Luxor to Marsa Alam in only 5 hours?

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sparedog

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I saw an advert on Google for private transfers by car from luxor to Marsa in only 5 hours. Is this possible and the company is advertising correctly?
 
Yes. I have been driven out by a tour company from Port Ghalib after getting off a liveaboard and transferred to Luxor this way (October 2018). We got off a back to back 2 week liveaboard in Port Ghalib and then went touring in Luxor right before we flew to Cairo and then Jordan.

We used Memphis Tours and had a private van. It was great. Very safe. Excellent guides and drivers with no language barriers. Very professional.
 
I was in Marsa this July, 5 hours is rather optimistic unless they use a road that is normally not open for tourists (Qena to El Quseir). It sometimes works when going from Luxor to Marsa (not the other way around as there is a big check point in El QUseir at the junction and all tourists get redirected trough the usual Safaga road). Apparently it has something to do with the almost total lack of cell phone coverage over this road.
There is also the option of going from Luxor to Edfu and then taking the Edfu-Marsa road but this is in bad condition right now. Of course it has the advantage that you can see Edfu temple if you have enough time.
I strongly recommend to avoid traveling on the road after sunset as the locals have the crazy habit of turning the headlamps off to save a few pennies on fuel (using just the position lights). This plus the occasional camel crossing the road in the dark are very real hazards in Egypt particularly on less circulated roads like Edfu-Marsa.
 
We were there in the beginning of September and took a private transfer Luxor to Marsa Alam which took about 5 hours. I don't remember which road we took but will check with the other half and report back. We had to give our passport info so they could get travel papers for us which they checked when we went through the check points.

My only caution is they drive like maniacs and it is a long desert road with nothing so make sure you have a good driver.
 
I’ll be going the opposite direction (Mara Alam - Luxor - Hurghada) in 28 December, 2019. The guide would pick me up at 4am at Marsa Alam after disembarking Red Sea Aggressor. If anyone wants to join me, we can split the cost.

“Luxor Excursion
Your personal chauffeur driven air conditioned car will pick you up from your hotel at 4.00 am. On arrival in
Luxor you will meet your private English speaking Egyptologist guide. You will visit three tombs in the Valley
of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon and then lunch in an oriental restaurant.
Then enjoying a boat trip on the Nile for around 45 minutes till the car make it back to the city around the bridge
Next, you will explore the vast Temple of Karnak, then can have a walking tour around the town center.
Return to Hurghada Airport by about 9:30 pm.”
 
Just went from Port Ghalib to Luxor on Sept 28th, 2019. Total time was about four and a half hours. And we did try to take the road from El Quseir to Luxor and were stopped at the check point and denied passage. We had to back track a small ways and continue up to Safaga then head west to Luxor. We must have gone through eight or nine check points on our way to Luxor and speed bumps galore especially as you get closer to Luxor. Long boring drive with just dirt to look at--there are places to stop if you want refreshment and the loo. Its amazing how everything starts turning so green as you get closer to Luxor and the Nile river. When we arrived in Luxor the temperature was around 100 degrees F (38 C). On the day we went to the Valley of the Kings it was 104 degrees F compared to on average 82 degrees F while diving in the Red Sea. It may be a dry heat but it will still suck the life out of you.
 
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Dec 2023 update- I’m so surprised no one seems to have posted about a big change for tourist travel from Luxor to Marsa Alam. Late December 2023 my partner and I decided last minute to skip Aswan and head straight from Luxor to Marsa Alam. We were first quoted $250 USD by a private transport company and told we’d have to go first from Luxor to Hurghada and only then circle back down to Marsa Alam. That seemed totally weird so we went with a private taxi driver who assured us he could do it, for $100 USD. Turns out, about 6 months prior, the Egyptian government had restricted tourists from traveling the direct route from Edfu to Marsa Alam - one local said because a Bedouin had shot an Egyptian cop, another local said because the Egyptian government was trying to seize gold mines from Bedouins and Bedouins had retaliated by kidnapping tourists along that route. Anyway, after 2 hours from Luxor, we got to a police checkpoint and the military/police wouldn’t let him take us through. After a chaotic and language-barrier-filled half hour, our taxi driver decided to take us to a dirt road and circumvent that check point. Wtf and maybe hurray? But half hour later there was a 2nd checkpoint. He said “sleep sleep” and motioned for us to lay down on the seat. We miraculously got through. An hour later at a third checkpoint we were discovered and detained by the military/police for maybe 2 hours and took our passports. They were really polite and just explained that tourists weren’t allowed on that road. They eventually had a military vehicle escort us (machine guns visible) at a super slow pace to a spot maybe 1.5 hours towards Marsa Alam and returned our passports. Another 2ish hours later we arrived at our hotel. Think it was 1am by then. So beware- tourists have to be pre-approved to travel that route from Luxor to Edfu to Marsa Alam.
 
Dec 2023 update- I’m so surprised no one seems to have posted about a big change for tourist travel from Luxor to Marsa Alam. Late December 2023 my partner and I decided last minute to skip Aswan and head straight from Luxor to Marsa Alam. We were first quoted $250 USD by a private transport company and told we’d have to go first from Luxor to Hurghada and only then circle back down to Marsa Alam. That seemed totally weird so we went with a private taxi driver who assured us he could do it, for $100 USD. Turns out, about 6 months prior, the Egyptian government had restricted tourists from traveling the direct route from Edfu to Marsa Alam - one local said because a Bedouin had shot an Egyptian cop, another local said because the Egyptian government was trying to seize gold mines from Bedouins and Bedouins had retaliated by kidnapping tourists along that route. Anyway, after 2 hours from Luxor, we got to a police checkpoint and the military/police wouldn’t let him take us through. After a chaotic and language-barrier-filled half hour, our taxi driver decided to take us to a dirt road and circumvent that check point. Wtf and maybe hurray? But half hour later there was a 2nd checkpoint. He said “sleep sleep” and motioned for us to lay down on the seat. We miraculously got through. An hour later at a third checkpoint we were discovered and detained by the military/police for maybe 2 hours and took our passports. They were really polite and just explained that tourists weren’t allowed on that road. They eventually had a military vehicle escort us (machine guns visible) at a super slow pace to a spot maybe 1.5 hours towards Marsa Alam and returned our passports. Another 2ish hours later we arrived at our hotel. Think it was 1am by then. So beware- tourists have to be pre-approved to travel that route from Luxor to Edfu to Marsa Alam.

Thanks for the update. I haven’t been back to Red Sea since my last trip in Dec 2019. I rather go to Indonesia & Philippines. I’ll be in Raja Ampat in 3 weeks and Tubbataha in June.
 

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