Visiting Karnak Temple With Kids: A Family Guide

If you’re visiting Luxor in Egypt, Karnak temple is one the prime tourist attractions that should be in every travel itinerary. When researching our Egypt trip Karnak came up time and again as one of the top places to visit.

Adam had been to Egypt before in his twenties as a solo traveller and had vivid memories of being overhwelmed by the grandeur of this temple in Luxor.

Visiting Karnak temple with kids is slightly different to visiting as a solo traveller though! Timing of your visit, giving lists of things to look out for and a well-timed refreshment break in the shade are all things that can make the visit soooo much easier.

When is the best time to visit Karnak temple?

We timed our Karnak temple visit all wrong! We visited on our first full day in Egypt, having landed from the UK the previous evening.

After a long day of travel we hadn’t fancied getting up early and rushing out so by the time we got to the temple gate it was approaching 11a.m. which is probably peak visiting time!

This meant that there were lots of other tourists there when we arrived and it was pretty hot at that time of day too.

I was starting to get grumpy about the whole situation but then stopped myself to remember we were at a magical place which was still magical even with lots of other people around!

If you have the option, visiting earlier in the morning or later in the afternoon will generally mean less crowds, and also slightly cooler temperatures.

Having said that, since the temple complex is soooo huge even at peak visitor time we were able to escape the crowds for moments of calm.

Most of the big tour groups stay within the first part of the temple complex so if you continue past the Obelisk of Hatshepsut it’s much quieter.

How do I get to Karnak temple with kids?

Karnak temple is located roughly 2.5 km North of central Luxor on the East bank. It’s definitely possible to walk from central Luxor to the temple, this will depend on the age of your kids and probably the time of day/ how hot it is.

It could be a hot, sticky walk with lots of moaning if you’re not careful!

1. Ferry from West Bank of Luxor

We were staying at Villa Belzoni on the west bank of Luxor so had taken the public ferry across the Nile. From the ferry dock it was only around a 15 minute walk so as advised by our fantastic hotel owner, that is what we did.

2. Taxi or Horse and Cart (aka Egytian Ferrari)

Depending on where you are staying in Luxor it may be more convenient to take a taxi or an ‘Egyptian ferrari’. Benjamin got very excited about the idea of this until he realised this was a horse and carriage.

Wherever you are in Luxor you won’t be short on offers of both taxis and horse and carriages. Just make sure you negotiate and agree your price before setting off.

We were warned by our hotel owner about taxi drivers telling us the temple was closed in an attempt to take us on their own tour to somewhere else. This exact thing happened many times for us.

Make sure you have checked current opening times before setting out and be firm that you still want to go even if you are told it is closed- it most likely will be open. The Karnak website has all the information you need on opening times and current prices.

3. Organised Tour

The most hassle-free way to get to Karnak Temple is on an organised tour. There are numerous options depending on your budget and how much you want to be looked after!

Private tour of Luxor and Karnak temples– includes air-conditioned transport from your hotel to each temple. There’s no guide included in this option you’re free to do your own thing on arrival.

Private half day tour of Luxor and Karnak temples – this is a great option if you want to have a recommended guide to show you around the site as well.

Full day tour – This is a great tour option if you’re short on time and want to combine more of Luxor’s top attractions into one day. As well as Karnak and Luxor temple on the East bank you’ll also visit Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple on the West Bank.

What to expect on arrival at Karnak

On arrival there is a small security booth where you’ll need to have bags scanned and walk through a metal detector. This seems to be standard at all the Egyptian tourist sights that we visited.

Once you’re through there is a large entrance, with a ticket booth to the side of it to buy your tickets from. You can buy tickets online in advance if preferred. Children under 6 get in free and older children get in for half price.

When you have your tickets you’ll be able to go into the initial display area which has a few items to look at and some information boards about the temple complex. Most importantly for us the toilets!

You’ll exit through the opposite side of this area and turn right towards the main temple complex.

On the way out at the end you’ll be directed past this entrance hall to walk around the side past the market vendors selling souvenirs and drinks to return to the front car-park.

Kid-friendly highlights

Many visitors choose to hire a guide to look around Karnak temple with kids. There are obvious benefits for this, including getting a better understanding of what you are looking at.

We chose not to hire a guide, preferring to find our own way around the temple. We like to be on our own schedule and to be able to prioritise our time as we go along.

The highlights that our kids were more interested in were:

1. Great Hypostyle Hall

Adam had raved about this from his previous visit to Karnak twenty years previously. It is a huge area with 134 giant columns. It’s the perfect place for a quick game of hide and seek!

Do be careful though, especially if it’s busy, as it can be easy to lose each other in this area. Arrange a meeting point before letting the kids loose (obviously it depends on the age of your kids as to whether you are happy to do this at all).

There aren’t any sights as such here but the sheer number of columns is very impressive. It’s still apparently the largest room of any religious building in the world.

2. Hatshepsut’s Obelisk

This was the thing that Benjamin kept talking about after our temple visit. An obelisk is a bit like a column but is four-sided rather than round and is topped by a mini-pyramid.

Hatshepsut’s obeliks is the tallest surviving example in Egypt at nearly thirty metres tall so is worth spotting. It’s located in the temple of Amun, which you’ll come to after walking straight ahead from the Hypostyle hall. The obelisk is towards the left if walking from the temple entrance.

3. Temple of Ramases III

Just after entering the main entrance of Karnak (before you get to the Hypostyle hall), you’ll find the temple of Ramases III to your right. It seemed to be a bit quieter here than in other parts of the temple so I wondered whether some of the tour groups don’t go here.

I’m not sure why as I thought it was brilliant. The initial courtyard is lined with statues of Ramases III and after walking through this area there are three small enclosed chapels.

The chapels were what our children liked the most. In two of them there is a shaft of light that pierces through a deliberate hole near the ceiling to illuminate a patch of ground.

When we were there, a local man showed us how to stand to ‘catch the light’ in our hands. It made for some great photos- he grabbed my phone and took loads! Just remember, that as with most places in Egypt, people will expect a small tip (baksheesh) for doing this.

Benjamin was very excited having learnt at school about the ancient scholar, Ibn al-Haytham and how he had come up with theories around light and how we see after being imprisoned. It’s brilliant when your kids actually teach you things you had no idea about!

4. The Sacred Scarab Beetle

The sacred scarab beetle is a statue next to the sacred lake. The statue itself is quite small compared with some of the others within the complex but it has a particular ritual associated with it.

We hadn’t heard of this when we arrived but saw tourists walking in circles around the beetle and wondered what on earth was going on!

We found out that it is believed to bring good fortune to walk anti-clockwise around the beetle seven times. Obviously the kids loved this- I just got really dizzy!

Practical tips for visiting as a family

Karnak is a large site so to make your family visit easier it’s best to be organised and have a plan of where you are going/ what you are doing. Here’s our top tips:

1. Make your visit into a scavenger hunt

Keep the kids interested in what you’re looking at by coming up with a list of things to look out for. This could be particular images to find in hieroglyphics or large statues, the lake, even looking for other tourists wearing certain items of clothing!

2. Take plenty of water and some snacks

If you’ve got kids then I probably don’t need to tell you that snacks are needed on pretty much any outing! Especially with younger kids. Plan for your visit being around 2 hours so some snacks can definitely help to prevent moans!

Depending on the time of year and time of day or your visit it is also likely to be hot so plenty of water to keep everyone hydrated is a must! I’d recommend buying before you arrive at the site as it will be significantly cheaper.

3. Get everyone to the toilet first!

There are toilets near the main entrance where you buy tickets but we didn’t see any others after that. It’s quite a trek back to there so definitely make sure everyone goes on the way in to prevent extra walking backwards and forwards for toilet breaks.

4. Think about how to transport young children

As previously mentioned it is a large site so young children, in particular toddlers, may struggle with all the walking (especially in the heat). You’ll know your kids best and how happy they are to walk.

The ground is mostly hard-packed earth but there are a number of areas with large stone slabs and it can be quite uneven. Standard strollers may struggle so an all-terrain buggy may be better or a carrier-backpack.

5. Have a break in the shade

There is a small cafe and shop next to the sacred lake. By Egypt standards it is quite expensive but for us it was worth the expense for a sit-down in the shade with an ice cream or cold drink.

The cafe is far from being one of the best restaurants in Luxor, but the ice cream was good and there was a good selection of drinks.

I’d highly recommend this as our children were starting to lose interest and get fed up. They were definitely feeling much more revitalised after a bit of a break and it allowed us to visit more of the temple.

Overall Karnak is definitely one of the top things to do in Luxor and absolutely needs to be in your itinerary. In all honesty temples definitely weren’t our kids favourite activities, they much preferred horseriding, our hot air ballon ride or sailiing on a felucca.

However we managed to make it interesting enough for them that we didn’t have contstant moans! I will admit that by the time we left Luxor for the Red Sea at Makadi Bay, Benjamin was very relieved to hear that there were no temples to visit there!