Our hotel served the best breakfast we’ve had so far on this trip. Freshly squeezed orange juice, a soft cheese with a zataar-like spice sprinkled on top, crepes with honey, omelette, and Egyptian tea. Mmm good. I would have had more tea but we were starting our excursion to the west bank of Luxor at 8am to beat the crowds and the heat.
We had booked a driver for the day through the hotel, for about $40 CAD.
First up was the Valley of the Kings.
Buying tickets to Valley of the Kings is a bit confusing. Most of the folks at the ticket counter are guides buying tickets for their groups, and they know the drill.
For those interested in the logistics, the ticket counter is on the right, after you pass through the visitor center. Facing the ticket counter, there’s two wickets. First you go to the wicket on the right, where you buy the general admission ticket, as well as an optional camera pass. The general admission ticket gets you access to three of the tombs currently open. When we visited in April 2019 the selection included:
- KV1 – Ramses VII
- KV2 – Ramses IV
- KV6 – Ramses IX
- KV8 – Merenptah
- KV11 – Ramses III
- KV14 – Tausert – Setnakht
- KV15 – Seti II
- KV47 – Siptah
You can then purchase tickets to premium tombs from the wicket on the left:
- KV9 – Ramses V & VI
- KV17 – Seti the First
- KV62 – King Tutankhamun
The camera pass allows you to take pictures inside three tombs. You can choose from the regular tombs or premium tombs, with the exception of Seti.
Based on google, we chose KV2, KV6 and KV8 for our three general admission tombs, and then paid extra for KV9 and KV17. I used my camera in KV2, KV6 and KV9. You don’t need to choose the general admission tombs when you buy your ticket - every time you enter a tomb, the tomb guardian will punch your ticket. Same for the camera roll pass.
Finally you buy the tram ticket from a little booth just the left of the ticket windows.
First we went to KV2 and KV6. These tombs are the most commonly chosen tombs and the busiest. The tombs were impressive but you’re herded along the whole way.
Next we went to KV9. Most people buying a premium ticket choose this one. It was less crowded than the first two we visited and more enjoyable.
We then went to Seti. It’s expensive (1200 EGP when we visited, about 90 CAD) and so very few other people were in the tomb. It’s definitely worth it if it’s in your budget. The hieroglyphics are in relief rather than carved, the colours and contrast is amazing. We spent about 20 minutes here (the others we spent maybe 5 - 10 minutes each). Over that time there were less than ten other tourists.
We then chose the 3rd tomb for our general admission ticket, KV8. In my opinion, the lack of crowds made it more enjoyable than the other general admission tombs we visited, and the difference in quality to my untrained eye wasn’t that noticeable.
Took a couple minutes to find our driver in the parking lot, amongst all the buses and minivans that had accumulated since we arrived. (We took a pic of the car to remember). Our driver commented that the crowds were actually not too bad - sometimes there’s not even room for him in the parking lot! (The lot was over 50% full as we left).
Next up was Hatshepsut, the only Queen buried in the Valley of the Kings. It’s in a great setting, with high cliffs surrounding it.
We then drove to Valley of the Queens. The tickets are the same process, a general admission ticket valid for three tombs and a premium ticket for Nefertari. We hadn’t researched which tombs to visit in the Valley of the Queens, so asked the ticket guy. He recommended three and we have him a tip.
Turned out there were only three general tombs open, so there were no choices to be made. Oh well. The tombs here are virtually empty of tourists, and cool to see. We also bought the premium ticket to Nefertari, which some reviews had called the Sistine Chapel of Egypt. We actually weren’t that impressed with the Sistine Chapel so maybe the comparison wasn’t intended for us. In any case, Nefertari was amazing, the vibrancy of colour was the best of the day. It’s about equivalent to Seti as the top site of the day.
Our last big stop was at Medinat Habu. This is a ruin (as opposed to a tomb) and was really impressive in size. The pillars dwarf anything we’ve seen from the Romans.
We had a quick stop at Colossi of Memnon, and then back to our hotel by 1pm. It was a busy half-day of sightseeing. The tickets also add up if you do the premium tombs - make sure you have lots of cash as they don’t take credit card.
We had lunch at one of the tourist places near our hotel overlooking the Nile. They had a nice setting, but wouldn’t go there for the food.
Got back home and cleaned up, did some laundry, relaxed on the terrace, and then down for dinner at 7pm. Dinner was delicious, a chicken tajine, with rice, salad and other accouterments. Had a beer (Heather had some of her rosé, we just bought the bottle yesterday and kept it in our fridge). The weather was a perfect temperature and a nice way to end the day.
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