The Luxor Pass — fourteen-site standard tier, sixteen-site premium tier.
The Luxor Pass is the Egyptian Tourism Authority's flagship multi-site pass for the Luxor archaeological complex, covering the West Bank tombs, the Valley of the Kings monumentals, Karnak and Luxor temples, and the major Theban-area sites. Two tiers — Standard ($100 / EGP 1 000, fourteen sites) and Premium ($200 / EGP 2 000, sixteen sites including the Nefertari and Seti I tombs whose premium individual fees alone exceed the tier-upgrade cost).
The Standard tier — what is included.
The Standard Luxor Pass includes the Valley of the Kings (with one tomb of the visitor's choice from the three currently rotating open tombs — not Tutankhamun, which requires a separate ticket), the Valley of the Queens (excluding Nefertari), Hatshepsut's Deir el-Bahari, the Ramesseum, Medinet Habu, the Tombs of the Nobles cluster, the Workmen's Tombs at Deir el-Medina, the Colossi of Memnon (free site, included for completeness), Karnak temple complex, Luxor temple, the Mummification Museum, the Luxor Museum, and the Howard Carter House at Carter's bungalow. Fourteen sites in total. The Standard tier covers what most multi-day Luxor visitors actually want to see; the missing piece is the Nefertari tomb which the Premium tier adds.
The Premium tier.
The Premium tier adds two sites to the Standard fourteen: the Nefertari tomb in the Valley of the Queens (the most celebrated single tomb in the Theban necropolis, the most expensive individual ticket on the West Bank at EGP 1 400 for a non-pass visitor), and the Seti I tomb in the Valley of the Kings (the longest tomb in the necropolis, individual ticket EGP 1 200). For visitors planning to enter either tomb, the Premium tier pays for itself. For visitors who would skip both, the Standard tier is the rational choice.
Validity window.
Five days from first scan at any site. The clock starts at the first site visit, not at the purchase date. The Tourism Authority published a clarification in 2023 confirming that "five days" means five consecutive calendar days regardless of whether the visitor returns daily; the registry's pass-validity file documents the corner cases (lost-pass replacement, pass damage, end-of-validity-day late-evening visits) in detail.
Gate-applied rules — the documented variances.
Three gate-applied variances are persistent in the registry's working notes. Variance one: the Tombs of the Nobles cluster requires presenting the pass at each individual tomb (the cluster's gate office does not centrally scan); some pass-holders are wrongly turned away at individual tomb entrances by guards unfamiliar with the pass. The registry's working advice is to insist politely and reference the Tourism Authority's published rule. Variance two: the Howard Carter House is sometimes closed for the day without notice, which the pass cannot guarantee against; no refund or compensation is offered. Variance three: the Valley of the Kings third-tomb selection (the visitor chooses one of three rotating open tombs) is sometimes interpreted by gate staff as restricting the visitor to that one tomb on that one day, where the published rule allows the visitor to enter the chosen tomb at any visit within the five-day validity.
Refund policy.
The Luxor Pass is refundable within 72 hours of purchase if no site has been scanned. After 72 hours or after first scan, the pass is non-refundable regardless of unused validity. The refund process is administered at the Tourism Authority's Public Relations office near Karnak; the documented refund timeline is 14 working days from request.
How to buy.
Three official outlets: the Tourism Authority's Public Relations office near Karnak (the principal outlet), the West Bank ticketing centre (the practical outlet for visitors starting at the Valley of the Kings), and the Tourism Authority kiosk at Luxor International Airport (the convenient outlet for arriving travellers). Payment accepted in US dollars cash, Egyptian pounds cash, or Egyptian-card debit; foreign credit cards accepted only at the Karnak Public Relations outlet.
The seasonal pattern of pass purchases.
The registry's working notes on Luxor Pass purchase volumes (drawn from the cooperative's site visits and the Tourism Authority's published quarterly figures) show a clear seasonal pattern. Peak purchase volume runs from November through early February, the high tourist season for Egypt's Mediterranean and Nile-cruise traffic. The lower volumes run from June through September, when the Luxor summer heat reduces tourist arrivals. The Premium tier sells roughly forty percent of total Luxor Pass volume during the high season and roughly twenty-five percent during the low season; the seasonal mix reflects that high-season visitors more often book the multi-night Luxor itineraries that justify the Premium tier's additional cost.
The companion files on Giza Pass and Combined Cairo-museum pass cover the other pass categories. The refund-policy tracker documents the refund rules in detail.