From Cairo to Luxor – Temples, Tombs, and Tea on the Nile

From Cairo to Luxor – Temples, Tombs, and Tea on the Nile March 5 – 11, 2025

After more than a week immersed in the lively chaos of Cairo, we were ready to explore more of Egypt. Our next stop: Luxor. We had two choices—fly there in an hour for about $110 per person or take a ten-hour GoBus ride for only $10 each. Since we weren’t in any rush, we opted to save $300 and booked the bus.

We checked out of our Cairo Airbnb and grabbed an Uber to Tahrir Square to catch our ride. To our surprise, the bus was quite nice—business class seats with lots of room to recline (though not lay flat). We even got a snack box, though calling it that might be generous—it was just a packet of cookies and a juice box. Thankfully, we had brought our own snacks. Even with comfy seats, ten hours is still ten hours, and the two short rest stops along the way were a bit odd: they had bathrooms, coffee, and tea—but no real food.

We rolled into Luxor around 11:00 PM and, like clockwork, were instantly swarmed by touts and taxi drivers as soon as we stepped off the bus—classic Egyptian welcome. Our usual approach is to ignore everyone, walk away, and regroup before figuring out next steps. So when a man approached us, we gave him the cold shoulder—assuming he was another pushy driver—until he called out our names. Oops. Turns out, he was our Airbnb host, who had kindly come to pick us up that late at night.

Our Airbnb was on the second floor of a house owned by a British woman in her late 60s, and the man (who we’d accidentally snubbed) was her Egyptian husband. The place was spotless, tastefully decorated in Egyptian style, and had a lovely backyard pool. We felt immediately at home.

The next morning, we crossed the Nile to the west bank and made our way to the Temple of Karnak. Spanning over 2,000 years of construction and 4,000 years of history, Karnak is a massive complex built to honor the Egyptian gods. We spent the whole day there, wandering through towering stone columns, temples, statues, and obelisks. We even hired a tour guide, who gave us the classic rundown: Pharaohs offered grand gifts to the gods, and in return, the gods literally had their backs. Many of the carvings showed gods—often part human, part animal—standing behind the Pharaoh, protecting him or standing beside him like divine wingmen.

We like to alternate between big sightseeing days and chill ones, so the next day we booked a sunset felucca ride and spent most of the day relaxing. Around 4 PM, we headed to the river. A felucca is a small, traditional sailing boat, and we had it all to ourselves—just us, the captain, and his assistant. Without the noise of a motor, it was incredibly peaceful. The west bank was lined with hotels, but the east bank quickly turned into lush farmland. The weather was perfect—warm, with just enough breeze to move the boat. The crew served us tea as we glided along, watching the sun slowly dip behind the horizon. It was dreamy.

The next day, we visited the Valley of the Kings, where many ancient Pharaohs were buried. Turns out that giant pyramids stuffed with treasure were basically beacons for tomb robbers, so later Pharaohs opted for secrecy instead—hiding their tombs in a dusty desert canyon. Didn’t help much though; future dynasties looted them anyway. Even today, archaeologists are still searching for untouched tombs… so they can “preserve” them in museums.

Although most tombs were emptied long ago, many still feature stunningly preserved carvings and paintings, their original colors surviving for over 3,000 years. A few even still hold their stone sarcophagi. The standard ticket lets you enter three tombs—plenty, in our opinion, as they’re all variations on a beautifully decorated tunnel theme. You can pay extra for access to the more famous ones, but three felt just right.

One of the most famous activities in Luxor is the sunrise hot air balloon ride, and at only $40 a person, it’s a steal compared to places like Napa Valley where rides can run $300 or more. Of course, that meant waking up at a brutal 4 AM. The launch site was just a 15-minute drive from our Airbnb, but we spent nearly two hours in the van picking up other passengers and waiting around. By the time we got there, the sun was already rising.

The launch area was pure chaos—dozens of balloons inflating, hundreds of tourists milling around, and the constant roar of propane burners filling the air. Each balloon held about 20 people plus the pilot. Eventually, we were rushed to our balloon, climbed into the giant basket, and before we knew it, we were floating up into the morning sky. Once the burner was off, everything went quiet. We drifted high above fields that ended abruptly where the desert began—scattered with ancient ruins and temples, with the hills rising in the distance. It was absolutely breathtaking.

We were in the air for about 45 minutes. The pilot gently rotated the balloon using maneuvering flaps so everyone could enjoy the view. As we descended, we watched the ground crew grab the ropes to guide us back to land. It was a magical experience—and at $40, one of the best deals of the trip.

After a short rest, we headed out for lunch and then visited Queen Hatshepsut’s Temple. Built into the base of a cliff, the structure is striking—sleek lines, grand staircases, and elegant columns. It was constructed 4,000 years ago to honor one of Egypt’s few female Pharaohs. While the exterior is stunning, there’s not much left inside, as it too was looted ages ago.

After our big day of ballooning and temple-hopping, we spent our last couple of days in Luxor taking it easy. We ate out, wandered around downtown Luxor, and admired Luxor Temple at night from the outside.

One interesting thing was that we found a Chinese restaurant run by a Chinese guy who served authentic Chinese food. Sometimes it is so good to get a little taste of home. Olivia had been feeling a bit under the weather—sniffly and low energy—so the downtime was welcome.

By the end of the week, we’d finally cracked the code on getting around Luxor—taking the 10 Egyptian Pound minibuses instead of paying five times that for tuk-tuks, and even our local fruit stand had stopped overcharging us. That’s when we knew it was time to leave—just as we started to feel like locals, it was time to get lost all over again somewhere new.