Tour Overview
This private 2-day trip from Hurghada pairs Luxor's royal tombs with the rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel. You drive to Luxor for the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak, then take the first-class train to Aswan for a night in a 5-star hotel. Day two starts early with a breakfast box and the trip south to Abu Simbel, followed by lunch in Aswan and the train and road back to Hurghada.
Tour Highlights
- Combine Luxor and Abu Simbel in one short trip, the two names most travelers want to see in southern Egypt.
- Visit the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's terraced temple on Luxor's West Bank on the morning of day one.
- Walk through Karnak's Great Hypostyle Hall after lunch by the Nile, then ride the first-class train south to a 5-star hotel in Aswan.
- Stand in front of the four seated colossi of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel, each about 20 meters high, cut straight into the cliff.
- See the smaller temple Ramesses built for Queen Nefertari, one of the few Egyptian temples where a queen appears at the same scale as the king.
Tour Route
Can you see Luxor and Abu Simbel in 2 days from Hurghada?
Yes, but it is a full two days. Day one covers Luxor's West Bank and Karnak before an evening train to Aswan, and day two begins very early for Abu Simbel. You see the headline sites of both, but not Aswan's own sights or Luxor Temple.
In return you get Abu Simbel without a separate trip from Aswan, and the train between the cities spares you a second long drive. The ride north ends at Qena, the Nile town where the road east to the Red Sea begins.
Why were the Abu Simbel temples moved?
When the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s, the rising waters of Lake Nasser would have covered both temples. In a UNESCO rescue campaign, engineers cut them into large blocks and rebuilt them on higher ground, inside an artificial hill, keeping their original orientation toward the rising sun.
What is the Abu Simbel Sun Festival?
Twice a year, around February 22 and October 22, the rising sun shines through the entrance of the Great Temple and lights the statues in the inner sanctuary. The god Ptah, linked with the underworld, usually stays in shadow. Crowds are large on those days, so tell us early if your dates match.
How is this different from the Luxor day trip and the other 2-day trips from Hurghada?
Day one matches the Luxor day trip from Hurghada: the West Bank and Karnak. Day two is Abu Simbel. The 2-day Luxor and Aswan trip has the same first day but spends day two at the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae.
The Aswan and Abu Simbel trip drops Luxor's sights and gives Aswan a full afternoon instead. If you have more nights in the south, our Aswan day tours add Philae, a felucca sail or a Nubian village, none of which fit into this trip.
Tour Itinerary
Both days are long: day one has the drive, four Luxor sites and an evening train, and day two has an early start for Abu Simbel and the journey home.
We pick you up from your hotel in Hurghada in a private air-conditioned car and drive west across the Eastern Desert to the Nile Valley. In Luxor your private Egyptologist guide joins you, and you cross to the West Bank, where the sightseeing begins.
Kings of the 18th to 20th dynasties were buried here in tombs cut deep into the hills below a pyramid-shaped peak. About 63 tombs are known, from Tutankhamun's to those of Seti I and the Ramesside kings, and your ticket opens a selection of them.
Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari climbs in three terraces against the cliffs, built for one of the few women to rule Egypt as pharaoh. Nearby, the Colossi of Memnon are two seated statues of Amenhotep III, about 18 meters high, that greeted Greek and Roman visitors.
Lunch is served at a restaurant overlooking the Nile and is included. It is the main break of a long day, between the West Bank in the morning and Karnak in the afternoon, and a good moment to ask your guide questions.
Kings added to Karnak for some two thousand years, honoring Amun, Mut and Khonsu, the gods of Thebes. Your guide takes you through the pylons, the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 columns and the obelisks, and points out the Avenue of Sphinxes that runs toward Luxor Temple.
At the end of the day we drive you to Luxor station for the first-class train south along the Nile. In Aswan our representative meets you at the station and takes you to your 5-star hotel to check in and rest before the early start.
You pick up a breakfast box from the hotel and set off with your private guide for Abu Simbel, far south of Aswan near the Sudanese border on the shore of Lake Nasser. Your guide uses the journey to explain why the temples were built so far from the heart of Egypt.
Ramesses II had two temples cut into the rock here: the Great Temple for himself and the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah, and a smaller one for Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor. Inside the Great Temple, carved scenes show his campaign at the Battle of Kadesh.
Back in Aswan, lunch is served at a local restaurant and is included. Then we take you to the station for the first-class train north to Qena, where a private car meets you for the drive east to your hotel in Hurghada.
What's Included
What the tour price covers, and what to plan for separately.
Paid
★
Your
Own
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about this tour. For anything else, message us on WhatsApp — we reply fast.
It starts at your hotel in Hurghada, where we pick you up on the morning of day one for the drive to Luxor. It ends at the same hotel on the evening of day two, after the train from Aswan to Qena and the drive back to the coast.
The price covers first-class train tickets from Luxor to Aswan and from Aswan to Qena, one night in a 5-star Aswan hotel, a breakfast box on day two, two lunches, a private Egyptologist guide, air-conditioned transfers, entrance fees to all sites in the program, and taxes. Dinner and tips are not included.
Yes. Your guide is private to you and your companions, with no other travelers joining. The per-person price falls as your group grows, because the guide, car and transfer costs are shared, and it changes by season, with higher hotel rates in winter and over Christmas and New Year.
Very early, which is why the hotel gives you a breakfast box instead of a sit-down breakfast. Go to bed soon after you check in on day one, keep your passport with you, and bring a hat, sunscreen and water, since there is little shade in front of the temples.
Yes. Avicon Travel is a Class "A" travel agency licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism under License No. 1962 and registered since 2010. Our office and team are in Karnak, Luxor, so the guides, drivers and cars on this tour are our own local team, not a booking desk abroad.
