- Duration
- 2 days · 1 night
- Starts from
- Aswan
- Group size
- Up to 12 guests
- Difficulty
- Easy
Overview
Drive south from Aswan to Abu Simbel, spend the night by Lake Nasser, then tour Ramses II's Great Temple and Nefertari's temple with a guide before lunch and the drive back.
Most visitors see Abu Simbel in a rushed round trip before dawn. Staying the night changes that: you drive down from Aswan at a comfortable pace, sleep in the small town by Lake Nasser and see the temples the next morning without having started at three o'clock.
The road runs south through the Nubian desert for about three and a half hours, a long straight line of sand and rock. You check in to your hotel in Abu Simbel and the evening is free.
After breakfast your guide takes you to the Great Temple of Ramses II, with its four seated colossi cut into the cliff, and the smaller temple dedicated to Hathor and Queen Nefertari. Both were moved, block by block, in the 1960s to save them from the rising lake. Lunch is at a local restaurant before the drive back to Aswan.
Highlights
- Pickup from your Aswan hotel, cruise boat or the airport
- A night in Abu Simbel by Lake Nasser
- The Great Temple of Ramses II
- The temple of Hathor and Queen Nefertari
- A guided visit at a relaxed pace
Itinerary
- 1
Day 1
Aswan → Abu Simbel
Pickup in Aswan and a drive of about three and a half hours south through the desert to Abu Simbel. Check in to your hotel and enjoy a free evening. Night in Abu Simbel.
- 2
Day 2
Abu Simbel temples → Aswan
Breakfast at the hotel, then a guided visit to the Great Temple of Ramses II and the temple of Hathor and Queen Nefertari. Lunch at a local restaurant before the drive back to Aswan, where you are dropped at your hotel or cruise boat for the night.
What's included
- Pickup from Aswan airport, your hotel or cruise boat
- 1 night in an Abu Simbel hotel with breakfast
- Guide speaking English, Spanish or German
- Entry fees for the Abu Simbel temples
- Lunch at a local restaurant
- All transfers by modern air-conditioned vehicle
- Bottled water throughout
- All taxes and service charges
Not included
- Tips for guides and drivers
- Personal items
- Supplement for groups of 2–3 and solo travellers
- Travel insurance
What to bring
- Hat, sunglasses and sunscreen — Abu Simbel is very hot for much of the year
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Light layer for the air-conditioned car
- Passport (needed at checkpoints on the road)
- Refillable water bottle
Pickup & meeting point
Pickup from your hotel, cruise boat or Aswan airport; your driver will confirm the time the day before.
Children up to 11 pay the child rate
Photos
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