If you’re planning to spend several days in Luxor visiting all the historical sites, then you’re probably weighing up whether you should buy the Luxor Pass. It certainly makes accessing sites easier because you don’t have to queue to buy individual tickets at every single entry booth.
However, the passes are very expensive - especially if you buy the premium pass - so the most important thing to consider is whether it is going to be worth it, or whether you will be spending more money simply to save a little time.
The answer to this question is predominantly going to come down to the exchange rate, as the passes can only be purchased in Egypt using US dollars. Depending on the rates it can make the passes wildly different when it comes to value, as we found out!
Here’s everything you need to know before deciding whether to purchase the Luxor Pass.
The Luxor Pass: is it worth it
As the name suggests, the Luxor Pass is a single ticket that allows you entry to all the government administered historical sites in Luxor for five consecutive days (from the date of issue). We’ll detail what types of pass you can buy and whether it’s worth it below.
The Luxor Pass vs the Premium Luxor Pass
The only difference between the two passes is access to two tombs. The first is Queen Nefertari's tomb in the Valley of the Queens and the second is the tomb of Seti I in the Valley of the Kings.
That might sound a little odd given that the price difference of the passes is USD $100, but the two additional tombs are the premier tombs in the area and come with hefty price tags. You can see whether we thought the extra tombs were worth the extra money in the guides linked above.
The costs and the exchange rate
The major consideration when buying the Luxor Pass is the exchange rate, as the individual tickets for entry to the attractions are charged in Egyptian pounds, but the Luxor Pass is charged in US Dollars. Changes in the exchange rate can significantly impact whether it is worth buying the Luxor Pass.
At time of writing (December 2022), the ordinary Luxor Pass costs USD $100 and the premium pass costs USD $200. The passes are valid for five days.
You can only buy the passes when you get to Egypt and they can only be purchased using cash. These must be crisp US dollars (it sounds like you’re buying something on the black market, not a legit pass from the government; welcome to Egypt!).
I started researching our trip to Egypt a few months ahead of visiting, and at that time $1 USD would buy 16 Egyptian pounds. That meant that the individual tickets to the two premier tombs mentioned above cost USD $87 (Queen Nefertari) and USD $60 (Seti I) - a total of USD $147.
This made buying the premium pass a no brainer, as we knew we wanted to visit these two tombs. It also made buying the pass full stop a good idea as these two tombs combined accounted for almost 3/4 of the price of the pass.
However, when we arrived in Egypt the Egyptian pound had crashed hard against the dollar, with an exchange rate of $1 USD buying 25 Egyptian pounds. This meant that the tomb of Queen Nefertari now cost just under USD $60 and the tomb of Seti I, USD $45. You can see that this meant that the additional hundred dollars we paid for the Luxor Pass didn’t even quite cover the cost of the tombs, and was no longer great value.
The costs in USD had obviously gone down for every other attraction too. This meant that we only just broke even on the pass, despite visiting a huge number of sites in Luxor across a number of days. For this reason we highly recommend checking the dollar exchange rate in real time and don’t rely on any previous conversions. It can either work in your favour, or you’ll end up spending more to have the pass.
If the value of the Egyptian pound is low on your visit, you would need to spend a number of days in Luxor and visit a vast number of sites to break even. The only way this would not be the case is if you buy the premium pass and plan on visiting those expensive tombs several times during your stay.
How the pass works
Both passes are valid for five consecutive days. You can visit each site once per day. You will need to show the pass at the entry gates to each attraction, and you do not need to queue at any of the ticket offices. The pass has your photograph on it and it will be checked each time, so you can’t share passes to make them better value!
The pass will get you into all government run historical sites in Luxor, so basically everything. The one thing it didn’t get us into, which we were told it would, was the Karnak sound and light show, which is run by a private company.
Where and how to buy the Luxor Pass
The Luxor Pass can be bought at Karnak Temple in Luxor and at the Valley of the Kings visitor centre. We were told it can be bought at any time during the opening hours of these attractions. Any member of staff can point you to the offices. We bought ours in Karnak and the office was located just through the ticket barriers. Tell the staff you are planning to buy the pass and they’ll wave you through the barrier and show you the right door.
You will need a passport photo and a copy of your passport details page. We brought spares just incase and it’s worth doing that as we’ve heard they sometimes ask for multiple copies. You will need US dollars in cash.
They will give you a pass with your photo on it and it will be dated. If you don’t want to start the pass the day you buy it, tell them in advance, or you’ll lose a day. We were asked for baksheesh to put our start date as the next day, which was a bit rich considering the price of the pass!
Otherwise the only other thing to note is that it was a pretty quick and painless process. We thought it might be one of those long drawn out bureaucratic processes, but it was all done in 10 minutes.
Where to stay in Luxor
Hilton Luxor Resort & Spa
We stayed in the Hilton in Luxor (not sponsored) and it was one of the best hotels we stayed at in Egypt. Firstly, it is a bit of a quiet oasis, you can step into your room and escape the road noise and bustle of the streets of Luxor. The beds were incredibly comfortable, the rooms were spacious and the showers were perfect for washing off the dust from a day visiting the West Bank.
The breakfasts served here were really good and a great way to prepare for a day exploring. Set on the banks of the Nile, we loved grabbing a coffee in front of the river and viewing the mountains of the Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles in the distance.
They will also help you organise taxis that aren’t extortionate and are great for people who don’t want to spend all their time trying to haggle with taxi drivers. However, deal hunters will be able to get a better price in the centre of Luxor (the taxis on the street in front of the Hilton will go by the Hilton’s price list and generally won’t deviate much).
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