| Duration | 2 days / 1 night |
| Pickup | Your Aswan hotel or cruise berth, around 10:00 AM |
| Tour Type | Private Overnight Tour |
| Availability | Daily |
| Price | From 290 USD per person |
| Destinations | Great Temple of Ramses II – Temple of Nefertari – Sound and Light show – Lake Nasser |
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Overview
Almost everyone sees Abu Simbel the same way: a 3:00 AM departure from Aswan, three hours in the dark, ninety minutes at the temples in a crowd, and three hours back. This private abu simbel tour does the opposite. You leave Aswan mid-morning, stay the night in the village, and have the temples at sunset and again at sunrise — the two hours of the day when hardly anyone else is there.
Ramses II cut both temples straight into a sandstone cliff in the thirteenth century BC. Three thousand years later they were cut apart again: when the High Dam raised Lake Nasser, an international team sawed the whole complex into more than a thousand blocks and rebuilt it sixty-five metres higher on an artificial hill. Standing in front of the four colossi, you cannot see the joins.
You travel in your own air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed Egyptologist who stays with you across both days. Hotel, temple tickets and the Sound and Light show are all arranged before you arrive.
Why Book This Abu Simbel Tour Overnight Instead of as a Day Trip?
The drive is 280 kilometres each way, three to three and a half hours through open desert. On a day trip you do it twice between dawn and dinner. On this abu simbel tour you do it once each way, awake, and the temples stop being a photo stop.
Light is the real argument. The facade faces east, so it takes the sun full on at first light — and the day convoy from Aswan arrives after that window has passed. Staying overnight puts you at the gate as it opens. Both temples are part of the UNESCO-listed Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.
Inside the Great Temple, eight Osiride pillars carrying the likeness of Ramses lead to a sanctuary where four seated gods wait in the dark. Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun reaches straight down the axis and lights three of the four. Ptah, god of the underworld, stays in shadow all year — which is exactly the sort of detail a rushed visit skips over.
Next door stands the smaller temple, the one Ramses built for Nefertari. It is the rarer of the two: almost nowhere else in Egyptian art is a queen carved at the same scale as her husband on a temple facade.
Building a longer Aswan stay around it? Add our Philae temple tour and the Unfinished Obelisk, browse everything in Aswan tours and excursions, sail north on our 3 night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, continue to the Karnak temple tour in Luxor, or combine the whole south with Cairo through our Egypt Tour Packages.
Good to Know Before You Go
Abu Simbel is the hottest inhabited corner of Egypt. From May to September the afternoon can pass 45 degrees, which is another argument for a late-afternoon and early-morning visit rather than the middle of the day. Bring a hat, sunglasses and sun protection; bottled water is in the vehicle throughout.
Accommodation in the village is simple and clean rather than luxurious — there are no five-star properties this far south, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. What you get instead is a lakeside room, a quiet evening, and a fifteen-minute drive to the temples.
Bring your passport: it is checked on the desert road and needed at the temple gate. Photography without flash is permitted inside both temples, though a separate camera ticket may apply on the day. For current opening hours and ticket policy see Egypt’s official monuments portal.
If you would rather fly, there are short daily flights between Aswan and Abu Simbel. We can price the abu simbel tour with a flight in place of the drive — just ask when you enquire.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long is the Abu Simbel tour?
Two days and one night. Pickup from your Aswan hotel is around 10:00 AM on day one, and you are back in Aswan by early afternoon on day two.
Is Abu Simbel worth staying overnight for?
If you care about the temples rather than the photograph, yes. The overnight version gives you sunset, the Sound and Light show and sunrise, and it removes six hours of driving from a single day. Travellers who have done both almost always prefer this one.
How far is Abu Simbel from Aswan?
About 280 kilometres south-west, three to three and a half hours by road across open desert. There are also short daily flights, which we can arrange instead of the drive.
What is included in the price?
Private air-conditioned transfers from your Aswan hotel or cruise berth, one night in a lakeside hotel with breakfast, entrance tickets to both temples, your Sound and Light show ticket, an Egyptologist guide on both days, and bottled water.
What is not included?
Lunch and dinner, drinks and personal expenses, gratuities, and the optional flight upgrade between Aswan and Abu Simbel.
How much does the Abu Simbel tour cost?
From 290 USD per person. The exact quote depends on group size, pickup point and whether you choose the road or the flight. Send us your dates and we price it precisely, with no obligation.
When does the sun align with the inner sanctuary?
On 22 February and 22 October the sunrise reaches down the full axis of the Great Temple and lights the seated statues of Ramses, Amun and Ra-Horakhty. Those two mornings book out far ahead, so tell us early if you want them.
How do I book?
Contact us by email, phone or WhatsApp. We confirm availability, answer your questions, and send a quote with no obligation.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Great Temple facade by Arian Zwegers (CC BY 2.0); facade detail by UNESCO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO); temple of Nefertari by Olaf Tausch (CC BY 3.0); Lake Nasser by Ad Meskens (CC BY-SA 3.0); sunrise by Ladyzebra (CC BY-SA 3.0).
