Luxor Highlights & Hot Air Balloon Tour

Ahmed Bahaa was amazing! Luxor has been a place I’ve always wanted to visit and learn about. Running on no sleep, the heat and a jam pack day of activities, Ahmed had definitely made it worth while. Definitely recommend.

Get your guid app booking for a 24 hour trip to Luxor Originally including a hot air balloon ride at sunrise over the pyramids/architecture. This was cancelled around 7pm (5 hours before scheduled pick up) The tour company communicated very well through WhatsApp. They offered to transfer the voucher to the next day but we opted to continue with the rest of the highlights of Luxor. I was assured the rest of the tour would remain the same. The driver picked us at 455am (25 min late) we had 2x 10 min rest breaks Arrived in Luxor around 830/9am. We covered Karnak temple, valley of the kings, and 4 tombs. Our tour guide Adam was fantastic. Very passionate, enthusiastic, friendly, knowledgeable, great photo ideas. He managed to get us an ice cream free each as a hospitality item. However the 1 ice cream on an empty stomach for over 16 hours wasnt sufficient, Unfortunately breakfast or any cafe breaks was missed by the driver so my 8yo felt so hot tired and sick in the 38 degree sun, we only managed 1 tomb and had to sit in a cafe while the rest of our group explored. I had even paid for an additional ticket for tomb of Ramses. Which looked amazing from photos so I would recommend to purchase these tickets.we stopped at an old house where a gentleman taught and demonstrated how they make carved art in stones. It is a marketing stop so they offer you hospitality tea/drinks. I bought something and managed to haggle down to 75% off original price. Finally at 1pm we had lunch. Buffet style but good options for veggie and non veg diets. Reasonable priced drinks. After lunch we were much more relaxed and brains and bodies were fueled to appreciate the history of ancient Egypt. The tour proceeded to the temple of hatshepput. After this 2 of us rested in a restaurant again recieved free drinks, while 3 had booked on a quad bike safari through the valley of the queen's. Sounded amazing but I dont think I was prepared nor my 8 yo. It's ok as repeatidly tour guide kept going on about banana Island to see some wildlife and taste some fresh fruits after our felucca ride. Boat ride is always a great way to unwind and enjoy a cool breeze. Our tour guide left at this point. After this my 8yo was so excited to see the animals but I recognised signs of heading to the highway. I stopped and asked our driver we were promised banana Island. He called Adam and he said it was too late to go there (4pm) I felt so let down at this point as he had hyped it up all day, got my 8yo really excited then took it away with no notice. As adults we can handle rejection and disappointment but not children. Not happy about how this was handled. We arrived back in Hurghada by 7pm in time for dinner and rest. Nice Tours go above and beyond but there are a few things they need to work on for 100% satisfaction. Negatives- timing, breakfast, iteniery, air balloon cancellation (not their fault) i have been advised to request a partial refund through the app. if taking children get a packed lunch from hotel. Positives- value for money, excellent guide, fun packed day, super hospitality Paid total £360 for 2 of us in March 2026. Hoping to get a partial refund on this due to cancellation of air balloon.

Thanks very nice and the recommendation for the restourant was good. Responded clearly to each of our questions. Very successful scientifically and culturally

The hot air balloon flight had to be cancelled due to the proposed €40 refund, which is ridiculous considering the price of the day trip, especially since the day trip we took didn't cost that much!

Would recommend you book through Get Your Guide instead; we paid £155pp via aviator/TripAdvisor whereas the other people in our group only paid £141pp via Get Your Guide. However we were the only ones who had to pay additional for entry tickets for the sites which was an extra £50pp on top. I did raise this with our organiser from Nice Tours, but they were dismissive and didn’t accept the feedback. In summary, it’ll cost £205+ pp through Viator/TripAdvisor whilst everyone else only paid £141 via Get Your Guide. We also asked for the contact details of our driver but were ignored. So four ladies and one man were left standing around a random cafe surrounded by fields without their belongings or any idea what or where next steps were, even though they assured us we could leave our belongings and they would come back for us. Thankfully one of us could track an AirTag left in the car and another person took a photo of the reg so we could flag the driver down. Apart from that, the 18-hour trip was enjoyable and exciting. Adam was our tour guide and he was fairly knowledgable, keen to inspire and added a personal touch to our day. Water, breakfast and lunch was provided throughout the entire day. The air con vehicle made things bearable in the midday heat and the travel in between. Seeing the sunrise over Luxor was magical! Our pilot was reassuring and demonstrated his experience. PLS NOTE: It is a very long and tiring day so please be mindful of your fitness levels and accessibility. One of our group required a wheelchair at Karnak and there was a heated dispute about the hire cost, they ended up taking the wheelchair off our elderly friend after another tourist offered to pay more for it… The drive to and from Luxor is approx four hours, so plan ahead for your own comfort. There is a tip culture, so holding various notes can avoid awkward moments at each stop. If unsure on % or £ or $, ask your hotel concierge for guidance. And keep small change, everywhere will charge you to use the toilet BEFORE you are allowed to enter. Despite the sorry state of some of the toilets, and despite an elderly and disabled person needing the toilets urgently.