Most Luxor packages end at lunchtime and leave you with a long, hot afternoon. This one sends you back to the hotel to sleep through it, then puts you on a felucca as the light goes gold.
A felucca is a traditional Nile sailing boat with no engine, so the return depends on the wind and the current — which is the point. Tea is served on board, and the West Bank hills you flew over at dawn turn pink behind you.
Sunrise from a balloon and sunset from the river, with a proper rest in between.
Plan your flight
- Is There a Sunset Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor?
- Hot Air Balloon Requirements in Luxor: Age, Weight Limit, Pregnancy and Health
- What to Wear on a Hot Air Balloon Ride in Luxor (Month by Month)
- Luxor Balloon Flight Cancelled? Why It Happens and What Comes Next
- Is Hot Air Ballooning in Luxor Safe? How the Egyptian System Actually Works
Itinerary
Morning
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Before sunriseHotel pickup
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SunriseHot air balloon flight
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Valley of the Kings
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Temple of Hatshepsut
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Colossi of Memnon
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Lunch
Afternoon
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Hotel rest break Back to your hotel for a few hours out of the heat
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Late afternoonSunset felucca on the Nile Traditional sailing boat, no engine
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Traditional Egyptian tea on board
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SunsetSunset photographs
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EveningReturn to hotel
What’s included
- Hotel pickup and return
- Sunrise hot air balloon flight
- Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut and the Colossi
- Egyptologist guide
- Lunch
- Rest break at your hotel
- Private sunset felucca sail on the Nile
- Traditional Egyptian tea on board
- Flight certificate
Questions about this tour
Hotel pickup is usually between 4:00 and 4:30 AM, and the balloon lifts off right at sunrise — roughly 5:30 AM in summer and 6:30 AM in winter. Exact times shift with the season, so we confirm your pickup the evening before your flight.
The flight itself lasts 35 to 45 minutes in the air. Allow around 3 to 3.5 hours door to door, including hotel pickup, the safety briefing, inflation, the flight, the landing celebration and the drive back to your hotel or Nile cruise.
Prices start at $65 per person for the standard sunrise flight, $125 for the balloon-plus-Luxor-tour package and $180 for the premium small-basket experience. Booking direct with us includes hotel transfers, insurance, a flight certificate and refreshments, with no booking fee.
Yes. Every flight is operated under the regulations of the Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority by licensed commercial balloon pilots, with fully insured passengers, modern equipment inspected before each flight, and a strict no-fly rule whenever wind or visibility falls outside safe limits.
Wear comfortable closed shoes, long trousers and a light jacket or fleece — early mornings in Luxor are cool even in summer, and layers come off once the sun rises. Bring a hat, sunglasses and your camera; the basket has room for it.
October to April offers the most comfortable temperatures and the highest number of flyable mornings. Balloons fly year round in Luxor, and summer flights take off earlier when the air is coolest and calmest.
