Planning Your Time

Are you taking a cruise? If yes, remember that some cruises may devote only a single day to Luxor, and this major city deserves more time. You'll need at least a day to visit the West Bank temples and tombs, another to visit Karnak and Luxor temples, and a third day if you want to explore Abydos or Dendera, which the majority of cruises omit. If you want to visit the Middle Nile Valley to see the sights around Al Minya, that trip alone requires two or three days, whether you are doing it as a side trip from Cairo or as a stopover on the trip between Cairo and Luxor.