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Temperature in Luxor at local (Luxor) time:
This is the temperature in Luxor now. Temperatures are measured in the shade. The actual temperature may be much higher in the sun.
These are the sun and moon rising and setting times today.
Exchange rate now
1 Pound Sterling is worth 9.51 Egyptian Pounds
1 Euro is worth 8.37 Egyptian Pounds
1 United States Dollar is worth 5.95 Egyptian Pounds
1 Australian Dollar is worth 6.10 Egyptian Pounds
1 Egyptian Pound is worth 13.75 Japanese Yen
1 Euro is worth 8.37 Egyptian Pounds
1 United States Dollar is worth 5.95 Egyptian Pounds
1 Australian Dollar is worth 6.10 Egyptian Pounds
1 Egyptian Pound is worth 13.75 Japanese Yen
These are current exchange rates, provided by coinmill.com and updated constantly. (If the list does not appear, or has fewer than 5 currencies, it may be because the rates are being updated. Please come back to this page later).
You are not likely to get these rates outside Egypt. For a better exchange rate, get your currency when you get there, not before you go.
Visas
Most visitors need a visa to get into Luxor. Travel Agents often suggest you get one in advance. Read the page about visas to help you decide when to get yours.
Don't buy your visa from a tour rep. Many of them take huge commission without even telling you. Save up to £10. Read more ...
Luxor is back to normal
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are no longer advising against travel to Luxor. Their latest advice is here. The airlines and travel companies are all providing flights and holidays in Luxor again.
Some excellent deals
Holiday companies are offering some really good deals to attract tourists back to Luxor. Click one of the logos in the right margin of this page to go straight to the appropriate page on that company's web site.
What to pack
Light cottons for the day. A woolly or fleece for the evening if you are in Luxor between November and March or if you are going to Cairo on the overnight train. Beachwear is only appropriate within the hotel grounds or on a cruise ship. There is more about this on the What to Wear page.
Skin care
Avon's Skin So Soft body oil g(21639)a(1194605))
is reputed to have 'anti insect' qualities as well as keeping your skin moist in the dry Egyptian heat. For more about caring for your skin in the sun see the Sun page.
Travel insurance
Insurance provided by credit card companies usually only covers you for personal accident whilst on the journey paid for using the card - not for illness or other accident whilst you are abroad. Check the terms with your card issuer.
Most adults under 65 can get insurance for a week, including hot air ballooning, for around £8. See the insurance page for more.
Airport formalities
Read the item called arriving to take you step by step through what happens when you get to the airport.
Gippy Tummy
A lot of the problems are not caused by food, but when you pick up bugs on your hands (e.g. from dirty notes) and don't have chance to wash before touching your food or your face.
It is best to take some anti-bacteria gel wherever you go and use it regularly. You can get it from most pharmacies or buy online at just over £2 for 50ml - click the picture for more details. The same people sell bigger ones and another that you can click to a belt. For more about tummy problems see the health page.Our sponsors
We travel anonymously, pay all travelling, hotel and other costs ourselves and do not accept donations or advertising from anyone. This keeps us independent and neutral. We also do the web site design and management ourselves. We have no connection to anyone, any company or any government or private organisation in Luxor or elsewhere.
We have to pay for web hosting (that enables you to access the site from anywhere in the world). These costs are subsidised bybesthighstreet.com a web site that helps visitors to find internet shops and providers of a large range of services. If you go tobesthighstreet.com and use it as a shopping directory, it helps us (a lot) to keep going.
Where to stay
Most kinds of accommodation are available, from tent pitches to 5 star hotels. Read the Hotelssection for a review of some.
Where to eat
Descriptions and reviews of some restaurants and cafes are in theEating section.
What to see
Luxor is probably best known for its decorated tombs, for its temples and as a start or finish point for Nile cruises. Luxor has all this to offer and a great deal more. For a hint of things to see, visit thesights page.
Getting around
Read the page on getting aroundto find out about taxis, buses and the different boats that sail the Nile.
Holidays
The Holidays section has information about booking packages or just flights or hotels.
Luggage
The airlines are getting very fussy about weights. Worse still, there are reports of a scam at the Luxor end when you are charged at the check-in even when you are convinced that your luggage is not over weight. You can get a useful gadget for about £10 that includes a 34kg scale and a 1M tape, or a tiny digital one for about £15, so that you can check, and demonstrate if necessary, that your luggage is not overweight. 
These gadgets could save you a lot more than their cost in luggage supplements avoided. Click either image for more details.Reading in Luxor
Many of the bigger hotels have libraries of English language novels you can borrow. Ask at reception. Magazines are more difficult to find in Luxor. If you prefer to read magazines it is best to take them with you. You can get trials of the 3 latest issues of some major magazines for £1.
Drink plenty
It is extremely hot all year round. Dehydration is the greatest health risk. Always take plenty of water. It is cheap and easy to get safe bottled water. Keep it cool if you can, but don't drink it really cold as this may upset your stomach.More about keeping well.
Balloons
Following 3 serious accidents in 2009, balloon trips were stopped for several months but restarted on 26th October 2009. There are new rules limiting the number of balloons and requiring new licensing and fees to various authorities. These things combined have caused prices to increase. For more see 'Hot air balloon' on the Sights page andinsurance.
ASWAN
Many people spend some time in Aswan during or at the end of a Nile cruise from Luxor.
We will soon be adding some tips on Aswan, including hotels, restaurants, trips and a little map.
New Ferries
The National Ferry now has new boats operating across the Nile. For a while the cost for tourists doubled to LE2 but it has now reverted to LE1 each way. Read other news about improvements to the city and the facilities.
Hotel changes
The Mercure Inn (Coralia) became the Swiss Inn and has since been demolished. The Mercure Hotel (Etap) on the Corniche is now the El Luxor hotel.
Emergency Numbers
Police 122
Ambulance 123
Ambulance 123
Time
Luxor is 2 hours ahead of GMT most of the time, but not all of the time. See more about time.
Tipping
This is often difficult. You don't want to overdo it, but you don't want to be mean. Read the tippingpage for the latest guide.
Electricity
You will need a 2 pin continental type converter.
This one provides two 13 amp outlets plus a nightlight and is about £9 from the travel section of Presents For Men. They also charge postage. You need the European one, not the US one.
This one provides two 13 amp outlets plus a nightlight and is about £9 from the travel section of Presents For Men. They also charge postage. You need the European one, not the US one.If you are unwell
Most hotels have access to English speaking doctors. Most medicines are easily available and very cheap. Read about pharmacies on the health page. If the worst happens, Luxor has a large and quite modern hospital.
Children's luggage
Not many people take children to Luxor, but if you do, look out in luggage shops forTrunki, a range of ride-on child's suitcases. They cost from around £30. If you can't find them locally, click on the picture to go to John Lewis, who sell them and will deliver free if your total order is over £30.Situation during the unrest
The local office of the ruling party, the Suzanne Mubarak library and the police station (in Medina Street more or less behind the Gaddis but one road back) were damaged and there were demonstrations, but on a small scale compared with the incidents reported on TV. The biggest were near the Governorate - next to the El Luxor hotel and on the paved area behind Luxor temple, in front of McDonald's. There were parades of vehicles on both banks of the Nile and a little looting. Tear gas was used but we are not aware of injuries.
Barriers were erected around Luxor's monuments on the East and West Bank but all sites remained open throughout as far as we can tell, although balloon flights and the Karnak sound and light shows were cancelled. A would-be looter, allegedly a police or security man, tried to get into Karnak temple but was seen off by local people.
The city centre and the market were very quiet: most tourists keeping a low profile or taken home by tour companies of all nationalities. Hotels were said to be 80% empty and cruise ship sailings severely reduced.
Day trips to Luxor from the Sinai and other places were cancelled by the major tour companies until the end of February.
There was an article 'Luxor a Tourist Ghost Town amid uprising' in The Independent newspaper on 11th February. Link to ithere.
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