Luxor Travel Forum

I am going to luxor soon and i was wondering if anyone could tell me of the best places of interest are to vist, good places to eat and drink etc.
and i would like to try to speak a little of the local language (just the basics) ie thank you no thanks good morning etc etc


thank you Akeelah

Other who have been to Luxor recently can help. My information is outdated. I strongly suggest buying a guide like the Lonely planet or the Rough Guide, both have a good book about Egypt with a section on Basic Egyptian Arabic.

Good luck

I just got back from Egypt two days ago and we stayed in Luxor for two nights. It's a cool city I'd suggest a few places along the Nile and the temples/tombs are obvious on any website or book...the night life can be a little slow because alcohol is frowned upon

"show-cron" is thank you

"aff-wan" is your welcome


both of those are obviously phonetic spellings...

Hi Akeelah,
And a happy Yuletide to you and all of your family and friends. And a Happy New Year to follow.

Most taxi/kaleesh drivers will give you a ride around on your first night and get the money from you tomorrow (bukra) then tell you “ I will be here every day for you no problem, pay me at the end of the week”. Now if I was rich enough I would go for it but I'm not so I hire my taxi or Kaleesh each day to do what I want to do. One short trip should be about 20EL; or 30EL for right across town + baksheesh depending on luggage and number of bums on seats. Longer trips are open for discussion. Here's a one I've just thought of that I will try next year. Tell the taxi/kaleesh driver, “The less you say. The better your baksheesh could be”. Hmmm.

Look at “the theban mapping project” for info on where to go and what to see at the “Kings Valley” and West Bank. You also have the Queens Valley the Noble's Valley the Ramesseum, +.
On the East Bank, Luxor, You must see both Karnak and Luxor Temples and imagine how the whole lot worked together. The Mummification Museum is a must do.
These were the ticket prices at sites the first week in December 2007.
Karnak:50EL.
Hatshepsut: 25EL.
Kings Valley: 3 Tombs for 70EL
Luxor Temple: ? Can't remember.
Students go in half price which is handy if you took two kids.
For trips out of town like Abydoss and Dendera try to get in touch with Mara or one of her team at egyptwithmara. She also does 4 night all inclusive tours.

If you want a "Felucca" trip. Go to the Metropolitan on the Corniche opposite Luxor Temple (try something from the menu while you are there) and ask a member of the staff to identify Captain Tayib or his brother, he looks like a young Tayib. Or call him on his mobile 02147 03638 ten numbers is correct for Egypt. Here's a handy tip I learned on my second visit. Go into any mobile phone shop (if your phone is unlocked) and get a local sim card £5 and £5 credit, enough for the week. Very useful for organizing your transport while you're in town. If you use your English sim you have to mess with international codes and high call costs.
My son and I took a trip with Capt. Tayib last year. Which reminds me. If you do nothing else in Luxor. Do have a mango juice at the Metropolitan.
This year I had my two girls 11+13 and friend Gillian. We spent 7 hours with him and his boat. (Mind you we did have a side trip for lunch that you probably won't do which took a couple of hours). He's also an entertainer. We paid less than £** and a bit of baksheesh.
What you get in those 7 hours (like horse/camel rides) is all to do with your bargaining skill. What you pay baksheesh depends on how much you enjoy your time.
I have my own formula for how much I pay the vehicle/boat per hour. But that's to do with my white van man/gardener past.
Then I pay the driver/crew/guide according to overall enjoyment.
Which as I keep saying, is half the fun, and then you feel like you should add a bit extra baksheesh for that part of the days enjoyment; nah you could go on and on. Anyway tell him Jim sent you it might help me next year.

For eating look at, http://www.luxortraveltips.com/
scroll down and in the left side column you will find restaurant reviews.
My favourites; The St Joseph and Snobs, here they make you feel special. At the risk me of coming across like patronizing or all colonial or something. Go to either of these on your first night in Luxor and explain to the head waiter you have done so because you heard that they are SOoo.. good that you wanted to try them first, smile shake hands ask what please (min fadlak) and thank you (shukran) is in Egyptian and take it from there. And of course mention that you were recommended by Jim. (Notice all the seeds I'm planting). The St Joseph has a decent bar/pub downstairs I don't know of any other watering holes, except;
The Metropolitan where you can put your feet up and just watch the river by day or premiership football at night. BIG SCREEN.
The Ritz was very reasonable, clean and welcoming, and the food was good to.
Snack Time where you sit overlooking Luxor Temple, is excellent by the way. We all had double trouble and large fries and no-one had room for the fries. McDonalds would be for novelty value only and anyway it is well outshone by Snack Time two doors away.

Always keep your small Egyptian notes for toilets shoeshine etc. and the odd baksheesh.

Take a dozen pocket size packs of tissues and a couple of packs of wet wipes.

Always carry at least one litre of water per head per couple of hours away from base and if you buy away from your local shop check the seal on the bottle cap. Amazing init that in a desert country 2 litres of water is 3EL=30p. Yet here where we complain about the rain all the time it can cost you £1 for 330cl.

Look at, http://touregypt.net/ in the left hand column click on Egypt Travel Tips where you will find some common words and phrases with audio. Also from my local library I got an interactive cd for the pc with beginners Arabic.

Now a cheeky tip. Keep your shoulders and legs covered whilst out and about. Around the pool is different. You will be better received by the women and ogled a lot less by the men. Someone on the forum once commented “Egyptian men are constantly on heat”. My friend Gillian occasionally got a little annoyed at some blokes but learned a couple of put downs in Egyptian that I can't put into type but all you have to do is ask one of the girls on reception at your hotel and I'm sure they will help you out. Whenever you ask somone for words or phrases write down what you are told phonetically.
The overall idea is to have fun on your hols so take all with a pinch of salt, shake hands and smile a lot and make no promises for tomorrow. Always end with bukra (tomorrow) or baduh bukra, (after tomorrow) insha' Allah. Tomorrow or after tomorrow if God allows. Then you might get the question, "Whose been teaching YOU to be Egyptian?". Let your sense of humour grow.
Anyway,
Have a wonderful time,
Peace and Blessings Jim..........

I would like Thank you all for you kind help.

Love akeelah

Hi Akeelah again the best things to do in Luxor in my opinion are

Hot Air Ballooning over Valley of the Kings :Booked through Cheops Travel Luxor

Valley of the Kings/Queens

Luxor and Karnak Temples

Luxor Museum and Mummification Museum

Camel riding through the villages on West Bank

We also did a week cruise from Luxor/Aswan/Luxor you can do shorter cruises and this is fantastic as you stop at all the monuments/temples along the Nile. We did ours with Presidential Cruises but there are lots of them and also Fellucas that you can sleep on deck ( not many facilities onboard but cheap).
Hope this is helpful we loved Egypt the people are very friendly and you feel quite safe.

Regards Meg