On Monday, August 2, 2027, the Moon covers the Sun completely over Luxor for about six minutes, around 1 PM local time. We build a private trip around that moment, with a licensed English-speaking Egyptologist, a hotel in the city and the eclipse at the center of five days.
It is a private program for your party, not a coach tour with forty strangers. You choose how many are traveling, the hotel category and whether to add days before or after. We organize Luxor and put the eclipse on the day and at the spot where the view is best.
The reasoning is simple. The path of totality crosses Egypt from west to east and Luxor sits close to the center line, with more than six minutes of full darkness. It is not the only city inside the path, since Sohag, Qena and Asyut are inside too, but it has the hotels, the flights and the guides a visitor needs. Cairo, Giza and Alexandria get only a partial eclipse, so if you want to see the corona, the trip is built around Luxor.
The diamond ring, the last point of sunlight before totality, in the 2017 eclipse. NASA photograph, public domain. The science and the path of the shadow are in our guide to the 2027 solar eclipse in Egypt.
This is the outline we start from. It bends to your flights, your pace and what you want to see. The only thing that does not move is Monday, August 2.
| Day | Date | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saturday, July 31 | Arrive in Luxor and transfer privately to the hotel. A free afternoon to recover from the journey. At sundown, Luxor Temple lit up. |
| 2 | Sunday, August 1 | The west bank: Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. A rest in the afternoon and a run through the eclipse plan: glasses, water, spot and departure time. |
| 3 | Monday, August 2 | Eclipse day. Karnak first thing, before the heat, then back to the hotel. At midday we head to the chosen viewing spot; totality begins shortly after 1 PM. |
| 4 | Tuesday, August 3 | The Temple of Hathor at Dendera in the morning and a felucca on the Nile at sunset. |
| 5 | Wednesday, August 4 | Breakfast and a private transfer to Luxor airport. |
No domestic flight is included, so you arrive in Luxor under your own arrangements, by air or by train, and our team meets you there. For more ideas, see what to see in Luxor.
In Egypt the eclipse falls around midday with the Sun very high, so you do not need a clear horizon. You need a clear sky, shade while you wait, water and a comfortable place. We choose one of three kinds of spot with you and write it into your proposal.
Any of the three works. During the six minutes there is nothing to do but look, so the logistics (shade, water, chairs and departure time) are settled beforehand. The exact minute depends on the viewing spot, and we confirm it against an updated ephemeris before you travel.
Five days in Luxor make a solid core, and many travelers want more of Egypt around it.
Start with the pyramids and the Egyptian Museum and move on to Luxor a couple of days before the eclipse. See our Egypt tour packages for how the pieces fit.
On August 3 you can board a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan, 5 days and 4 nights and see Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae from the ship. More in Nile cruises in summer.
From Aswan the Abu Simbel day trip leaves before sunrise. To move between cities, see how domestic flights in Egypt work.
You book your own international flight: we do not sell or book international flights.
The price depends on the hotel category and how many are traveling. We send a proposal with a fixed price in US dollars, with no commitment.
A fixed deposit in US dollars or euros holds your place. Your proposal shows the exact amount before you pay anything.
By bank transfer or Western Union.
You pay the rest when you arrive in Egypt.
You can change the date or cancel up to two months before departure. If you cancel within that window, half of the deposit is refunded.
Asking for a proposal costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
The only glasses that count are those that meet the ISO 12312-2 standard, and it is best to buy them before you leave home. Without a filter, the Sun can be looked at with the naked eye only during full totality; before and after, always wear the glasses. In August Luxor passes 105 F (40 C) at midday, so we leave Karnak for the early morning, there is water and shade at every stop and the afternoon is for resting.
Tell us how many are traveling, from which country and which hotel category you prefer. We reply on WhatsApp as soon as we can, with no obligation.
Keep exploring
