Private Tour Full Day · 10 hrsAbu Simbel Day Trip from Aswan by Road
A private early-morning drive to Abu Simbel with your Egyptologist and return the same day.
From
$110/ person
Tours & Experiences in Abu Simbel
Private Abu Simbel Tours
Abu Simbel sits 280 km south of Aswan, and almost everyone arrives the same way — at eight in the morning, in a convoy, with everyone else. You don't have to. Every trip here is private, so we choose the departure time: early enough for low sun on the colossi, or late enough that the buses have gone home.
280 KM SOUTH OF ASWAN
Ramses II's Mountain Temples on Lake Nasser
Two temples cut straight into a sandstone cliff above Lake Nasser, close to the Sudanese border — the Great Temple of Ramses II with its four seated colossi, and beside it the smaller temple Ramses built for Nefertari.
In the 1960s, with the High Dam about to flood the valley, both were sawn into more than a thousand blocks, carried up the cliff and rebuilt exactly as they stood, inside an artificial hill. You can walk round the back and see the join.
Every trip on this page is private: your own licensed Egyptologist, your own vehicle, and the time at each temple is yours to set. Go by road for the desert crossing, fly down and be back by lunch, or stay the night and have the site almost to yourself at dusk and again at dawn.
We are based in Luxor, not in an office abroad. If anything needs sorting on the day, you are dealing with the people who arranged it.
Why visit
Why travellers choose Abu Simbel
- Four seated colossi of Ramses II, twenty metres high, cut into the cliff face.
- The temple of Nefertari beside it — one of only two in Egypt where a queen stands the same height as her king.
- Moved block by block in the 1960s to escape the rising lake, and rebuilt inside a man-made hill.
- Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the sunrise runs the length of the Great Temple and lights the statues in the sanctuary.
- Far enough south that the landscape changes — open desert most of the way, and the lake on the horizon when you arrive.
- Private throughout, so you are not on a coach schedule at a site where timing decides what you see.
Best time to visit
When to go
October to April, as a day trip from Aswan. Arrive early — the site opens at sunrise and the light on the facade is best in the first two hours, before the tour buses arrive around nine. The sun festival on 22 February and 22 October draws large crowds and needs booking months ahead. Summer here is the hottest place in Egypt and the visit is genuinely difficult after ten in the morning. June to August the road day is hard going; the flight or the overnight stay makes far more sense in those months.
Travel tips
Good to know
- 280 km south of Aswan: 3 to 3.5 hours each way by road, or under an hour by air.
- Road trips leave between 4:00 and 5:00 am and are back in Aswan by mid-afternoon — about 10 hours door to door.
- Two to three hours at the site covers both temples properly.
- We stop on the way for a break, tea and a toilet; bottled water is in the vehicle.
- Bring your passport — it is checked on the road south.
- Ask your hotel for a breakfast box the night before; kitchens are closed at that hour.
- Photography inside the temples may carry a separate fee, payable on site.
Private Tours
Private Abu Simbel Tours & Excursions
Six ways to do it. By road is the classic and the best value — a long day, an early start, and the desert either side. By plane turns it into a morning. The overnight stay is the only way to see the temples with nobody else there. Not sure which fits your trip? Tell us how many days you have in Aswan and who is travelling, and we will tell you honestly.
Private Tour Full Day · 10 hrsView Tour
Private Tour Half Day · 6 hrsAbu Simbel by Plane from Aswan
Fly to Abu Simbel, enjoy a comfortable private morning at the temples and fly back.
From
$320/ person
Private Tour 2 Days · 1 NightAbu Simbel Overnight Stay
Overnight at Abu Simbel to see the temples at sunset, night and dawn without crowds.
From
$380/ person
Private Tour Evening · 2 hrsAbu Simbel Sound & Light Show
The temples illuminated after dark with a multilingual sound and light performance.
From
$55/ person
Private Tour Full Day · 12 hrsAbu Simbel Sun Festival Access
Witness the twice-yearly solar alignment inside the Great Temple — 22 February and 22 October.
From
$190/ person
Private Tour Full Day · 14 hrsAbu Simbel from Cairo by Flight
Fly Cairo–Aswan–Abu Simbel with a full private experience and return the same day.
From
$620/ person
Egypt Packages
Egypt Packages Including Abu Simbel
Combine this destination with the rest of Egypt through carefully designed private journeys.
Private Package 7 Days · 6 Nights
7 Days Cairo, Luxor, Aswan & Abu Simbel Package
Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
Egypt's grand monuments in one private journey
Starting from
$1,800/ person
Private Package 9 Days · 8 Nights
9 Days Classic Cairo, Luxor & Aswan Package
Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
The classic circuit with Abu Simbel at unhurried pace
Starting from
$1,950/ person
Private Package 10 Days · 9 Nights
10 Days Classic Egypt & Nile Cruise
Cairo · Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
Classic cities plus a Nile cruise and Abu Simbel
Starting from
$1,800/ person
Private Package 6 Days · 5 Nights
6 Days Luxor, Aswan & Abu Simbel Package
Luxor · Aswan · Abu Simbel
Upper Egypt's greatest temples in six private days
Starting from
On Request
Private Package 4 Days · 3 Nights
4 Days Aswan & Abu Simbel Package
Aswan · Abu Simbel
Aswan's temples with a private Abu Simbel excursion
Starting from
$1,100/ person
Private Package 5 Days · 4 Nights
5 Days Aswan, Abu Simbel & Luxor Package
Aswan · Abu Simbel · Luxor
Upper Egypt's temples in five private days
Starting from
$1,450/ person
Tailor-Made
Build Your Dream Egypt Journey.
Combine Abu Simbel with day tours, Nile cruises and multiple cities into one seamless private itinerary designed around you.
FAQ
Abu Simbel tours, answered.
Everything you need to know before booking your Abu Simbel experience.
It is one of the most extraordinary monuments in the world — the answer for almost every visitor is yes.
By road is the classic experience with more time at the temples; by plane is faster and easier on longer itineraries.
Around two hours is comfortable to explore both the Great Temple and the Temple of Nefertari with your guide.
Yes. It's a well-protected UNESCO site with regular tourism and full security along the road from Aswan.
Twice a year — 22 February and 22 October — when sunlight aligns down the temple axis to illuminate the inner sanctuary.
Yes, by connecting flight — long but doable in a single day with our private guides in both cities.