My wife and I traveled to beautiful Luxor, Egypt. It’s my fourth time going back to the country but my first time to Luxor. It’s been a dream of ours to go to Egypt together - fun fact - we both love The Mummy (the one with Brendan Fraiser) and exploring all the temples and tombs made us feel like the O’Connells.

Dates: 10th September - 16th September

Journey: Luxor to Cairo

Weather: Average of 37 degrees

Native Language: Arabic

Here’s a breakdown of what we did and the gear we took with us.

Gear Check

Samsung S9+

Wide Moment Lens

Objective: Explore

Bonus points: Ride a horse in the Sahara desert

Day 1: Luxor

We got into Luxor pretty late and went straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton Luxor and by far one of the best hotels I’ve ever stayed in. If you book with Hilton, they’ll have someone waiting for you at the airport and will take you directly to the hotel.

This hotel is simply 10/10. The views you get of the River Nile are amazing, the staff are super helpful - this place is something spectacular. We also booked all our day trips within the hotel.

Day 2: Karnak Temple + Luxor Temple

After we enjoyed the huge breakfast (part of our accommodation package) we went to Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple. Both these temples are pretty close to the hotel/centre of town. If you only had to pick one temple to go to, it would be Karnak.

If you want Hollywood or that feeling of magic, history, and adventure then Karnak is the location for you. Don’t get me wrong Luxor Temple is also incredible, again, if you can do both, do both, but if you only had the option of doing one - KARNAK!!

The best time to go would be before mid-day.

Day 3: Valley of The Kings + Hatshepsut + Medinet Habu

Across the Nile from the hotel is the most famous ancient site of them all - The Valley of the Kings. We got there pretty early and got a ticket to go inside 2 of the tombs.

If you want to go into King Tutankhamun, it will cost you. We didn’t mind missing it. It’s a very well documented site and non of the interior finds remain so we were more interested in seeing different types of tombs. For instance, one of the tombs we visited was that of a rich agricultural Noble. Their tomb was literally built like a vineyard, where-as the second tomb was a politician and it was like going into a bank vault.

This place is hot and there is no shade so come prepared. We didn’t spend that much time here due to having other places we wanted to cram into the day but we definitely recommend going to the valley if you can.

Hatshepsut’s Temple is only a short distance from the Valley of the Kings and it’s wide intimidating and picturesque site is a great spot for photography.

Hatshepsut is a fascinating part of Ancient Egyptian history. After her husband died she appointed herself Pharaoh and generated huge amounts of temples and statues. She had one of the most peaceful reigns - which led to huge conflicts after her death, as her step-son Thutmose the III took the throne and strove to remove all trace of her from the face of Egypt. Statues having the face carved off, her name exhumed from Temple walls and art.

Medinet Habu is a large temple that has many nooks and crannys with incredible carvings that in certain places include coloured hieroglyphs. This was something my wife and I never knew about. We had seen coloured frescos inside tombs but didn’t realise these incredibly bright painted frescos and artworks existed on the outside of temple buildings.

It’s incredible how colourful and vibrant sections are considering they’re thousands of years old. You can see waterlines where flooding had washed away all traces of the paint leaving areas high up on walls and columns in colour.

Day 4: Hot Air Balloon + Horse riding

Hot air ballooning happens in the wee hours of the morning and it is a truly magical and exhilarating experience.

Normally the balloons travel over the Valley of the Kings offering a high view of the temples and landscape of the area but a few days of the year it blows the other direction - across the Nile, over Luxor.

We were lucky enough to have one of those rare wind blowing days making us fly over the Nile, Luxor Temple and the city itself which was fascinating. Many houses in Luxor utilize their rooftops as gardens, outdoor laundries, dining areas and surprisingly places to keep livestock like goats and donkeys.

The weather was actually quite windy for Luxor which made a number of the balloons tip over when they tried to land. Our pilot (props to him) could see what was happening to other balloons so instead of landing on the open windy desert we landed in the middle of a farmers field. Pretty annoying for the farmer, but an awesome experience for us.

Right away we were onto our next adventure; horse riding in the Sahara desert. Lucky for me, my wife is an expert horse rider and has been teaching me how to ride a horse for the past few years but saying that, if you don’t know how to ride one, you can still enjoy this.

If you want to see true Luxor and mingle with the people, please please please do this experience. We rode through villages, fields, ancient sites, galloped in the desert and we even stayed longer and had tea with the family that owned the horses. Side note: the horses are well looked after.

Day 5: Abydos + Dendera

3-hour drive outside of Luxor is two magical sites. Abydos and Dendera. If you are Stargate fans then some of you might have heard of Abydos; it’s the place where they found the very first Stargate. My wife, being the biggest Stargate fan, had to go, so we went to both Abydos and Dendera.

Abydos is one of the oldest cities in Egypt. Picture Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones describing their favorite ancient site and I guarantee it would be something along the lines of Abydos. There are underground crypts you can explore, rooftops to walk across, tombs to get lost in - this place is crazy big.

Dendera, on the other hand, is a lot more chilled but there’s also a lot more history. If you can, take a guide with you so you can truly appreciate what you are seeing.

Day 6: Relax

After much exploration, we decided to have a day to ourselves and relax at the hotel. We had a spa day, food by the pool and chilled out.

The golden Egyptian sunset dipping behind the Valley of the Kings is worth every penny. We definitely recommend taking a day to yourselves and enjoying the Egyptian weather and exploring Luxor’s market and getting yourself, friends and families some souvenirs.

Day 7: Giza Pyramids

On our 7th day, we flew out to Cairo but we only had 6 hours before our flight home. So we did a quick stopover to one of the 7 wonders of the world - the Giza Pyramids.

6 hours is plenty of time to do this and how can we not go and see the Pyramids. As you drive up to Giza, you can see the Pyramids dominating the skyline. Once you arrive, there are so many people trying to get pictures, asking you to buy stuff - it’s all a bit overwhelming. What would you expect from a wonder of the world? Everyone is trying to snap a picture for the gram.

Saying all that, this is a must go and when you arrive you will understand why this place is such a treasure and so mind-boggling on how it was built.

It will humble you.

Recap:

Day 1: Arrive

Day 2: Karnak Temple + Luxor Temple

Day 3: Valley of The Kings + Hatshepsut + Medinet Habu

Day 4: Hot Air Balloon + Horse riding

Day 5: Abydos + Dendera

Day 6: Relax

Day 7: Giza Pyramids + Fly home

Tips:

Be careful of fraud. People will tell you that the temple is closed or will tell you there’s a different entrance. Just ignore them and keep walking.

Everyone expects tips. You have these men that come up to you offering to take your picture. Once they do they won’t give you your phone until they receive a tip for their service. Be wary and say NO.

Learn some words in Arabic. Once you leave your hotel, not everyone speaks English. So try and learn a few words in Arabic if you can.

ENJOY YOURSELVES!! Ignore what the news says about Egypt, especially Luxor. It’s a beautiful country with wonderful sites and people. We will be definitely going back soon.

Don’t forget to leave your questions and comments below.