Shore Excursion: Day tour to Luxor from Safaga port

My wife and I booked a day tour for 2 to Luxor when our cruise ship, Oceania Nautica, stopped in Safaga. We originally thought we would take a group tour, but changed our mind when we found that we could book a tour for just the 2 of us for only about $10-15 per person more than going on a bus. Love Egypt Tours met us at the dock in Safaga and we were introduced to our driver and were taken in a clean, late model car to Luxor. The driver did a great job especially as we got closer to Luxor and he had to negotiate numerous speed bumps and make his way past tuk-tuks, donkey carts and pedestrians. In Luxor, we met our guide, Sheema, who told us about ancient Egypt history and escorted us as we visited the Temple of Hapshepsut, Valley of the Kings, and Karnak Temple. Sheema was an excellent guide who spoke English well and explained a great deal about the sites we visited and answered the questions we had. We had adequate time at all the sites we visited and stopped for a very good lunch (included with the tour) as we were on our way to Karnak Temple. After visiting Karnak Temple, we paid for the tour and the driver took us back to the ship in Safaga. I would have given the tour 5 stars, but for some reason, the son of one of the people working for the company rode with us to and from Luxor - an unexpected passenger. Also, on the way back to Safaga, after stopping for gas we wanted to go directly back to the ship, but the driver made a stop we did not want. When we got back to the port there was also some confusion about getting us all the way to the dock. In general, it was a very good tour and we would use Love Egypt Tours if we return to Egypt in the future.

I contacted Love Egypt Tours 8 months before our Oceania cruise and they reserved a 2 day tour of Luxor in November for 4 of us. They honoured the original price they quoted even though their prices went up $100 US pp over the summer. On the first day, they arrived very early and met us outside the cruise terminal at Safaga. They had a sign with the company name on it so they were easy to find among all the other tour vans. The Toyota van they provided had seats for 10 and was clean and comfortable. It had air conditioning and a microphone for the tour guide. Our tour guide was named Hany and he had a university degree in Egyptian history. He was called an Egyptologist. Hany was smart, personable, honest, and very knowledgeable. On the 4 hour drive from Safaga port to Luxor, he used hand drawings to explain the religion of ancient Egypt and oriented us to what we would see in the Valley of the Kings. At the ruins, he gave us excellent information and a bit of free time. We never felt rushed. That evening, Love Egypt booked us into the hotel we requested: the Sonesta King George. Hany negotiated for us to be given a one bedroom suite so that we could have a king-sized bed. It was marvellous. The buffet breakfast the next morning was as good as those on our cruise ship. The next day we were picked up on time and taken to the Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. We asked to add the Luxor Museum and because of the additional cost for this deviation, I had to give Love Egypt a rating of 4/5 instead of 5/5 for this tour. The reason: the museum cost was about $8 US pp. The extra gas might have been $2 since the museum is very near the other attractions. And this visit was taken out of the time originally allotted to our tour; it did not take any extra time from the guide's schedule for the day. Still, our group of four was charged $25 US pp for this one added attraction, for a total of $100. That wasn't fair. However, it was not Hany's fault; he was merely following Love Egypt's policies. Regardless of this one negative situation, the overall 2 day tour more than met our expectations. I would highly recommend Love Egypt to anyone who wants a one or two day tour of Luxor. Just remember to negotiate, beforehand, exactly which attractions you wish to see and don't request any deviations while you are in Luxor. And ask for Hany.

Hice el tour de un día por Luxor con Love Egypt desde Hurghada y fue increíble. Éramos dos personas y mandaron una furgoneta a buscarnos a nosotros solos, no nos cobraron de más por ello y son casi 4 horas de viaje. Tuvimos que madrugar mucho, pegarnos la paliza en la carretera pero mereció la pena. Luxor es una pasada, y si tienes la suerte de que te lo enseñe alguien como Abdul, pues mejor. Se nota que le encanta su trabajo y que disfruta enseñandoselo a los demás. Sus explicaciones geniales y sus recomendaciones perfectas. Visitamos el Valle de los Reyes, varios de los templos de la zona, entre ellos Karnak, y comimos (y muy bien) en un barco en el Nilo, muy agradable. En definitiva un gran día