ornate woven open tents and watched a belly dancer [a favourite memory for the husband!]. Then we were treated to a delicious traditional Egyptian banquet, wine and a shot of the hubbly-bubbly pipes – a must but not very pleasant. A relaxing excursion out of the glare of the sun, nice.
Luxor Museum is just before the main part of the town. It’s a little pricey to get in and quite small but [thankfully] air-conditioned! There are some really nice artefacts with nicer displays than Cairo. Its one of those things you must do but it won’t take very long. We visited here when the sun was at its strongest. After the sun had slightly cooled we went along to the Luxor temple. Its only 5/10minutes further along the road. It’s the little brother to Karnak with similar adjoining mini-sphinx’s. In days past these two temples were joined by an avenue of these mini-sphinx’s, you can still see them strewn through out the town, with washing hung on them or kids playing on them! It is very open with not as much detail as Karnak. It is still a sight to behold and worthy of many photos.
Shopping in Luxor consists of constant bargaining. Don't be bashful or you may end up paying well over the odds. As you walk around the poverty of the people is very apparent, don't let this make you feel guilty for bargaining down a price. A lot of the stuff on sale is fake or poorly made and the sellers always start very high anyway. Really the only stuff available to buy is knick-knacks or jewellery.
Nightlife, there is none, apart from in the hotels.
Things for kids to do, unless your hotel has facilities, nothing.
Really, everything is based in the hotels.
A few points to remember.
Unfortunately you'll never get something for nothing. From helping with your luggage to asking directions the constant cry is back shish - wrongly spelt I'm sure but it means they want money for the 'favour'.
Ladies - cover up, mainly the tops of your arms but legs and arms in general. Another point for the blondes amongst us, wear a hat - the real spoiler for me was the hassle I got for having long blond hair, really off-putting. In saying all this it is a mainly Muslim country so I did expect this but just not to this extent.
Take all toiletries you may think you'll need as the few shops that sell shampoo etc are very pricey.
Eat in the hotels, there is a McDonalds but that about it for trustworthy food.
Kalesh's are the nicer way to get about Luxor but agree a price before you get in and when invited to give a tip for the horse keep your money and give it to the meagre, hard working vet’s clinic in the center of town as some of the owner clearly do not spend the money on their horses.
The taxis are driven by mad entertaining men who peep their horn at friends as the swerve and narrowly miss the Kalesh’s. Again agree prices before you get in, some hotels have a price list and taxis that are more trustworthy.
Felluca's are the small boats that are docked along Nile, dwarfed by the luxury cruise ships. We didn’t try any of these ones [only the organised one with our Banquet night] but they are available for trips to Banana Island and sunset Nile sailings.
We made friends with Fahery, who works in the papyrus shop beside the Hilton. This shop actually has the prices beside the papyrus and Fahery doesn't hassle you too much at all. If you do befriend a local and want to show your appreciation apart from money as a gift, try giving them toiletries for them and their family. Shameless pug for his shop but he is one of the genuinely nice locals we met.
All in all I realised one of my life's ambitions to go, I wouldn't have swapped it for the world. The sights are breathtaking. As for the local people - to sum up what our Cairo guide said, the Luxor sights are breathtaking but the locals are very tiresome. A lot of people we met booked a week in Luxor and a week cruising down the Nile. I suggest this is probably the best option as 2 weeks in Luxor was a bit long for us.
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Excellent summary, but how did you find the Hilton? Asking because it's one of our possibles for our trip. Good review overall with some nice tips and ideas.
Louise90 10.09.2002 17:44
It sounds like you had a wonderful time. Unfortunately, I've never visited Luxor. Louise.
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Sep 2nd, 2002
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