# Two days in Luxor Source: https://luxor101.com/itineraries/luxor-2-days Language: en # Two days in Luxor A bank a day, with the hottest hours spent indoors. **Days**: 2 **Nights**: 2 **Pace**: Full The route at a glance Two days let you group the main visits by bank. Start with Karnak, then fit Luxor Temple and the museum around confirmed opening hours and a proper rest. The second day introduces the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s temple, with any additional stop optional. The museum may not be open throughout midday, so confirm its schedule rather than relying on it as the only break. [Your days in order](https://luxor101.com/itineraries/luxor-2-days#itinerary-sequence) Ideal traveller A traveller with a weekend, or two days built into a longer trip through Egypt. It suits people who are happy to start early twice, who want the headline sites without pretending they have covered Thebes, and who would rather spend the middle of the day in a cool room than in a queue. Not for For a gentler pace, reduce the daily stops or spread them across more days. This two-day outline omits Medinet Habu, Deir el-Medina and the Valley of the Queens; swap one in if it matters more to you than a scheduled stop. Itineraries ## Your days in order Day 01 ### The east bank **Start**: At the Karnak gate when it opens **Finish**: Leaving Luxor Temple after dark Stops 1. [Karnak](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) 2–3 hours Start early if the confirmed opening hours suit your plans. Karnak has large exposed areas, so choose a manageable part of the main axis and arrange a break afterwards. Crowd levels are variable. 2. [Luxor Museum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-museum) 1–1.5 hours The museum offers an indoor visit between the two temples. Check its opening hours before assigning it a midday slot, and arrange a separate place to rest if it is closed or you need a break from walking. 3. A meal and an hour off your feet Allow two hours between the museum and the late temple 4. [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) 1–1.5 hours Late, for the low light on the sandstone and because it is lit after dark. Arrive knowing it was built as the destination of a procession from Karnak and the shape of it stops being arbitrary. Plan the day **Heat exposure**: High **Walking**: Moderate **Food and rest**: Plan a seated break outside the site circuit and check the museum’s opening hours. Whether returning to your room is convenient depends on where you are staying. **Transport**: The stops are on the east bank, with several kilometres between Karnak and Luxor Temple. Use a taxi where useful. Walking part of the Avenue of Sphinxes is an option only when access, heat and your energy allow. **What to skip if tired**: Choose a shorter Karnak route or leave one visit for another day. Protect the rest break; no particular museum or temple is essential if you are no longer comfortable. [Back to all days](https://luxor101.com/itineraries/luxor-2-days#itinerary-sequence) Day 02 ### The west bank **Start**: At the crossing at first light **Finish**: Back across the river in the middle of the afternoon Stops 1. [Colossi of Memnon](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/colossi-of-memnon) Optional 15–30 minutes They are directly beside the road you are already on, and they are the first thing most people see on this bank. Two minutes of context turns them from a photo stop into the gateway of a vanished temple. 2. [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) 2–3 hours As early as you can manage. The valley traps heat and holds it all day, and the tombs get warmer and heavier the further down you go. 3. [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/temple-of-hatshepsut) 1–1.5 hours The temple lies beyond the ridge from the valley. Its approach and terraces are largely exposed, so choose a cooler visiting period when hours allow and adapt to the day’s conditions. 4. [The Ramesseum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/ramesseum) About 1 hour Consider the Ramesseum for its fallen royal sculpture and mud-brick stores. These help explain how a commemorative temple combined ceremony with supplies and administration. Leave it out if the morning is already full. Plan the day **Heat exposure**: High **Walking**: Moderate **Food and rest**: Eat before the circuit and carry drinking water. Arrange a proper break at a confirmed venue on either bank; do not rely on shade or seating inside a monument. **Transport**: Agree the full circuit with a driver, including any optional Ramesseum stop and the return point. Confirm how you cross the river and any boarding requirements before choosing a ferry or road transfer. **What to skip if tired**: Leave the Ramesseum for another day if you are tired. In the valley, check the descent and return climb before choosing a tomb; a shorter route may suit you better. [Back to all days](https://luxor101.com/itineraries/luxor-2-days#itinerary-sequence) Plan ## Do you need a guide or a driver for this? This is a suggested route, not a booking. Arrange any guide, driver or admission separately, and confirm what each service includes. [Choosing a guide in Luxor](https://luxor101.com/plan/do-you-need-a-guide) Ancient Luxor ## Places on this route - [Karnak Temple Complex](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak) - [Luxor Museum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-museum) - [Luxor Temple](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/luxor-temple) - [Colossi of Memnon](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/colossi-of-memnon) - [Valley of the Kings](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings) - [Temple of Hatshepsut](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/temple-of-hatshepsut) - [The Ramesseum](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/ramesseum) Journal ## Reading for the journey [ ### Reading Luxor Across the River The Nile helps you read ancient Thebes: the great temples stand east of the river, while royal cemeteries and commemorative temples spread west. But “east for the living, west for the dead” leaves out the people who lived and worked on the west bank. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/east-bank-or-west-bank)[ ### Karnak: Finding Your Way Through the Layers Karnak grew through additions, rebuilding and reuse. Compare the western pylons, central obelisks and eastern Festival Hall; walking east does not follow a simple newest-to-oldest sequence. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/karnak-in-the-order-it-was-built)[ ### Choosing Tombs in the Valley of the Kings Choose KV34 for its distinctive Amduat drawings if the demanding route suits you, KV17 for carved funerary scenes, or KV62 for Tutankhamun’s burial setting. Confirm which tombs are open and separately ticketed before choosing. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/which-valley-of-the-kings-tombs)[ ### What a Royal Commemorative Temple Was For Royal commemorative temples sustained worship and the king’s memory, during life and after death. At Thebes, they were separate from the royal tombs that held the burials. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/what-a-mortuary-temple-was-for)[ ### Where the objects went Objects from Thebes are held in Luxor, elsewhere in Egypt and abroad. Each has its own history of discovery and movement; a museum label and object record can help you trace it. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/where-the-objects-went) Sources & further reading 3 Tier 1 Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — visitor information: opening times, ticketing and site access Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (Egypt) Tier 2 The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples and Museums, Kent R. Weeks American University in Cairo Press Tier 1 Egyptian Meteorological Authority — climate records for Upper Egypt Egyptian Meteorological Authority Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references. **Opening hours, ticket prices and tomb access change.** Published prices and hours carry an online source-check date where available. Field checks, current access and human editorial review remain separate; confirm arrangements before travelling.