Fly to Abu Simbel, enjoy a comfortable private morning at the temples and fly back.
Abu Simbel is 280 km south of Aswan and the road takes three and a half hours each way. The plane takes forty-five minutes. You are collected from your hotel or Nile cruise in Aswan and driven to the airport for the morning flight. Below you, the desert gives way to Lake Nasser — one of the largest artificial lakes in the world, and the reason the temples had to be moved at all. You land at Abu Simbel and the temples are a short drive from the runway. Your Egyptologist takes you through the Great Temple of Ramses II, with its four seated colossi cut into the rock face, and the smaller temple Ramses built for Nefertari beside it. Both were sawn into more than a thousand blocks in the 1960s and rebuilt exactly as they stood, higher up the cliff, inside an artificial hill.
You can walk round the back and see the join. Then the short flight north and back to your hotel, usually by early afternoon. This is the trip for people who do not have a whole day to give, who are travelling with older parents or young children, or who are here in summer, when ten hours on the road in that heat is genuinely hard. It costs more than driving. What you are buying is four hours of your holiday back. Seats on this route are limited and fares move with demand, so we check availability and confirm your exact price before you commit to anything.
Your driver collects you from your hotel or Nile cruise in Aswan and takes you to Aswan International Airport for the morning flight. The exact pickup time depends on the schedule for your date, which we confirm with your booking.
Forty-five minutes over the Nubian desert and Lake Nasser. Ask for a window seat — the lake from the air explains why the temples had to be moved better than any explanation on the ground does.
From Abu Simbel airport it is a short drive to the site. Your Egyptologist takes you through the Great Temple: four seated statues of Ramses II, twenty metres high, cut straight into the cliff, and inside, the hall of pillared statues with the reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh running the length of the wall.
Beside it stands the smaller temple Ramses built for Nefertari and the goddess Hathor — one of only two temples in Egypt where a queen is carved the same height as her king. The interior decoration is among the best preserved in the country. Before leaving, walk round the back of the hill. The whole complex sits inside a man-made dome of concrete and rock, and you can see exactly where the blocks were joined.
Back to the airport for the return flight to Aswan, where your driver takes you to your hotel or cruise. Most guests are back by early afternoon with the rest of the day free — tell us if you would like to add Philae or the Nubian village to the afternoon.
Children under 3 years: Free of charge Children from 3 to 5 years: 25% of the selected adult price Children from 6 to 11 years: 50% of the selected adult price Children aged 12 years and above: Adult price
Pay on the day of your tour. Cash and credit card accepted. No advance payment required — reserve now and pay on your tour date.
All prices are shown in USD. Prices may vary during peak travel periods including Christmas, New Year and Easter Holidays.
Everything you need to know before booking Abu Simbel by Plane from Aswan.
Yes — the round-trip Egypt Air flight between Aswan and Abu Simbel is included, along with transfers at both ends, your Egyptologist and all entrance fees. Seats on this route are limited and fares rise as the date approaches, so we check availability and confirm your exact price before you commit. The sooner your Aswan dates are fixed, the better the fare.
It is rare, but this route can be grounded by sandstorms and schedules do change. If your flight does not operate we will move you to the next available one, switch you to the road trip and refund the difference, or refund you in full — your choice, decided the same day. You will not be left at the airport working it out alone.
Enough to see both properly with your guide, take photographs and walk round the back of the hill. The flight schedule sets the window, so it is shorter than the road trip allows — the road trip just costs you a whole day to get that extra hour.
Drive if you have the day to give and want the desert crossing, which is genuinely part of it. Fly if you only have one day in Aswan, if you are travelling with older parents or young children, or if you are here between May and September. Tell us your dates and who is travelling and we will say honestly which one fits.
Six weeks or more. There are only one or two flights a day on this route, the aircraft are small, and the morning flight sells out first in winter. Late bookings are often still possible, but at a higher fare.
Yes, from your hotel or your cruise. Give us the name when you book so we can confirm the pickup time — docking positions move, and the flight will not wait.
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel
Add this tour to a longer private itinerary — combine it with Nile cruises, other cities and transfers, all designed around you.
