How to Get Around in Luxor: Best Transport Options

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Luxor is known as the world’s largest open-air museum. This city in Egypt has a bustling centre as well as tourist sites that  spill across two sides of the mighty Nile.

We spent five days there so by the end of it had worked out how to get around in Luxor pretty well. Taxis are generally the easiest way to get around once you are on the correct bank of the Nile. 

For crossing the Nile we mostly used either the public ferry or private taxi boats, depending on where we were going. There are road bridges but not particularly close to the centre so this often takes a fair bit longer. 

Like all things in Egypt though it is helpful to know some tips to make sure you don’t get ripped off and spend a lot more than you should.

Arriving in Luxor

Most travellers arrive in Luxor by plane, which is what we did. Other ways to get to Luxor include by train from either Cairo or Aswan, or by road.

Most international flights arrive in Luxor but it’s a relatively easy one hour hop from Cairo to Luxor and there are plenty of airlines to choose from.

Getting from Luxor airport

Luxor airport is situated on the East Bank of Luxor, and is around 20 minutes from downtown.

The easiest way to get from the airport is by taxi, unless you are on an organised tour where transport is included.

Some Luxor hotels do offer airport pick-up included in the price. Ours didn’t, but our lovely hotel owner was able to arrange a trusted driver to collect us from the airport on arrival.

There were plenty of taxis waiting with offers to take us anywhere when we arrived but I always find it reassuring to find someone waiting sprcifically for us when arriving in a new destination.

Luxor was the first stop on our Egypt trip so the heat and culture-shock was huge on arrival! Adam had been to Egypt before so knew what to expect. Although I hadn’t been to Egypt, I had travelled to countries e.g. India, which are also completely different culturally from the UK so had some idea of what to expect.

The children however hadn’t, so it was a lot for them to take in after a long journey!

Arriving in Luxor by train

We had looked into getting the train from Cairo to Luxor. I love train travel and the overnight train option was very tempting.

However when we explored the idea further, the cost for an overnight train (it is around a 12 hour journey) was roughly the same as flying. For our family of five the two person cabins also didn’t really work.

Last summer when travelling on the overnight Nightjet train between Amsterdam and Vienna in Europe, we were able to use a cabin for four (one adult and three kids) with one adult in a seperate mini-cabin. There was no way we would have wanted one of our children to be in a train compartment without one of us parents, which is what we would have needed to do in Egypt due to the configurations.

If you do arrive by train, Luxor train station is right in the centre of downtown on the East Bank. Depending on where your hotel is it would be possible to walk or get a taxi to where you are staying.

Arriving in Luxor by Road

There are buses that travel between Luxor and most major cities, including Cairo, Aswan and Hurghada. The central coach station is located close to the train station on the East Bank.

Busbud is a great way to find and book local bus and coach services.

Another popular way to arrive or leave Luxor is in a private transfer. We did this when leaving Luxor for Hurghada. We arranged the trip with a driver that was recommended by our hotel and we had already used a few times during our stay in Luxor.

It was great to have had this experience with our driver before making the long transfer, since we had built up trust and felt completely safe with him.

How to get around in Luxor East Bank

The East Bank of Luxor is the main city centre and many of the tourist sites here are fairly central. Because of that it is possible to walk to most places easily, depending on where you are staying in Luxor.

If you don’t fancy walking too far in the heat, or are heading to Karnak temple, which is a few kilometres north of the centre, you will never be short of offers to take you around! These will mostly come from taxi drivers and horse drawn carts, known in Luxor as caleche.

Taxis in Luxor

We were offered taxis approximately every two seconds while wandering around the East Bank of Luxor so finding a taxi is never an issue!

You’ll need to agree a price before you set off, don’t go with the initial price as this will usually be inflated. The other main thing to be aware of is to make sure you are firm on where you actually want to go.

Many taxi drivers will try and tempt you to go to a shop or market instead of your destination or on the way to your final destination. Just be polite but firm about where you want to go and you’ll be fine. 

Many taxi drivers offered their card or contact details to use again in future. This is worth keeping if you find a reliable driver that you like. Most taxi drivers communicate via whatsapp so make sure you have that downloaded and get an e-sim to allow you to use data while out and about.

Horse Drawn carts (Caleche)

As with taxis you’ll come across horse drawn carts, known as caleche, all over on the East Bank. Benjamin was very excited when were first invited for a ride in an ‘Egyptian Ferrari’ until he realised that the horse-power was very in this case very literal!

We then heard this phrase constantly while wandering round the East side of Luxor. We didn’t end up riding in a caleche, opting for taxis instead to get where we wanted to go quicker. 

The same rules apply as for taxis- negotiate the price up front and be firm about where you want to go. We had many caleche drivers telling us that where we were going e.g. Karnak temple, was closed. This is usually a ploy for the driver to then take you to their preferred destination- this usually seemed to be the market.

Luckily we had been warned about this trick by our hotel manager and weren’t swayed but I can see how many tourists could easily believe this and get tempted to somewhere else.

Double check opening times of the sights you want to visit before setting off and stay firm on where you want to go.

How to cross the Nile in Luxor

Luxor is divided by the iconic river Nile. Whichever side of the Nile you are staying on, you will need to cross the river at some point as there are unmissable Luxor sights on both sides of the river. 

There is a bridge over the Nile but this is some distance north of the centre so is a considerable detour by road. If you prefer, it is possible to jump in a taxi and cross by road. However this usually would be much slower than crossing by boat, and in my opinion much less fun!

Luxor Public River Ferry

As an individual the cheapest way to cross the Nile in Luxor is by using the public river ferry. Our kind hotel owner took us there himself on our first day in Luxor to show us where it was and help us get our bearings which was really helpful.

On the East Bank the ferry terminal is located near the Luxor museum. It’s around 15 minute walk from there to Karnak temple in the North or around 10 minutes to Luxor temple and the central area to the South.

On the West Bank the ferry terminal is slightly further south, close to the central roundabout.

Whichever bank you board the ferry you’ll find a small ticket booth as you approach the dock. It’s cash only and it’s helpful to have the correct change although you can usually get change if needed.

When we visited the cost was 25EGP per person (which is around $0.50).

The ferries are a decent size with seats downstairs and also an upper deck, which we thought was much nicer for looking out over the Nile.

As well as being a cheap way to cross the river it’s also a great glimpse into local life as it is mostly full of locals crossing back and forth.

Private taxi boats

Alternatively there are numerous private taxi boats waiting to whisk you across the river from either bank. Depending on the size of your party this can work out roughly the same price as using the ferry.

The price will need to be negotiated but we usually paid around EGP200 for a crossing so not much more than 5 tickets on the ferry.

The advantage of using a private taxi boat is that you can choose whereabouts on the far bank that you would like to dock.

For us this was more convenient when wanting to visit the area around Luxor temple as it saved a walk along the corniche from the ferry terminal on either side (Luxor temple was almost directly opposite our hotel, Villa Belzoni).

We had some lovely taxi boat drivers who even let the children have a turn at driving (which they loved).

The boats tend to have cushioned seats and shaded covering, although on most boats it is also possible to sit on the roof of this shade covering giving an unobstructed view of the Nile and both banks.

Feluccas

As well as the colourful taxi boats you will see numerous tall masts along the river bank belonging to traditional felucca sailing boats.

We did have a lovely sunset sail on a felucca but did so for the experience rather than just to cross the river. I’m sure it would be possible to use a felucca to cross but would be slower and more expensive than the colourful motorboats.

Getting around on the West Bank

The shops and restaurants area of the West Bank is compact meaning that we were able to walk everywhere. We were staying on the West Bank at the brilliant Villa Belzoni (read our full honest hotel review), meaning we explored this bank the most.

We were even able to walk to Luxor stables, where we had a fantastic horse riding experience.

If visiting Valley of the Kings and the other West Bank sights, you will need to use a taxi. This can be arranged by the ferry terminal on arrival.

Hiring a driver for the day

We decided to hire a taxi driver for the day when we visited Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut temple. This meant that we paid as set price (we paid $20) to have use of the taxi all day to go between all the main sights.

We thought this was a great way to have independence and be able to get where we wanted. We simply messaged via whatsapp when wanting collecting and taking to our next destination.

Overall, once you get into the rhythm of things it’s very easy to get around in Luxor. If you book a guided tour or go on a hot air balloon ride, these will tend to come with hotel pick-up included so you won’t need to worry about arranging your own transport.

We arranged our hot air balloon ride with Sindbad balloons and would highly recommend. We’ve written a full review.

Check out our other guides for things to do in Luxor, where to stay and the best restaurants in Luxor.