Full Day Tour to East and West Banks of Luxor

An Unforgettable Day in Luxor – Ask for John!

Our full-day tour of the East and West Banks in Luxor with Access Egypt was nothing short of spectacular, and that is largely thanks to our incredible tour guide and archaeologist, John. If you are visiting Luxor, doing both banks in one day is a whirlwind, but John paced the day perfectly. On the West Bank, he brought the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut to life. Instead of just rattling off dates, he shared the deep historical context, the politics of the pharaohs, and pointed out incredible, subtle details in the hieroglyphics and tomb paintings that we absolutely would have missed on our own. Crossing over to the East Bank to explore Karnak and Luxor Temples, his passion as an archaeologist truly shined. He navigated the crowds effortlessly, took us to the best vantage points, and answered every single one of our questions with endless enthusiasm and expertise. Access Egypt handled all the logistics flawlessly—the transportation was smooth, comfortable, and well-timed—but John was the real star of the experience. He is professional, engaging, deeply knowledgeable, and just a wonderful person to spend the day with. We cannot recommend Access Egypt enough, and if you book with them, do yourself a huge favor and ask for John!

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Proof You Can Thrive Luxor Heat with the Right Team

Just got back from a two-day tour to Luxor organized by John, we had a wonderful time! John was extremely attentive to our plans and needs, arranging a last-minute pickup from a location much further away from the original plan. Our driver, Sam arrived early and had water and heaps of snacks ready for us. We visited Edfu Temple with a knowledgeable and passionate guide who brought the history alive. In Luxor, we toured Karnak and Luxor Temples, our guide Marian helped us to recreate family photos. On the second day, we added Dendera Temple to the itinerary at the last minute. Sam was always ready with Rockstar pick ups and AC on. Everyone was so flexible and accommodating, making sure everything was smooth and we could thrive in the heat. I highly recommend this well-organized and thoughtful tour! Thanks again John.

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John is awesome

Our trip to Luxor was an absolute delight thanks to John. He was very knowledgeable, funny, patient, respectful, helpful, and everything one might wish from a tour guide. His perspective is very interesting and his willingness to go the extra mile is outstanding. I couldn’t recommend a tour with John highly enough, and I’d be truly happy to see him during our next trip to Egypt

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Wonderful experience and tour guide. Will definitely repeat.

Thank you John for a wonderful trip. Highly recommend him as a tour guide. We did the 5 days 4 nights cruise from Luxor to Aswan. John was very knowledgeable and detailed and explained in fluent English the history, the background, the purpose and the similarities as well as differences between different temples and burial grounds. It was a great experience that I would highly recommend. He really went out of his way to make this trip memorable for all the group. Thanks again John.

Response from the operator: Thanks Ann , it was a pleasure having you and your wonderful church family.

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John, the curious bigot

I have had dozens of tours in almost an many countries, and the tour I had with John was by far the most bizarre and worst tour experience I have had. It started out great. After being picked up from the airport John treated us to dinner. Oddly the driver did not join us, and being asked to tip the driver for waiting for us negated the nicety. During the first day John did well to show us the sites, but I thought that it was odd that he pointed out a hieroglyph by speaking into my companions ear, with a hand on her shoulder. No biggie, some folks are more touchy feely than others. Then the start of John's many denigrating comments towards Muslims began. “The only language they know is the sword” He then after insinuated that all terrorists are Muslims. Nothing major, but odd, and uncalled for. On the way back to the hotel John asked us out to dinner again, which we politely declined. I did ask him for a cartouche. That evening John texted the girl I was dating all of the images of the cartouches, which again I found odd, given he had my contact as well and we had already been texting about my next travels - to Aswan and Hurghada. The next day was even stranger. At Dendera temple he explained that most Egyptologists will tell you Christians ordered the removing of the Gods on the site, but he told a long story on how it could also simply be vandals and we don't know for sure. I said, are vandals the reason that there are random names carved into these sites. “Yes, for a while these sites were unprotected. I wish that there would be walls and guards at every historical site, because these people do not care about history at all.” Wow. Noble thought John, but I'm not sure you should say that all Egyptians don’t care about their history - on the way to the site John told the story of Egypt voting in the Muslim brotherhood, that apparently openly said they were going to destroy some ancient sites. I guess he thinks all Egyptians share their views. On the way out of the temple John grabbed my partner by the wrist to point out a hibiscus flower. Inappropriate I feel, but we’re almost done, right. On the way back to Luxor, John invited Liz to visit him out in Hurghada. At this point I was getting upset, as he knew I was heading there in just a few days, but did not extend the offer to find a place for me to stay. Finally back in the Luxor temple, we heard the bells for the Muslim call to prayer. Unprovoked, John turned to us and said “What kind of God makes people pray 5 times a day” I was shocked, We headed towards the exit and I asked John if the tour was over. He said yes, but allowed me to explore the parts of the site that he had not shown us, while he sat with my companion. Upon getting back in the car Liz said that John had asked us out for dinner again. I politely declined, at which point she stated they would drop me off at the hotel and go for drinks. You see, while I was gone John told her that he didn't want to make the driver upset by getting paid in front of him. He suggested going for dinner or drinks so that we wouldn't pay him in front of the driver. Why he did not discuss this with the both of us, who were together for hours that day, and waited until he was alone with Liz, is beyond me. Upon learning how this went down I had enough and wrote a scathing review. John then reached out about the review, because he apparently feared for his life about the comments regarding religion…..at 1AM…To my companion! When she reached out to me, saying that John feared for his life, I reached out to him. I asked him that if he truly feared for his life regarding his denigrating comments, then why did he a- openly state them in public and b- NOT contact the person that could remove them. Facts that still bewilder me. To my bewilderment, he offered no remorse for his words, and only defended them. First he said the comments were meant to be kept private. Then, shockingly, he doubled down and stated that if I came and visited him in Luxor, that I would begin to share his views. Unbelievable!! The screenshots are proof of these interactions with John. To be clear, I don't think John is a bad man. He is knowledgeable in history and I’m sure in a group setting his personal views will not sleep out. At the same time, I strongly feel that his viewpoints are not healthy for society and they certainly are in direct violation of UNESCO’s first code of conduct. His unwillingness to acknowledge that this is unacceptable behavior for a tour guide is why I gave the poor rating. I truly hope you can use this as a learning experience John, and begin to show as much love to everyone as you do to your own faith.

Response from the operator: I am truly saddened by this situation and recurring false accusations by the same reviewer, especially after 25 years of guiding travelers from all over the world without a single similar complaint. This review follows an earlier one that was later deleted by the same reviewer (early December 2025) and rewritten after I posted my respond. The first review was openly described to me by his companion as retaliation related to personal matters between them, which were entirely unrelated to my services as a guide. I posted my respond to the first review, a few days later the reviewer deleted his review and then reposted this one in trying to escalate blackmailing his companion who wrote a very positive review on December 22, 2025 (Elizabeth). I categorically reject the accusations made here. I have never spoken negatively about Islam, Muslims, or any faith. As a licensed Egyptian guide, I work daily with colleagues, drivers (the driver that I hired for that 3 day tour is a Muslim) and guests of all religions and backgrounds, and mutual respect is fundamental to my profession and my personal values. Apparently the reviewer quoted some words of my explanations about religions, twisted and rephrased them in order to make up his accusations. Any historical discussions during tours are presented as academic context, not personal opinion, and physical boundaries and professional conduct are always respected. I understand that emotions can run high during personal conflicts, but using a public platform to repeatedly escalate false claims is deeply unfortunate. I value the consistent 5-star feedback from travelers of all backgrounds, which more accurately reflects my work, my character, and my respect for Egypt’s diverse heritage.

via Tripadvisor