# How many days do you need in Luxor? Source: https://luxor101.com/plan/how-many-days Language: en How many days should I allow for Luxor? # How many days do you need in Luxor? We suggest three full days for a first visit: one for the east-bank temples, one for the Valley of the Kings and Deir el-Bahari, and one for the southern west bank. Two days can cover the main highlights. Four or five gives you time for the nobles’ tombs, the museum and a gentler pace. With only one day, choose a small selection; our one-day route combines both banks, but it is a demanding option. ## Before you go Choose the length of stay around your interests, transfers and the pace you enjoy. Two days can introduce the main temples and royal tombs. A third makes room for Deir el-Medina and Medinet Habu, or for more time at a favourite site. Four days add flexibility for the nobles’ chapels, the Ramesseum and the museum. These places reward interest in art, work and family as well as kingship. Their scenes also have religious purposes; they are not simply pictures of ordinary life. Our five-day slow itinerary spreads the visits out. It includes a late visit to Luxor Temple on day two, subject to opening hours, so it is not a mornings-only plan. A longer stay can help with rest, but does not remove heat, stairs or uneven ground. Check each route against your own needs. With one full day, be selective. Our outline combines west-bank sites with Karnak after a substantial break, but it is demanding and depends on current admissions and transfers. Choosing one bank is a reasonable alternative. If you are joining a river journey, confirm the boarding point and departure time first. The combined Luxor-and-Nile outline allows four days in the city; shorten or reverse it to match your actual sailing. Repeat visitors can build a stay around just one or two places rather than repeat a highlights circuit. Sources & further reading 2 Tier 2 The Illustrated Guide to Luxor: Tombs, Temples and Museums, Kent R. Weeks American University in Cairo Press Tier 2 Thebes in Egypt: A Guide to the Tombs and Temples of Ancient Luxor, Nigel and Helen Strudwick British Museum Press Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references. Related ## Explore the connections 1–1 / 11 [Plan ### First time in Luxor What should I know before my first visit to Luxor? ](https://luxor101.com/plan/first-time-in-luxor)[Plan ### East bank or west bank? What is the difference between the two banks, and which one should I do first? ](https://luxor101.com/plan/east-or-west-bank)[Plan ### When to visit Luxor What is the best time of year to come, and how bad is the summer really? ](https://luxor101.com/plan/when-to-visit)[Plan ### Do you need a guide in Luxor? Where can a knowledgeable licensed guide add most to my visit? ](https://luxor101.com/plan/do-you-need-a-guide)[Ancient Luxor ### Karnak Temple Complex Two thousand years of building, rebuilding and royal ambition, gathered around the temples of Amun. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak)[Ancient Luxor ### Valley of the Kings The royal burial landscape of the New Kingdom: rock-cut tombs tucked into a desert valley, separate from the kings’ major commemorative temples. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/valley-of-the-kings)[Ancient Luxor ### Medinet Habu Colour survives here wherever the roof did — on a temple built by a king fighting to hold Egypt together. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/medinet-habu)[Ancient Luxor ### Deir el-Medina The village of the men who cut the royal tombs. It is the site that makes all the others feel human. ](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/deir-el-medina)[Journal ### Luxor in Three Days Without Rushing It Group Karnak and Luxor Temple on one day, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut’s temple on another, and southern west-bank sites on a third. Keep a midday break and shorten any day that feels too full. ](https://luxor101.com/journal/luxor-in-three-days-without-rushing-it)[Journal ### 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)[Journal ### 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)