The Sound and Light Show at night, and the temples at opening time
There are two things at Abu Simbel that a day trip cannot give you. The first is the Sound and Light Show. The temples are lit after dark and the story of Ramses II and Nefertari is told against the facade — and every day tour is three hours up the road by then. The second is the morning. The site opens at six. The first road convoy from Aswan arrives around eight and the flight groups around seven, so if you are already in Abu Simbel you walk in at opening with the facade in low sun and very few people in front of it.
That is also the only time the light is any good; the colossi face east, and by mid-morning the whole thing has gone flat. Staying the night gets you both, and takes the four o'clock alarm out of the trip entirely. You travel down from Aswan whenever suits you — morning or afternoon, from your hotel, your Nile cruise, or straight from the airport — check in, rest, and the day begins properly after dark. Abu Simbel itself is a village of a few thousand people on the shore of Lake Nasser, thirty kilometers from the Sudanese border. There is very little to do after the show, which is rather the point. The night sky here is one of the best in Egypt.
We collect you from your hotel, your Nile cruise or Aswan airport — whichever suits, and at whatever hour suits. Morning if you want a slow afternoon at the hotel; after lunch if you would rather use the morning in Aswan. The drive south is about three hours across the Nubian desert, with a stop on the way.
Check in to your hotel in Abu Simbel and take the rest of the afternoon. After three hours on the road, and with a very early start ahead of you, this is time worth having rather than time wasted.
In the evening we take you to the temples for the Sound and Light Show. The facades are lit and the story of Ramses II, Nefertari and the moving of the temples plays out against the rock, with narration available in several languages. It runs at seven and eight in winter, eight and nine in summer, and lasts about forty minutes. Then back to your hotel for the night.
An early start — earlier than breakfast. The site opens at six and we are there for it, which puts you inside a good hour or more before the first groups reach Abu Simbel from Aswan. Your Egyptologist takes you through the Great Temple of Ramses II — the four seated colossi, the hall of pillars, the reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh — and the smaller temple built for Nefertari and the goddess Hathor beside it. Walk round the back of the artificial hill before you leave: the whole complex was cut into more than a thousand blocks in the 1960s and rebuilt here, higher up, to escape the rising lake, and from behind you can see exactly how.
Back to the hotel for breakfast and check-out, then the drive north to Aswan. We drop you at your hotel, your cruise or the airport, arriving around midday.
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 Overnight Stay.
Two things. The Sound and Light Show, which happens long after every day tour has left for Aswan. And the temples at opening time — the site opens at six, the road convoys arrive around eight and the flights around seven, so you are inside well ahead of them, in the only light of the day that does the facade justice.
Whenever suits you on day one — morning or afternoon, from your hotel, your Nile cruise or the airport. The drive is about three hours. On day two you visit the temples at opening, have breakfast afterwards, and are back in Aswan around midday.
Very little, and that is the appeal. It is a village of a few thousand people on Lake Nasser, thirty kilometers from the Sudanese border, with a handful of hotels. After the show there is dinner and a sky full of stars. If you have been moving through Egypt for a week, an evening with nothing in it is usually welcome.
We use a small number of hotels in Abu Simbel and confirm yours with your booking, depending on your dates and the standard you want. There are only a handful of properties in the village and they fill quickly in winter, so the earlier your dates are fixed, the better the choice.
Yes, with the transfers to and from it. It runs at seven and eight in winter, eight and nine in summer, takes about forty minutes, and the narration is available in several languages.
Yes — most guests add it before an Aswan stay or at the start of a cruise, and we can collect you from the boat and return you to it. Tell us the rest of your itinerary and we will fit it in without losing a day at either end.
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.
