Half day or full day?

What is the difference between a half-day and a full-day West Bank tour?

A half day covers the three big sights in 4 to 5 hours. A full day adds two to four quieter sites and takes 7 to 10 hours.

The tours side by side:

What does a half-day Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut tour cover?

The Valley of the Kings with three tombs, Hatshepsut's temple and a stop at the Colossi of Memnon, with hotel pickup in Luxor.

The half-day tour by Egypt Lovely Tours is private: your own car and an English-speaking Egyptologist. It is rated 5.0, and the reviews keep praising early starts. One July guest wrote: "Our half-day tour started right at 5:30 AM [...] we were the very first people to enter the Valley of the Kings right at 6:00 AM".

Pick it if you have one day in Luxor and want the afternoon for Karnak, a felucca or the pool. Skip it if the workers' village and Medinat Habu interest you: they are the West Bank's quiet stars, and a half day never reaches them.

What does a full-day West Bank tour add?

Medinat Habu, Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Queens: three sites with deep colour and far fewer people.

• Medinat Habu: Ramesses III's mortuary temple, with reliefs still bright under the porches.
• Deir el-Medina: the village of the craftsmen who cut the royal tombs, with their own small painted tombs. One guest called them "the Workers tombs (A Must visit)".
• Valley of the Queens: tombs of queens and princes. Nefertari's tomb costs extra.

The private West Bank day by Reflections Travel does all six for $89 with every ticket included, rated 4.9 by more than 1,700 guests. The full-day tour by Luxor Egypt Tours covers the same sites from $32, with the guide, tickets and lunch as options. A guest there liked the order: "Valley of the kings and temple of Hatshepsut in the morning, valley of the workers, valley of the queens and Madinet Habu in the afternoon worked perfectly for our family of 4."

Six West Bank sites at your own pace, with the guide, the tickets and lunch as options you choose.

★ 4.9 · 7 to 10 hours · from $32

Explore the full-day West Bank tour → Tour details

Which tombs can you see in the Valley of the Kings?

Any three of the tombs open that day on the standard EGP 750 ticket. Tutankhamun (EGP 700), Seti I (EGP 2,000) and Ramesses V and VI (EGP 220) need their own tickets.

The open tombs rotate for conservation. Tours often pick from Ramesses III, Merenptah and Ramesses IV, three of the tombs on the King Tut's tomb tour. Extra tomb prices are from a 2026 Luxor guide; one guest on the flagship tour paid an "extra 2700 EGP per person" for Seti I and Tut together, which matches.

Two things to know. Guides are not allowed to explain inside many tombs, so the talk happens outside: the half-day operator says so in a reply to a review. And time is tight. A guest on the flagship tour counted "around 12 minutes for each three tombs" and had to drop one to fit in Tutankhamun. If Tut matters to you, say so at pickup. Our pick for a first visit: Ramesses V and VI. It costs a fraction of Seti I, and its ceiling is the one people remember.

How long do tours spend at Hatshepsut's temple?

About an hour. The flagship itinerary gives the Valley of the Kings 3 hours and the temple 1 hour.

An hour is enough for the ramp, the middle terrace with the Punt reliefs and the Hathor chapel, and the upper terrace with the Osiride statues. It is not enough to read the walls. If the temple is the reason you came, tell the guide at pickup, or read the history guide the night before so you know where to look.

Private or group tour: which is better on the West Bank?

Private, and in Luxor it barely costs more. Every West Bank tour on this site is private; the shared trips run from the Red Sea.

In Luxor a private car and guide is the norm, because the price drops with group size. The from-price is the per-person rate for the biggest group, so a couple pays more per head than a family of five. You set the pace, start at 6:00 if you want, and skip the stop you don't care about.

Shared minibuses exist mainly on the long days from Hurghada. They are cheaper and slower, and the group moves at the speed of its slowest member. Either way, expect a stop at an alabaster workshop. A guest on the flagship tour shrugged it off: "we had the stop at the local stone shop, and that was totally fine. We didn't feel pressured to buy anything".

How much does a West Bank tour cost with tickets?

About $32 a head for the half day once you add the gate tickets, and $89 for the full private day with six sites' tickets included.

The maths for one foreign adult in October 2026:

Add tips for the guide and driver, and extra tombs if you want them. The cheap from-prices are honest about the car; they are not the price of the day. Check the option list before you pay.

Is the King Tut's tomb tour worth it?

Yes, if Tutankhamun's tomb is the point of your trip. It puts KV62 on the plan, but the entry tickets are not included.

The King Tut's tomb tour by Luxor Travels runs 5 hours 10 minutes from $65: Tutankhamun's tomb and other royal tombs, Hatshepsut's temple, the Valley of the Queens with Queen Titi's tomb, and the Colossi. Budget the Valley of the Kings ticket, Tut's ticket, Hatshepsut and the Queens yourself. The tomb itself is small; the reason to go is the king's mummy, still lying in it.

Tutankhamun's tomb on the plan, then Hatshepsut and the Valley of the Queens, with a private Egyptologist. Tickets paid at the gate.

★ 4.8 · 5 hours 10 min · from $65

Explore the King Tut's tomb tour → Tour details

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