Luxor Balloon Ride from Hurghada

Yes, you can fly over Luxor and see the Valley of the Kings in one trip from Hurghada, but the trip starts at 11 pm the night before: the balloons go up at sunrise over the West Bank, so you drive through the night to be there. Nice Tours’ Small-Group Luxor Day Tour and Sunrise Balloon Ride does exactly that in 18 hours, in a group of at most 8, from US$210 a person (checked October 2026), rated 4.6 from 547 reviews. If you can spare a night, the two-day version with a hotel in Luxor is the gentler way to the same flight.

How the balloon day works

The listing’s own example sets the clock: “Book for June 1 = pickup 11:00 PM June 1, activities on June 2”. You are collected at your Hurghada hotel at 11 pm, driven to Luxor overnight, taken to the balloon launch site on the West Bank before dawn, and flown over the fields, the temples and the Nile at sunrise. After landing comes the usual day: the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple, the Colossi of Memnon, lunch, a felucca on the Nile and Karnak, then the four-hour drive home. In all, 18 hours.

The night drive takes longer than the day one. A British guest this October wrote that “vehicles are not allowed to travel solely through the desert at night time”, that their car waited 40 minutes to go in convoy, and that it took “6hours 30 mins from Hotel pickup to start meeting point”. Another guest, in May, left at 11 pm and arrived in Luxor at 5 am, “perfect timing for the hot air balloon to catch the sunrise”. A third, in April, arrived a little late and missed the sunrise itself, though not the flight.

The catch: weather

Balloon flights over Luxor are grounded when the wind is too strong, and the decision is made on the morning, not when you book; in summer 2026 they stopped altogether for three months (see the best months, below). Flights are weather-dependent and may be rescheduled for safety. Guests this year describe both outcomes: a flight in cloud that “did push through” and landed late, and flights cancelled outright. One guest whose flight was called off in April was offered a refund or a bike safari instead. Either way there is one balloon morning per trip, so if the flight is your reason for going, read the operator’s refund terms before you book.

Day with balloon, or two days with a night in Luxor

Pick the balloon trip that fits:

Prices and review counts as listed on GetYourGuide in October 2026, not a quote.

The same operator’s 2-Day Luxor Tour with Hotel, Balloon and Boat Ride turns the all-nighter into a night in a 4-star hotel with breakfast, with lunch on both days and dinner on the first, a felucca on the Nile and a camel ride, rated 4.5 from 1,219 reviews. Entry fees are not included, so budget for the tickets on top (the Valley of the Kings tickets guide lists them). It costs more, and what you pay for is a night in a bed instead of a van. For where to stay if you build your own two days, see the day trip or overnight guide.

Who should not fly

The minimum age on the balloon day is 6. Beyond that, the usual balloon cautions apply: the basket has no seats and you stand for the flight, and landings can be bumpy, so people who are pregnant, have back or heart problems, or cannot stand for the length of the flight should ask the operator before booking. Wear flat shoes and a warm layer: the launch is at dawn, and the temperature goes from a cool night pickup to a warm day.

The best months to fly

September to May. In 2026 commercial balloon flights over Luxor stopped for the summer, from 1 June to 30 August, under the supervision of Egypt’s Civil Aviation Authority and at the request of the balloon companies themselves, because of the heat, and they resumed in September; two guests on the two-day balloon trip in June 2026 had their flights cancelled and refunded. So if a summer date matters, check that flights are running before you book a balloon trip. Winter brings the coolest mornings and the busiest season; January afternoons in Luxor are about 22°C. The what to wear guide has the month-by-month picture.