West Bank Kings and Queens all-inclusive tour: the reviews, read closely
The verdict: a real sample, a good score, and ten reviews that name ten different people. Two of those ten flatly contradict each other about the thing this site cares most about — whether you choose your three tombs or somebody chooses them for you. Both reviews are five stars. Both are printed below, because tidying that away would be the dishonest option. The score, the sample size and the price are in the panel.
Two five-star reviews that cannot both describe your day
Adia and Allison both gave this tour five stars. Read them one after the other:
“Salma was excellent. Very passionate about the subject matter. The only downside is that the tombs you see are pre-decided for you, and there wasn’t any option to visit additional tombs if you wanted.”
“My family had an exceptional tour, led by Alaa Hassan. He was very informative and made the experience engaging for my 10 and 13 year old. He had great recommendations for which tombs to visit within Valley of the Kings and navigated us quickly wherever we needed to go.”
One says the tombs were decided in advance and no extra tomb could be added. The other says her guide recommended which tombs to visit. Those are two different products happening under one listing, on two different days, with two different guides.
I am not going to resolve it, because nothing published resolves it and the listing does not say. What I can do is tell you why it matters more here than it would on a sightseeing bus. The EGP 750 general ticket admits you to three tombs of your choice from those open on the day. Tutankhamun at EGP 700, Seti I at EGP 2,000 and Ramses V and VI at EGP 220 are separate tickets bought on top, and buying one does not use up one of your three. If your three are chosen for you and no add-on is offered, you have had the standard ticket and not the valley you may have been imagining.
So ask, before you pay: which three tombs, and can I buy Tutankhamun or Seti I on the day. If the answer is a shrug, that is an answer. Which three are worth spending is on choosing your three tombs, and which are open at all is on which tombs are open, where the honest headline is that no official list exists and the board at the entrance is the only schedule there is.
Ten reviews, nine different guides
Maria, Marwa fatafeat elsoker, George, Alaa Hassan, Salma, Salma Khairt, Mahmoud Essa, Esshak, Amr and Manal. Every one of the ten visible reviews names somebody, and only Salma appears twice. That is a roster, not a person, and it is the clearest evidence on this site that a tour listing sells a day rather than a guide.
“This was one of best tours we have had in Egypt! George was an excellent guide. His explanation and his care and concern for our safety were greatly appreciated. He did not rush us throughout the tour and gave us ample time to take pictures and observe the tombs and temples we visited.”
“Fantastic tour from start to finish. Driver and our guide were excellent. Mahmoud Essa our guide was extremely friendly, helpful and so knowledgeable and passionate about the topic of our tour . We spent 6hr between the sites. We were given enough time to see all that we wanted to and didn’t feel rushed . The navigation at the ticket areas was seamless including transport buggies when on each site.”
“Manal is an excellent guide. Talked is through the site with photos before we arrived from the comfort of the air conned car en route which was great. Great knowledge, informative. Also took us to a lovely restaurant for lunch. Very enjoyable day, stayed and finished on time.”
Two details in Peter’s are planning information rather than praise. Six hours between the sites is the only duration anybody in the whole pool writes down, and it is worth setting against the two hours that three tombs take at a comfortable pace, which is on how much time you need. And the “transport buggies” are the tram: EGP 20 per person for the round trip from the visitor centre, a ride of about three minutes, officially optional. It is one of the few things in the valley that still wants cash, because entry itself has been card-only since June 2023.
Victoria’s detail is the one nobody advertises: her guide talked the group through the site with photographs in the car, before arriving. Photography rules inside are simpler than most people expect — the personal permit has been abolished, DSLRs included, and tripods and flash are not allowed. That is on photography in the tombs.
What 330 reviews is worth
It is a real sample. It is roughly a fifth of the largest one on this site, and it would take 5 one-star reviews to move the published 4.6 by a tenth of a point. Treat it as settled enough to book on and not settled enough to argue with somebody about.
One caveat on that sum. A published average is rounded to one decimal place, so the true total behind it is not knowable from the outside and these figures treat the rounded number as exact. The direction is what survives the caveat: a small base moves under one bad morning and a large one does not.
There is a second thing to hold in view, and it is a naming problem rather than a quality one. A different listing on this site is called the Luxor: Valley of the Kings and Queens Guided Tour with Lunch, it also visits the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, it also includes lunch, it carries 4.5 from 468 reviews, and it starts at US$40 against this one’s US$74. Two of the guide names in its reviews also appear in this product’s reviews. They are separate listings and this site treats them as separate, but if you are comparing prices between them, compare what is on each booking panel and not the titles. Both are on every tour listed.
The Valley of the Queens is a different ticket
Since the name of this tour promises both valleys, the arithmetic is worth stating plainly. The Valley of the Queens is a separate site with its own general entry at EGP 220 for an adult, roughly two kilometres from the Valley of the Kings, and no Valley of the Kings ticket of any price admits you to it. Nefertari’s tomb is a further add-on published at EGP 2,500 on top of that, and whether it is open at all is genuinely unconfirmed. The full position is on Nefertari’s tomb. If a tour of both valleys is what you are buying, that is the page to read first.
What no review here tells you
Not one of the fifty-one reviews mentions the price of a ticket, in any currency. People rate the day and the person who ran it. They do not write down what they paid at the window, and they do not say whether their tour price covered it.
So this site will not tell you either. A tour price includes what the product’s own inclusions list says it includes and nothing more, that list sits on the booking panel, and it is worth reading twice before you pay. The reason it matters is the whole argument of this site: general entry is EGP 750 and it admits you to three tombs of your choice, while Tutankhamun at EGP 700, Seti I at EGP 2,000 and Ramses V and VI at EGP 220 are each bought on top. The full grid is on every published ticket price. Entry is paid by card only; carry cash for the EGP 20 tram.
What works
- 330 reviews behind the 4.6 — a real sample
- All ten visible reviews name a guide, and nine name a different one
- One reviewer records six hours between the sites, the only duration in the pool
- Two reviewers single out not being rushed at the tombs
- Two mention air conditioning in the car unprompted, in a place that reaches 41.4 °C in July
Worth knowing
- One five-star reviewer says the tombs were pre-decided with no option to add any
- Another five-star reviewer says her guide recommended which tombs to visit — they cannot both be your day
- A near-identically named listing on this site starts at US$40 against US$74
- Nine different guides in ten reviews: you cannot book the one you read about
- The Valley of the Queens is a separate ticket, and Nefertari is a further add-on nobody can confirm is open
Adia’s sentence is the most useful in this pool and it is buried in a five-star review: “the tombs you see are pre-decided for you, and there wasn’t any option to visit additional tombs if you wanted.” If you have come for Tutankhamun specifically, that is the risk a group itinerary carries. His tomb, what is in it and what it costs are on Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The alternatives
Cheapest guided dayLuxor: Valley of the Kings and Queens Guided Tour with Lunch
Most reviewedLuxor: Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple Day Tour
Best ratedPrivate Full Day West Bank: Valley of kings Hatshepsut &More
The other two review pages are the Kings and Hatshepsut day tour, which has by far the largest sample here, and the private full-day West Bank tour. Every score with its count is on the reviews hub, and whether any of this is worth paying for is on is it worth it.
Every quote on this page was read off the product’s own GetYourGuide page, with the first name and star rating as published and the spelling, punctuation and complaints left as the reviewer typed them. Where a quote is cut to a clause the cut is marked. Scores, review counts and prices are live figures that move; read the current ones in the booking panel before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is the West Bank Kings and Queens tour worth it?
It carries 4.6 from 330 reviews, from US$74, which is a real sample rather than a handful. The reservation is not the score: one five-star reviewer reports that the three tombs were chosen in advance with no option to add a paid one.
Do you choose your own tombs on this tour?
The reviews disagree. One reviewer writes that the tombs are pre-decided with no option to add any; another writes that her guide recommended which tombs to visit. Both gave five stars. Ask before you book, because the general ticket admits you to three tombs of your own choosing and the famous ones are separate tickets.
Does a Valley of the Kings ticket cover the Valley of the Queens?
No. The Valley of the Queens is a separate site roughly two kilometres away with its own general entry at EGP 220 for an adult, and no Valley of the Kings ticket of any price admits you to it. Nefertari's tomb is a further add-on published at EGP 2,500 on top of that, and whether it is open is unconfirmed.
How long does the tour take?
The reviews give one figure. Peter writes that his group spent six hours between the sites and did not feel rushed, which is one person's day rather than a schedule. Three tombs on their own take about two hours at a comfortable pace, and about an hour if you rush.
What is the tram, and do I need cash for it?
One reviewer calls them transport buggies. It is the tram from the visitor centre up to the tombs: EGP 20 per person for the round trip, a ride of about three minutes, and officially optional. Entry tickets are card-only, so carry some cash for the tram and for tips.