Is the Valley of the Kings worth it? A real answer, and for whom
Worth it for these people
Anyone willing to read the board and choose. The general ticket is not a consolation prize. KV2, the tomb of Ramses IV, runs to a maximum 88.66 m and carries 656 individual ancient graffiti left by Greek and Roman visitors, plus around fifty Coptic ones — the second-highest count in the valley. An ancient plan of it survives on papyrus in Turin, drawn at 1:28 scale. Two independent sources name it their favourite tomb on the standard ticket. KV11, Ramses III, is 188 m long, known for its paintings of two blind harpers, and its axis visibly shifts partway along because the ancient excavators broke into the earlier KV10. Those are on your EGP 750. Which three to choose works through the rest.
Anyone who will spend EGP 220 on KV9. The tomb of Ramses V and VI has a double elongated image of the sky goddess Nut framing the Book of the Day and the Book of the Night across its vaulted ceiling, an almost complete Book of Caverns, and roughly 995 ancient visitor inscriptions dated between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD. Two independent sources call it the best value in the valley. Set EGP 220 against Seti I’s EGP 2,000 and the argument makes itself.
Anyone with a specific reason for Seti I. KV17 is 137.19 m long, with seven corridors and ten chambers, one of the most completely decorated tombs in the valley, in painted raised relief, under a vaulted burial-chamber ceiling of golden stars on deep blue with circumpolar constellations. That is what EGP 2,000 buys, with no student discount. Whether it is worth four times the entry ticket to you is a question this page cannot answer, but at least it is now a question about a thing rather than a name. The Seti I page has the full description.
Students, and Egyptian visitors. At EGP 375 the general ticket is half price, and at EGP 60 for an Egyptian adult or EGP 30 for an Egyptian student it is a different question entirely. Note that KV17 has no student rate at all, and that the one source giving a student age condition puts the ceiling at 24.
Not worth it for these people
Someone coming only to stand in Tutankhamun’s tomb. KV62 is a separate EGP 700 on top of the EGP 750, opinion on the interior is genuinely divided, and this site holds no verified description of what is inside to sell it to you on. That is not a criticism of the tomb; it is a statement about what has been checked. The Tutankhamun page says so at length rather than filling the gap with adjectives.
Someone coming for Nefertari. She is not in this valley. Nefertari is in the Valley of the Queens, roughly 2 km away, on a separate ticket published at EGP 2,500 on top of that site’s own EGP 220 entry, and no Valley of the Kings ticket at any price admits you to it. Whether it is currently open is unconfirmed. The premise correction is here.
Someone who booked a cheap half-day and assumed the ticket came with it. A private West Bank half day lists from US$20 per person with admission not included and the guide as a paid option. Turning up on that basis, a visitor is wrong twice: about the ticket and about Tutankhamun.
The money version of the question
Entry plus all three famous tombs is EGP 750 + EGP 700 + EGP 2,000 + EGP 220 = EGP 3,670, which is 4.89 times the headline price and roughly US$73 at about 50 EGP to the dollar as at 16–17 August 2026. Entry alone plus KV9 is EGP 970. Those two numbers are the real decision, and the second one is the reason most people should stop reading here and go. The full stack is on what the day costs.
What works
- Three tombs of your choice on the standard ticket, from eight to ten usually open
- KV9 at EGP 220 — two sources call it the valley’s best value
- Detail you can actually look at: 656 graffiti in KV2, the harpers in KV11, a sarcophagus lid still in place in KV8
- Half price for students at EGP 375, and far less for Egyptian visitors
- Open every day, 6:00 AM to 5:00 PM, including Fridays
Worth knowing
- The three famous tombs are four separate tickets, not one
- KV17 is EGP 2,000 with no student discount
- No published list of which tombs are open on your day — you read the board
- Nothing verified about the inside of KV62 is available to weigh
- Mean daily maximum in Luxor of 41.4 °C in July, and no food or water allowed inside the tombs
The thing nobody can decide for you in advance
There is no official list of which tombs are open, and no published rotation schedule. Six independent sources confirm that tombs close for conservation and that the open set changes; not one of them can tell you what will be open on the morning you arrive. The only stated mechanism is the board at the entrance. So part of the answer to “is it worth it” is decided after you have paid, which is unusual and worth knowing. The open-tomb page lists the ten that the guides tracking it name through 2026, and explains why that is not a roster.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Valley of the Kings worth visiting?
For a visitor who knows the EGP 750 ticket buys three tombs of their choice and not Tutankhamun, yes. The value case rests on tombs like KV2 and KV11 on the standard ticket, and on KV9 at EGP 220.
Is Tutankhamun's tomb worth the extra ticket?
It is EGP 700 on top of general entry, opinion among visitors is divided, and this site holds no verified description of the interior it would use to argue either way. It does not use up one of your three tombs.
Is the Seti I ticket worth the extra?
That is 137.19 m of tomb, seven corridors and ten chambers, painted raised relief and a vaulted ceiling of golden stars on deep blue with circumpolar constellations, with no student discount. KV9 at EGP 220 is the cheaper argument.
What is the cheapest way to see something remarkable there?
General entry at EGP 750 plus KV9 at EGP 220 is EGP 970 and gets you three tombs of your choice plus the tomb two independent sources call the best value in the valley.