AbuSimbel.com
The colossi of Ramesses II on the facade of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel Tours, Tickets & Day Trips

From the $40 minibus run out of Aswan to private flights, felucca overnights and four-day Nile cruises — here are the Abu Simbel experiences worth your time, all bookable online.

See every Abu Simbel tour on GetYourGuide →

Abu Simbel is 280 km from the nearest city, so how you get there shapes the whole day. Below are our favourite tours across every style and budget. Prices shown are indicative starting points; tap through for live availability.

Heads up: some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only feature tours we’d genuinely recommend. Learn more.
The four colossi of Ramesses II on the facade of the Great Temple at Abu Simbel Day trip from $40
🕒 Approx. 10 hours 📍 From Aswan (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.5 (3261)

From Aswan: Abu Simbel Temple Day Trip with Hotel Pickup

The single most-booked way to see Abu Simbel, and the reason most travellers can do it without hiring a car. A modern minibus collects you from your Aswan hotel in the small hours, crosses 280 km of open desert on the newly resurfaced road, and drops you at the temple gate with around two hours to explore. That is comfortably enough for the Great Temple of Ramesses II, Nefertari’s Temple of Hathor next door and the domed rooms explaining the UNESCO rescue. With more than 3,000 reviews it is also the most road-tested option on the list.

  • Hotel pickup and drop-off anywhere in Aswan
  • Air-conditioned transfer across the Western Desert to Abu Simbel
  • About 2 hours at the temples — enough for both the Great and Small Temple
Check price & availability →
Side view of the rock-cut Great Temple of Abu Simbel above Lake Nasser Guided day tour from $145
🕒 Approx. 10 hours 📍 From Aswan ⭐ 4.2 (10)

From Aswan: Abu Simbel Temple Complex Day Tour

A straightforward, hassle-free way to see the whole complex rather than just the famous facade. The tour treats Abu Simbel as two monuments plus a story: the Great Temple with its 20-metre colossi and Kadesh battle reliefs, the Small Temple where Nefertari appears the same height as her husband — almost unheard of in Egyptian art — and the artificial mountain that hides the concrete domes built to hold both temples up after they were moved in the 1960s.

  • Both temples covered — Ramesses II and Nefertari
  • Guided storytelling on the Battle of Kadesh reliefs
  • Comfortable air-conditioned road transfer from Aswan
Check price & availability →
Relief of the Battle of Kadesh carved inside the Great Temple at Abu Simbel Private day tour from $145
🕒 Approx. 9 hours 📍 From Aswan (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.5 (264)

Best Private Day Trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan

The pick of the private options, and the one reviewers keep singling out for its guides. Because it runs on a civilised daytime schedule rather than the traditional pre-dawn convoy, you reach Abu Simbel after the first wave of group tours has left — the sanctuary is quieter and the light on the facade is dramatic. Your guide explains the history in the air-conditioned van on the way, so your time at the temples is spent looking rather than listening. Several reviewers mention a lakeside lunch of fresh Lake Nasser fish.

  • Private vehicle and private local guide — you set the pace
  • Skip-the-line entry so you are inside while the coaches queue
  • Guides speaking English, Spanish, German and Arabic
Check price & availability →
Brightly painted blue Nubian houses near Aswan Private day tour from $166
🕒 Approx. 10 hours 📍 From Aswan (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.6 (36)

Aswan: Abu Simbel Temple & Nubian Village Private Day Tour

The best-value way to understand Abu Simbel as more than a monument. The morning is the temples; the afternoon is Nubia — the villages of vivid blue and ochre houses whose people were displaced when Lake Nasser filled, the same flood that forced the temples to be moved. Seeing both in one day turns the rescue story from an engineering anecdote into something human. Small operator, private guide, consistently strong reviews.

  • Abu Simbel’s two temples plus a Nubian village visit
  • Meet the community whose homeland the reservoir flooded
  • Private guide, private vehicle, skip-the-line entry
Check price & availability →
Lake Nasser stretching into the desert from the Abu Simbel shore Flight day trip from $135
🕒 Approx. 6 hours 📍 From Aswan Airport ⭐ 4.2 (5)

Aswan: Abu Simbel & Nefertari Temples Express Tour by Air

If your Egypt itinerary is tight, flying is the answer. EgyptAir’s short hop from Aswan lands you 15 minutes from the temple gate, so the entire excursion fits into a morning — and the descent over Lake Nasser, with the two temples appearing as pale scars in the sandstone, is worth the fare on its own. You still get a guided visit to both temples; you simply skip six hours in a van.

  • Return flight Aswan–Abu Simbel — 45 minutes each way
  • Whole trip done in about 6 hours instead of 10–11
  • Both the Great Temple and the Temple of Hathor
Check price & availability →
Hypostyle hall of the Great Temple with Osiride pillars of Ramesses II Private flight tour from $450
🕒 Approx. 6 hours 📍 From Aswan (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.6 (5)

Aswan: Private Tour to Abu Simbel Temple by Flight

The premium version of the flight trip: everything is private, from the car that collects you at your Aswan hotel to the Egyptologist who walks you through the hypostyle hall. Because the group never exceeds your own party you can linger in the sanctuary, ask the awkward questions about Ramesses’ propaganda, and leave when you are ready. Expensive, but it turns Abu Simbel into a relaxed half-day rather than an endurance event.

  • Return flights, private transfers and a private Egyptologist
  • Skip-the-line entry at the temple gate
  • Door-to-door: hotel to hotel with nothing to organise
Check price & availability →
Inner hall of the Temple of Hathor and Nefertari at Abu Simbel Private day tour from $194
🕒 Full day 📍 From Luxor (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.6 (663)

Luxor: Abu Simbel Temple Private Guided Day Trip with Lunch

Abu Simbel is a long way from Luxor — around 500 km each way — but this private tour makes it possible in a single very long day without changing hotels. You leave before dawn in a private air-conditioned car with your own Egyptologist, break the drive with lunch, and get an unhurried guided visit to both temples. With 660+ reviews at 4.6 stars it is the most proven Luxor-based option, and the only realistic one if Aswan is not on your itinerary.

  • Private transport and private guide all the way from Luxor
  • Lunch included on the road
  • Guided tour of the Great Temple and Nefertari’s temple
Check price & availability →
Traditional felucca sailing boats on the Nile at Aswan Private overnight tour
🕒 2 days 📍 From Aswan (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.8 (9)

From Aswan: Abu Simbel 2-Day Private Tour with Felucca Ride

The antidote to the 03:00 start. Spreading Abu Simbel across two days lets you visit the temples when almost everyone else has gone, and adds the thing most day trips cut: an evening under sail on the Nile, drifting past Elephantine Island as the granite hills go pink. Rated 4.8 by travellers, and the closest thing on GetYourGuide to a proper Nubian mini-break.

  • Two unhurried days instead of one exhausting one
  • Traditional felucca sail on the Nile at Aswan
  • Private guide in Arabic, English, French, German or Spanish
Check price & availability →
Colonnade of the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island Private multi-day tour from $330
🕒 2 days 📍 From Luxor (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.6 (12)

Luxor: Private 2-Day Tour to Philae, the High Dam & Abu Simbel

The most coherent itinerary on this page. The High Dam created Lake Nasser; the lake drowned Philae and threatened Abu Simbel; UNESCO moved both temples stone by stone. Seeing the three in sequence — dam, then Philae reassembled on Agilkia Island, then Abu Simbel on its artificial hill — makes the twentieth century’s strangest archaeological rescue click into place.

  • The full rescue story: Philae, the High Dam and Abu Simbel
  • Private Egyptologist guide throughout
  • Skip-the-line entry at every site
Check price & availability →
Twin sanctuaries and carved columns of the Temple of Kom Ombo Private temple tour from $238
🕒 2 days 📍 From Luxor (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.2 (129)

Luxor: Edfu, Kom Ombo & Abu Simbel Private Tour with Entry Fees

A temple crawl down the Nile that ends at the greatest of them all. You take the Luxor–Aswan road with stops at Edfu — the best-preserved temple in Egypt, dedicated to Horus — and Kom Ombo, the strange double temple shared between a crocodile god and a falcon god, before continuing to Abu Simbel. Entry fees are bundled in, which removes the usual scramble for tickets at each gate.

  • Three great Upper Egypt temples plus Abu Simbel
  • All entry fees included — no ticket queues, no surprises
  • Egyptologist guide and lunch on the road
Check price & availability →
Nile cruise ship moored on the river bank in Upper Egypt Nile cruise from $390
🕒 4 days / 3 nights 📍 From Aswan ⭐ 4.5 (502)

From Aswan: 4-Day Nile Cruise to Luxor with Abu Simbel & Balloon

The classic Upper Egypt itinerary, with Abu Simbel added at the front. You board in Aswan, run the overland excursion to Abu Simbel, then sail slowly downstream to Luxor, stopping at Kom Ombo and Edfu on the way and finishing with a balloon flight over the Valley of the Kings at dawn. Meals, guiding and site entries are handled; you unpack once. At 4.5 stars from 500+ travellers it is the best-reviewed way to combine Abu Simbel with the rest of the Nile.

  • Three nights aboard a cruise ship, full board
  • Abu Simbel, Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu and the Luxor temples
  • Sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the Theban west bank
Check price & availability →
The Great Sphinx and the Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, outside Cairo Private flight day trip from $691
🕒 Full day 📍 From Cairo (hotel pickup) ⭐ 4.7 (13)

From Cairo: Abu Simbel Day Tour with Flights & Private Guide

Abu Simbel is 1,200 km from Cairo, so this is the only way to see it and sleep in your own bed. Flights get you to Aswan for breakfast, a private car covers the desert road, and an Egyptologist walks you through both temples before the return leg. It is the most expensive option here and the least relaxed — but for travellers with a fixed Cairo base and one free day, it is the difference between seeing Abu Simbel and not.

  • Return flights Cairo–Aswan included
  • Private Egyptologist guide for the whole day
  • Both temples, at a civilised pace
Check price & availability →

How to choose the right Abu Simbel tour

Not sure which to pick? Match the tour to your travel style:

  • On a budget: the shared day trip from Aswan with hotel pickup covers 560 km of driving and two hours at the temples from about $40.
  • Want it quiet and unhurried: a private day tour runs on a civilised daytime schedule, so you arrive after the first coach wave has left.
  • Short on time: the 45-minute flight from Aswan turns a ten-hour day into a six-hour morning, with a view of the lake thrown in.
  • Want the whole story: a two-day tour adds Philae, the High Dam or a Nubian village — the context that makes the rescue make sense.
  • Travelling from Luxor or Cairo: private day trips and flight packages exist for both, and a Nile cruise folds Abu Simbel into a longer route.

All Abu Simbel activities, live from GetYourGuide

Powered by GetYourGuide
Plan your day at Abu Simbel

Stand before Ramesses II at sunrise

Four 20-metre colossi, a sanctuary lit twice a year by the rising sun, and a temple that engineers cut apart and rebuilt on higher ground. Compare tours from Aswan, Luxor and Cairo and book in a couple of taps.

Browse Abu Simbel tours & tickets → Compare all tours
Good to know

Abu Simbel tour FAQs

Frequently asked questions

How much does an Abu Simbel tour cost?

As a rough guide: shared day trips from Aswan start around $40 per person, private day tours with a guide run $128–170, the flight-based express tour starts near $135, private flight packages start around $450, and day trips from Cairo with flights are $600 and up. Multi-day Nile cruises that include Abu Simbel start near $390. Tap any tour for the exact live price.

Are temple entry tickets included?

It varies. Cheaper shared trips usually cover transport only and you buy the site ticket at the visitor centre; private and guided options frequently bundle it. Every listing states exactly what is included — check before you assume.

How long is the drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel?

About 280 km and 3 to 3.5 hours each way on a good desert road. Tours typically leave Aswan between 04:00 and 08:00 depending on the operator, spend around two hours at the temples, and return mid-afternoon.

Are Abu Simbel tours suitable for families?

Yes, with one caveat: it is a long day in a vehicle and there is very little shade on site. Families often do better with the flight option, or with a private tour that starts at a civilised hour. There is no climbing and the site is largely flat.

What should I bring?

Water, a hat, high-factor sunscreen and sunglasses — non-negotiable from April to October. Add cash for the site and photo tickets, and a light layer for the pre-dawn start, which is genuinely cold in the desert.