Notes from Luxor

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Everything 15 Hotels 2 Practical 4 Seasons 2 Ranked 3 Areas 2 Itineraries 2 Food & markets 0

Hotels 7 min readSep 2026 Hotels with pools worth swimming in Which pools are actually big enough to swim in, which are heated in winter, and which are a plunge tank beside a car park. Read: Hotels with pools worth swimming in → Practical 6 min readSep 2026 Taxi fares and how to agree them What the common runs should cost, why you agree the number first, and the three approaches worth walking away from. Read: Taxi fares and how to agree them → Season 8 min readAug 2026 Luxor in August, honestly Forty two degrees, empty tombs and a city that stops moving at noon. Who should come anyway, and how to survive it. Read: Luxor in August, honestly → Ranked 7 min readAug 2026 What is overrated in Luxor Seven famous experiences that do not repay the time, and what to do with those hours instead. Read: What is overrated in Luxor → Practical 5 min readAug 2026 Baksheesh: when not to pay Tipping for service is normal. Being asked for money to open a gate you already have a ticket for is not. Read: Baksheesh: when not to pay → Ranked 9 min readJul 2026 Best tombs in the Valley of the Kings, ranked All the currently open tombs in order, with which three to take on the standard ticket and which supplement is worth it. Read: Best tombs in the Valley of the Kings, ranked → Hotels 6 min readJul 2026 Hotels with Nile views Which rooms genuinely face the water, which face it past a car park, and where the view is worth changing hotels for. Read: Hotels with Nile views → Season 7 min readJul 2026 Ramadan in Luxor: what changes Shorter daytime hours at some sites, very quiet afternoons, and the best evening atmosphere of the year. Read: Ramadan in Luxor: what changes → Practical 8 min readJun 2026 Solo female travel in Luxor Practical rather than reassuring: what the hassle is actually like, which areas feel easiest, and how to shut down a conversation. Read: Solo female travel in Luxor → Areas 7 min readJun 2026 East Bank guide for first visits Why nine in ten first trips should sleep here, and how the city centre differs from the riverfront one street away. Read: East Bank guide for first visits → Areas 7 min readJun 2026 West Bank guide: who it suits Dawn tombs and total silence against no restaurants and an early last ferry. An honest account of the trade. Read: West Bank guide: who it suits → Itinerary 6 min readMay 2026 Luxor with no car A full three days on foot, by ferry and by bicycle, without hiring anything with four wheels. Read: Luxor with no car → Itinerary 8 min readMay 2026 Luxor with kids Which sites hold a child’s attention, how long they really last in the heat, and where to break the day. Read: Luxor with kids → Practical 6 min readMay 2026 First timer mistakes Arriving at ten, buying three cheap tombs, and five other things that quietly spoil a first trip. Read: First timer mistakes → Ranked 6 min readApr 2026 Best cheap eats, ranked Ta’ameya, koshary, hawawshi and grilled pigeon, in the order we would eat them and where to find each. Read: Best cheap eats, ranked →

The main guides →

Taxi fares and how to agree them The one post that saves people money on day one. Practical Best tombs in the Valley of the Kings, ranked Which three to pick when the ticket only covers three. Ranked Hotels with pools worth swimming in Read before booking anything between May and September. Hotels Baksheesh: when not to pay Removes most of the friction at the sites. Practical What is overrated in Luxor Buys back half a day on a two day trip. Ranked Solo female travel in Luxor Specific, unsentimental and widely shared. Practical

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Twenty guides settle the big decisions. These notes fill in the details once you know roughly what you are doing.

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