The Valley of the Kings is about 30 km from Luxor Airport by the usual road route, with the drive typically taking 35-45 minutes depending on traffic and routing. The drive crosses the Nile on the Luxor Bridge south of the city. There is no direct public transport from Luxor Airport to the Valley of the Kings, so most travellers use a taxi, private driver or organised tour. From central Luxor, a cheaper alternative is to cross the Nile by public ferry and continue by taxi from the West Bank. Tickets are sold at the visitor centre and online, the site opens at 06:00, and arriving early means cooler temperatures, quieter paths and fewer queues at the tomb entrances.
Getting There from Luxor Airport
A taxi is the direct answer. The same blue and white cars that serve the town make the run, but the meter will not be used: agree the price per car before leaving, and if you want the driver to wait while you visit, agree that as well. As a rough reference, negotiated airport taxi fares to central Luxor are commonly quoted at around EGP 150-300. The Valley of the Kings costs more because it is on the opposite bank and requires a longer road journey.
The road loops around Luxor, crosses the Luxor Bridge and comes up the west bank through fields and villages to the visitor centre car park.
Anyone starting from the city rather than the airport can use the corniche ferry instead: about EGP 10 across the Nile, then a west bank taxi for the last 8 to 9 km. The crossing itself is covered on the Luxor Airport to West Bank page.
Organised West Bank tours bundle the valley with the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, with an Egyptologist guide and the driving handled. Most run as morning trips out of Luxor hotels. The big excursion groups from Hurghada reach the valley mid morning, one more argument for arriving at opening time.
Tickets, Prices and Opening Hours
The standard foreign adult ticket is EGP 750, EGP 375 for students aged 24 and under with ID, and It admits you to three tombs of your choice from the rotating selection open on the day; a guard punches the ticket at each entrance. Children under six enter free.
Four tombs are priced separately on top of the base ticket: Tutankhamun at EGP 700, Ramesses V and VI at EGP 220, Ay at EGP 200 and Seti I at EGP 2000. A small electric shuttle runs from the visitor centre to the main tomb area. The return fare was EGP 20 at the last review, but confirm the price on arrival.
Egypt’s antiquities sites have gone card only, so bring a working credit or debit card rather than counting on cash at the windows. Tickets can also be bought in advance through the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities portal. Mobile phone photography is officially free. Rules for flash, video equipment and photography inside individual tombs may vary, so follow the signs and staff instructions on site.
The site opens at 06:00 daily. The official booking portal currently lists last entry at 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter and Ramadan, although the ministry’s main monument page shows 06:00-17:00 throughout the week. Check the official booking page for your exact date and arrive at least an hour before last entry.
What You Are Visiting
The valley holds more than 60 numbered tombs cut for New Kingdom pharaohs, queens and senior officials between roughly the 16th and 11th centuries BC, beginning, by the traditional account, with Thutmose I. The site was never lost: it has been known since antiquity, and What Howard Carter discovered in November 1922 was Tutankhamun’s relatively intact tomb, containing around 5,000 objects. Tutankhamun’s, whose treasures now sit in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo while the king’s mummy remains on display in the tomb itself.
The location was chosen with intent. The west bank, where the sun sets, was the side of the dead in Egyptian belief, and the pyramid shaped peak of el-Qurn stands over the valley like a natural monument. Tomb walls carry the royal funerary texts, the Amduat, the Book of Gates and the Book of Caverns, painted guides for the king’s passage through the night. The valley has been part of the Ancient Thebes UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
About 30 km by road, which takes 35-45 minutes. The drive crosses the Nile on the Luxor Bridge south of the city and comes up the west bank to the visitor centre. The direct distance is much shorter, but the Nile crossing makes the road journey considerably longer.
EGP 750 for foreign adults and EGP 375 for students, covering three tombs from the open rotation. Tutankhamun costs EGP 700 extra, Ramesses V and VI EGP 220, Ay EGP 200 and Seti I EGP 2000, and the tram is EGP 20. Ticket windows take cards, not cash, and prices change periodically.
Three on the standard ticket, chosen from the rotation of around ten tombs open on any given day; the ticket is punched at each entrance. Four more tombs, Tutankhamun, Ramesses V and VI, Ay and Seti I, take separate tickets, so a determined visitor can enter seven in one morning.
No. Tutankhamun’s tomb takes a separate EGP 700 ticket on top of the base fee. The tomb is small and the famous treasures are in the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, but the king’s mummy is still displayed inside, which is why many visitors pay the supplement anyway.
The Valley of the Kings opens at 06:00 daily. The official booking portal currently lists last entry at 17:00 in summer and 16:00 in winter and Ramadan. Check the schedule for your exact date and arrive at least an hour before last entry.
Ticket prices and opening hours are set by the ministry and change. Last reviewed July 2026.