Im going to luxor soon-any tips on where to go,what to do,say,how much things are etc-thanks?

Question

IM A LITTLE DAUNTED BY EVERYTHING IVE HEARDID LOVE THE VIEWS OF EXPERIENCED TRAVELLERS TO EGYPT TO HELP ME GET THROUGH-ONLY REALLY BEEN TO EUROPE BEFORE SO ID APPRECIATE YOUR HELP ON THIS-THANKYOU!!AS I SAY-THE MOST DETAIL GETS THE TEN(UNLESS ANYONE WANTS TO HAGGLE!!)

Answer 1

Leave the daunt at home because,you will love Luxor!
As with all of Egypt, things are very cheap by our standard of living.
We pay a bit more than the locals but....
AS for safety,I am a woman and I go to Luxor a lot and always feel very safe,young lads can get a bit fresh with their tongues but if you want to stop that, say"Would you like someone to speak like that to your sister or mother!",it shuts them up 100%.
An Egyptian friend gave me that advise.
A meal in a good restaurant costs around 60-70L.E.plus service tax,and of course the tip.Give that direct to the waiter, separate from the actual bill.There are many good clean restaurants,lots of varied cuisines
If you take a taxi it is around 5L.E. to go about 5k.Its the same price with the calabashes,( the horse and buggy rides) that are typically found in Luxor and Aswan.
Always try and get a lower price than they offer,keep saying no until you are happy.They will come down but like to drive a hard bargain.
Keep your gift and memento buying for the Luxor Bazaar,the range is immense. The quality is there if you really look at what you are buying.
Make sure they wrap and give you the same item that you chose.With gold and silver you only pay for the weight, but make sure you check the weight with the salesman.
Also check for a hallmark.No hallmark,no buy!
Books are very cheap in Egypt but heavy to carry around.
Don't buy from the historical sites they are great salesmen and very expensive low quality merchandise.
That also applies to your necessary bottles of water,keep a good supply in you hotel room.You can buy a 2lt bottle in Luxor for 2L.E.
But at The Valley of The Kings you will pay 6L.E. for 2lts.
The only things you can't bargain about are entrance fee's to sites. Karnak ,Abydoss and Dendarra are all within a day trip,a/c car and driver 50-70L.E.plus tip.
Please do try and give a tip to" the Guardians",the little old men in grey gelabaya's.They will also show you the best spots to stand to take photos,and they do know!
But no flashes please! As the tombs are getting so fragile.You will find many are now closed on a permanent or semipermenant basis because of deterioration.
For a complete change in pace, stay a while in "my Luxor",the West Bank.For a look at real Egyptian life and a chance to relax and get away from the cry of "Tax,Tax,Tax",its the continual call of the calabash drivers, not the tax man!
Catch the ferry over,1L.E. and spend a beautiful 7 minutes on the Nile mixing with the local rural people.Take a wander around the village before you hire a donkey a bike or a taxi to go to see the Pharonic sites.There is so much to see!
If you want to stay and have dinner, there a garden of paradise at the end of a quaint lane.Just off the only main street, called the elNikil. Food is great,Very clean and the 60L.E. average price.
But its the view that is spectacular and worth the visit..
Looks straight across the Nile to the Temple, and at night sitting in the upstairs dining area its pure magic.You can see theTemple floodlit,the luxury Nile cruisers and the traffic on the Corniche.But the only noise is traditional music playing somewhere, and frogs in the canal.
So different from Luxor city.You can spend the evening looking around the village and get a motor boat or Felucca back to Luxor for no more than 6L.E.
The Nubian houses have amazing outdoor colour schemes and you will find everyone saying" Hello",smiles and there is no pressure to buy anything!Its a little piece of heaven.
So that is the thoughts and tips of an Australian who is in love with Luxor!
Have a wonderful time.

Answer 2

Happy New Year to you!

So you are off to sunny Egypt!

Ok here are a few tips: 1.) Don't drink the water from a tap
2.) Try to avoid salads and fruit as they
wash the fruit and salad in tap water
3.) You have to pay to get into Luxor

Ok now for the niceties! Do a hot air balloon ride over The Valley of the Kings and Queens best done at dawn really lovely and very scenic! Visit the Valley of the kIngs and Queens and pay extra to see Tutankumens tomb. Sorry for the miss spelling! Visit Luxor Temple by day first then by night as they have a light show in the night which is amazing and a total contrast to the day. Visit Abu Simbal it's an early start but really worth it. Try to go on organised trips as you'll see a hell of a lot more. Edfu is a great temple and so is Aswan. There are some amazing places in Egypt please use this time to see them and absorb the different culture. It's a very poor country so it'll open your eyes!
If you are a soft touch like me take pens with you to give to the children as they will beg on the street! Haggling is great fun but if you're not up for it avoid eye contact and they should leave you alone. Take lots of sun cream and insect repelant and immodium if you have a weak stomach. I'ts a great place to visit and the hotel that you stay at should offer you the above trips they will probably give you a packed lunch for the longer days but that's only if you have booked full board. Visa's are done on the plane. You just present your visa and passport at imigration and away you go! Oh before I forget do a camel ride. Lots of fun. Rmember haggle haggle haggle!!!!!!!

Ok have lots of fun and keep safe! Hope you don't mind me answering this question I have a passion about travelling and really enjoy the thrill of sharing my stories and adventures.

Answer 3

Karnak Temple is a MUST!!! You'll also find coach trips taking you to the Valley of the Kings which I would recommend; they are the underground tombs of the pharoahs. However, once you're there, I'd only visit three of them as, after that, they're pretty much the same. Tutankhamen's tomb is there but, frankly, isn't much better than any of the others and you have to pay extra to go in that one.
Take plenty of water with you on that day trip - it's hot and thirsty and the drinks vendors do try and rip you off.
A day on the Nile is pleasant but you can get a good deal going directly to one of the small boat captains (a felluca, which is a sail boat) and negotiating a couple of hours - you shouldn't pay more than £15 for two hours. As trade is quite scarce then you can go from one boat owner to the other and negotiate a good price.
The fruit and veg market in Luxor is incredible and really worth a visit - it is the most spectacular market I've seen (and I've seen a lot around the world!). However, be warned - it is quite primitive and goats are slaughtered by the roadside and chopped up for sale. I'd hire a horse-drawn carriage (again, there are so many and you can negotiate an excellent price) to take you on a tour through there.
Carry a lot of small notes with you as 'tips'. Even the Egyptians have to tip everyone. Find the smallest notes you can and get several of them - you'll need them.
Don't be afraid to bargain or haggle. Name your lowest price and, if the vendor won't budge down to that, just walk away. You'll find that he comes after you and agrees, or you will find that you can buy what you want for the price you want.
Have fun. But my tips are: don't drink local water, or have ice or ice-cream. Only have these in your hotel as you know they're from good water. Carry a bottle of water everywhere - Luxor is HOT. Keep an eye on your wallet, sadly there's a few nimble fingers around. Negotiate a price on everything IN ADVANCE - the horse carriage, the fellucca captain, the item that you want to buy. And see karnak Temple, which is spectacular.
have fun!

Answer 4

hello Dr. i think a lot how to answer you but it is always depend on your interesting and how long your stay will be any way i telling about some stuff around my city here:-
the usually touristic area in most itinerary of most tours is west bank and east Bank in the west there are "kings valley, queens valley and Hatshepsout temple" this is regular there and very common and full busy of tourist most of the time. there are some rest as valley of nobles, valley of workers, Habu temple, Ramsum temple and Seti I temple, about the east bank regular Karnak and Luxor temples there are 2 museums also Luxor and mummification i recommend Luxor museum only the other one is small and not worth to see it, sound and light show at karnak temple at night is lovely you don't need to miss that.
away from ancient monuments u can make hot air balloon trip this nice one, sailing with Flucca at sunset time it is the best timing for sailing, make city tour by the horse carriage but be careful cause most of the drivers for the carriage will push you to make shopping at some of them relatives shops. u can have nice evening at the falaha tenet which could be arranged through big nice resort called movienpick it is nice oriental party. have Camel or horse or donkey riding this also all available soo much fun.
those about the things which u can do inside Luxor. if u looking for trips outside Luxor it is also available cause Luxor location is good. u can have day trip at the next area"Cairo - Safaga the nearest city at the red sea - Aswan" that is all what i have at the moment in my mind and i think that is all which u can do. day trip to dendra temple 65 km north of Luxor this available over land or by cruise boat so wish u have a nice trip here and if u would like to have any kind of arrangement through all above we can prepare any of those trips and if u need any more info u can contact back at any moment.
wish u a nice trip

Answer 5

Just returned from sunny Luxor. Yes, see the sights and soak up the atmosphere. Cameras are allowed on most temple sites and even in mosques. Ask permission on holy sites. A few tips though...always have small change(notes) for tips...it's a way of living in Egypt! No marked prices so you must barter hard. Mostly souvenirs in shops. Try perfume essence and alabaster. ALWAYS drink bottled water, which costs about 5 Egypt pounds a bottle(1£ sterling to 11 Eg. pounds). Never take ice or eat salads. They are very friendly people, but armed security is standing for every yard of road in Egypt, for obvious reasons. Take a fleece. Its freezing in the morning and at night.
By the way, no crocs! They are all the other side of Aswan.

Answer 6

We just visited Egypt and the description by Amelia (to my question) is pretty accurate. We did end up going with a tour company.

Pros:
Mind boggling history and architectural feats. It was absolutely amazing experience.

People down south (called upper egypt) like Aswan and even luxor are very friendly.

Cons: The quality of service is definitely below par even in places designated as five star. We were told by people there and was also pretty apparent that people manage to get their hotels, cruises etc as five star not by being five star but by paying up the right people.

Also if you go with tour companies you might end up spending lot of time away from the real thing (monuments etc) unless you understand your itinerary and ask for changes. For example in the two days we spent at Luxor collectively only half day was spent rushing through the gorgeous Karnak and Luxor temples, Valley of kings and queen hetshepsoots temple. The rest of the time was meant to be idle time on (what turned out to be a beaten up) cruise.

Be very careful going to the stores recommended by tour guides and local travel agencies. Apparently they get upto 60% cut in the sale price so you can expect to pay exhorbitant prices.

Be careful when buying the souveniers ...the alabaster (local name for plaster of paris) ones are extremely brittle and are of poor quality. This may not be apparent when you look at them.

Overall a must visit place, but must be prepared and know what to expect.

Answer 7

http://www.luxorguide.com/
http://goafrica.about.com/od/egypttopattractions/a/luxor.htm
http://www.wordtravels.com/Attractions/Countries/Egypt/Resorts/Luxor/

Answer 8

hot there