Tour Overview
This private 2-day trip from Marsa Alam covers the two main cities of the Nile Valley's south. On day one a car takes you across the desert to Luxor for the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak, and in the evening the first-class train carries you to Aswan and a 5-star hotel. On day two your guide shows you the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple before lunch and the drive back to the coast.
Tour Highlights
- See Luxor and Aswan in one trip as a loop: you start in Luxor, ride the train south and come home by road from Aswan.
- Visit the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings and the terraced temple of Hatshepsut on Luxor's West Bank on the first morning.
- Walk through Karnak's hypostyle hall after a Nile-view lunch, then take the first-class train along the river to Aswan for the night.
- Stand on the Aswan High Dam above Lake Nasser and see the cracked Unfinished Obelisk still lying in its ancient granite quarry.
- Cross by boat to Philae, the island temple of Isis, rescued from the rising Nile and rebuilt stone by stone on Agilkia Island.
Tour Route
Is Luxor and Aswan in 2 days from Marsa Alam too rushed?
It is busy but workable. You see the main West Bank sites and Karnak in Luxor, and the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae in Aswan. You miss Luxor Temple, Abu Simbel and a felucca sail, but you get a clear first look at both cities in a short trip.
How does the train fit into this trip?
The first-class train is the link between the two cities. You reach Luxor by car, take the train south to Aswan in the evening, and come home by car from Aswan on day two. The train saves a second long drive on day one, so you arrive in Aswan rested for the next morning.
First-class seats are reserved and roomy, and the line follows the Nile, so try to sit by a window if you travel while it is still light.
What makes Aswan different from Luxor?
Luxor is the city of royal tombs and huge temples, while Aswan is smaller and quieter, set among granite islands at the edge of Nubia. Its sights mix the ancient, like Philae and the quarries, with the modern story of the High Dam and Lake Nasser.
How is this different from the other 2-day trips from Marsa Alam?
The 2-day Luxor and Abu Simbel trip has the same first day but spends day two at Abu Simbel instead of Aswan's sights. The 2-day Aswan and Abu Simbel trip skips Luxor, drives straight to Aswan and pairs its sights with Abu Simbel.
If you prefer more time in Luxor itself, the 2-day Luxor trip adds Luxor Temple and the Karnak Sound and Light Show. For longer stays, browse our Aswan day tours.
Tour Itinerary
Day one is the longer day, with the drive, four Luxor sites and the evening train; day two is a morning of Aswan sights followed by lunch and the road home.
A private, modern air-conditioned car collects you from your hotel in Marsa Alam and drives inland across the Eastern Desert to the Nile Valley. In Luxor your private Egyptologist guide joins you, and you begin on the West Bank, where the pharaohs built their tombs and mortuary temples.
Over about 500 years, from the 18th to the 20th dynasty, Egypt's kings were buried here in some 63 known tombs cut into the rock. Long corridors lead down to burial chambers painted with scenes of the sun's journey through the night. Your ticket includes a selection of open tombs.
Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahari, from the 15th century BC, is set in terraces against the cliffs and is one of the finest buildings of the New Kingdom. Nearby stand the Colossi of Memnon, statues of Amenhotep III that Greek and Roman visitors named after a hero of the Trojan War.
Lunch is included at an oriental-style restaurant with a view over the Nile. It is the main break of the day, between the West Bank tombs and the temple visit in the afternoon, and a chance to rest before the train.
Karnak, the house of Amun, grew for some two thousand years as each ruler added gateways, halls and obelisks. Your guide walks you through the great hypostyle hall, past the obelisk of Hatshepsut and toward the sacred lake, and explains how the Avenue of Sphinxes linked Karnak to Luxor Temple.
From Karnak we take you to Luxor station for the first-class train south along the Nile. On arrival in Aswan you are transferred straight to your 5-star hotel to check in and spend the night. The ticket is included in the price.
After breakfast your guide picks you up at the hotel. You start at the High Dam, completed in 1970, which created Lake Nasser and ended the yearly Nile flood. Then you visit the Unfinished Obelisk, a giant shaft of granite abandoned in its quarry when it cracked.
A short boat ride takes you to Agilkia Island and the temple of Isis at Philae, built mostly under the Ptolemies. Its walls show Isis restoring Osiris to life and giving birth to Horus. The temple was one of the last places where the old Egyptian gods were worshipped.
Your second included lunch is at a restaurant in Aswan. Then your private car drives you back across the desert to your hotel in Marsa Alam, where the trip ends. The return is entirely by road, with no second train.
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 Marsa Alam, where a private car picks you up on day one for the drive to Luxor. It ends at the same hotel on day two, after the Aswan sights, lunch and the road journey back across the desert to the coast.
The price includes the first-class train ticket from Luxor to Aswan, one night in a 5-star hotel in Aswan with breakfast, two lunches, a private Egyptologist guide on both days, air-conditioned transfers, entrance fees to all sites in the program, and taxes. Dinner, drinks and tips are not included.
Yes. Your guide and car are reserved for you and the people you travel with. The per-person price falls as the group gets bigger, because guide, car and transfer costs are shared, and it changes by season, with higher hotel and train costs in winter and over the holidays.
Not on these two days, because Abu Simbel takes most of a morning from Aswan. If it matters to you, choose our 2-day Luxor and Abu Simbel trip or the 2-day Aswan and Abu Simbel trip from Marsa Alam instead.
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.
