Luxor or Aswan from Marsa Alam? How to Choose Your Nile Day Trip

Marsa Alam sits on the Red Sea, but the Nile Valley is close enough for a day trip, and we run two of them: one to Luxor and one to Aswan. Both are long days with an Egyptologist guide, lunch and hotel pickup, and both show you a side of Egypt that a beach holiday rarely does. They are very different days, though. This guide compares them side by side so you can pick the one that suits your interests, your group and your energy, or plan to do both.

The short answer

• Choose Luxor if you want the great monuments of the pharaohs: the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak. It is the closer of the two, at about four hours each way.
• Choose Aswan if you want the Nile at its most beautiful: the island temple of Philae, the Aswan High Dam and a sail on a traditional felucca. It is farther, at about five hours each way, but there is less walking.
• If this is your first time in Egypt and you can only do one, Luxor shows you more of the famous sights in a single day. If you have already seen Luxor, Aswan is the natural next step.

Luxor and Aswan side by side

• The drive: Marsa Alam to Luxor is about 4 hours by road each way; Marsa Alam to Aswan is about 5 hours each way.
• Pickup: around 4:00 AM for Luxor and around 3:30 AM for Aswan. Your exact time is confirmed the day before.
• Length of the day: both are full days of about 13 to 14 hours, with the return to your hotel in the evening.
• Time at the sites: the Luxor programme runs from about 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, the Aswan programme from about 9:00 AM to 2:30 PM. Luxor gives you more sightseeing, Aswan more time on the road.
• What you see: in Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak Temple. In Aswan, Philae Temple by motorboat, the High Dam and a felucca sail.
• Walking: a fair amount in Luxor, over uneven ground and down tomb steps. Moderate in Aswan, on mostly even ground.
• Lunch: included on both, at a local restaurant with Nile views in Luxor and before the felucca sail in Aswan. Drinks with lunch are extra.
• Minimum age: 5 on both trips.
• Guides: an Egyptologist guide on both, in English, German, Italian or French.
• Pickup areas: Marsa Alam town, Port Ghalib, Coraya Bay and El Quseir for both trips.

Marsa Alam to Luxor: tombs and colossal temples

Luxor stands on the site of ancient Thebes, the capital of Egypt at the height of the New Kingdom, and it has more famous monuments in one place than almost anywhere else in the country. On our Luxor day trip from Marsa Alam you cross the Eastern Desert in an air-conditioned vehicle, then spend the morning on the west bank of the Nile: down into the painted royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, up to the terraces of Queen Hatshepsut’s temple against the cliffs, and past the two giant seated statues known as the Colossi of Memnon.

After lunch with a view of the river, you cross to the east bank for Karnak, a sacred city of temples built over many centuries, with its great hall of colossal carved columns. Entrance to the listed sites is included. Some special tombs, such as those of Tutankhamun and Nefertari, cost extra and are optional, and your guide will tell you on the day which tombs are open. Our Luxor day trip guide walks through the whole day stop by stop.

Luxor suits you if you love history, if your children have learned about the pharaohs at school, or if this is your first visit to Egypt and you want to see its most famous sights. The trade-off is the heat and the walking: the tombs and Hatshepsut’s temple are open to the sun, and there are steps and uneven ground.

Marsa Alam to Aswan: the Nile at its most beautiful

Aswan is Egypt’s great southern city, where the Nile flows between granite boulders and green islands and the white sails of feluccas cross the river all day. On the Aswan day trip from Marsa Alam the drive is about an hour longer each way than to Luxor and the pickup is earlier, but the day itself is gentler.

Your first stop is Philae, the temple of the goddess Isis, which you reach on a short motorboat ride. When dams on the Nile raised the water level, the whole temple was taken apart and rebuilt on a higher island nearby, as part of an international rescue campaign led by UNESCO, so it still rises straight out of the water today. Next comes the Aswan High Dam, built in the 1960s, which created Lake Nasser and changed farming and life along the river; your guide explains why it matters so much to modern Egypt. After lunch you sail on a felucca, the traditional wooden sailing boat of the Nile, and for many guests this is the most relaxing part of either trip.

Aswan suits you if you prefer landscapes and a slower pace to a long list of monuments, if someone in your group finds steps and uneven ground hard, or if you have already seen Luxor. Children usually love the boat rides, and there are two of them.

Which one suits your group?

• History lovers: Luxor, with four of the best-known sites of ancient Egypt in one day.
• Scenery and photography: Aswan. Philae on the water and the felucca sail are the most photogenic moments of either trip.
• Families: both trips welcome children from age 5, but the long drive suits older children best. Children who know about the pharaohs are often spellbound by the Luxor tombs; younger ones tend to prefer Aswan’s boats.
• Less walking or limited mobility: Aswan, with mostly even ground. Luxor has steps and uneven ground in the heat. Tell us about any mobility needs when you book and we will advise.
• Least time in the car: Luxor, about two hours less on the road in total.

With young children, a 14-hour day is a lot to ask. The afternoon desert safari gives them a taste of Egypt beyond the beach without the early start, and our guide to Marsa Alam with kids has ideas for every age.

Can you do both?

Yes, and many guests do. Both trips run several times a week, so you can book them on separate days. Leave at least one beach day in between: two very long days back to back are tiring, and you will enjoy the second trip more if you are rested. Book them for the middle of your holiday rather than your first or last day, so the flight and the early start don’t collide.

You can’t combine the two cities in one day trip, because they lie a few hours apart along the Nile. All our Nile Valley trips are listed together under day trips from Marsa Alam, and our hotel pickup checker shows which trips collect from your area.

Going further: Abu Simbel, balloons and overnight stays

Two famous experiences don’t fit into a day trip from the coast. Abu Simbel, the great rock-cut temples of Ramesses II, lies about three hours further south of Aswan, so it needs an overnight stay or a long two-day itinerary. The hot-air balloons over Luxor take off at sunrise, which also means a night in Luxor. Neither is part of our standard day trips, but message us and we can plan a two-day option around your dates. Hoping to see the Pyramids too? Our guide to getting from Marsa Alam to Cairo explains the flight, the road and how many nights you need.

When to go and what to bring

Both trips run all year. The winter months are the most comfortable time for sightseeing in the Nile Valley. In summer, Upper Egypt is very hot, which is why both itineraries start so early and visit the open-air sites in the morning; Aswan, farther south, is usually even hotter than Luxor. Our guide to the best time to visit Marsa Alam covers the weather month by month.

• Your passport or ID for the police checkpoints on the desert road.
• Light, modest clothing that covers your shoulders and knees for the temples.
• Comfortable walking shoes, a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen.
• A light layer for the air-conditioned vehicle and the early start.
• Cash for tips, drinks with lunch and, in Luxor, any optional tombs.

Bottled water and lunch are included on both trips. For the rest of your holiday, see our Marsa Alam packing list.