Tour Overview
This private day trip takes you from Cairo to the temples of Abu Simbel and back in one day. You fly from Cairo to Aswan in the morning, meet your Egyptologist guide and travel south by private air-conditioned car to the two rock-cut temples of Ramses II near the Sudanese border. After lunch in Aswan you fly back to Cairo. Flights, guide, car, water and entrance fees are included.
Tour Highlights
- See the four seated colossi of Ramses II, each about 20 meters tall, cut straight out of the sandstone cliff above Lake Nasser.
- Walk into the Great Temple, where reliefs show the king's chariot charge at the Battle of Kadesh against the Hittites.
- Visit the smaller temple Ramses dedicated to Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor, one of the rare temples fronted by statues of a queen.
- Learn how a UNESCO-led campaign in the 1960s cut both temples into blocks and rebuilt them on higher ground, away from the rising lake.
- Do the whole trip in one day with a flight each way between Cairo and Aswan, and sleep in your own Cairo hotel that night.
Tour Route
Can you visit Abu Simbel in a day from Cairo?
Yes. You fly from Cairo to Aswan, travel by private car to Abu Simbel, return to Aswan for lunch and fly back the same day. It is one of Egypt's longest day trips, so it suits travelers who are based in Cairo, short on time and set on seeing these temples.
Why did Ramses II build the temples at Abu Simbel?
To show his power at the southern edge of Egypt. Anyone arriving from Nubia by river met four giant images of the king carved into the cliff. The temples also celebrated his campaign at Kadesh and honored the gods Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty and Ptah, and his queen, Nefertari.
The temples were cut so that, twice a year, the rising sun shines through the entrance and lights the statues at the back of the sanctuary. After the 1960s move, this still happens around 22 February and 22 October, and those mornings draw large crowds.
How does this compare with the 2-day Aswan and Abu Simbel trip?
This trip covers only Abu Simbel and has you back in Cairo the same night. The 2-day trip from Cairo adds a night in a 5-star Aswan hotel, the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple, so the travel time is spread over more sights and a calmer pace.
What else can you see around Aswan?
If you can stay a night, our Aswan day tours include a felucca ride on the Nile and a visit to a Nubian village. Travelers already in the south can book the private Abu Simbel tour from Aswan without the flights.
Tour Itinerary
This is a long day for one site: two flights plus a desert road there and back, all for Egypt's most striking temple facade.
In the morning a driver picks you up from your hotel in Cairo or Giza and takes you to Cairo Airport for the domestic flight to Aswan. On arrival, your private Egyptologist guide meets you at the airport, ready to start the journey south.
You travel with your guide in a modern private air-conditioned car through the Nubian desert toward the shore of Lake Nasser. It is a long drive across open, empty country, and your guide uses the time to explain the history of Nubia and of Ramses II before you reach the temples.
Ramses II had this temple carved into the cliff around the 13th century BC to honor Amun-Ra, Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and his own deified self. Four colossal statues of the king guard the entrance, and inside, the reliefs of the Battle of Kadesh run along the walls of the main hall.
Beside the Great Temple stands a smaller one for Queen Nefertari, his favorite wife, and the goddess Hathor. Its facade has six standing statues, four of the king and two of the queen, all the same height, a rare honor in Egyptian art. Around 22 February and 22 October the sunrise reaches the inner sanctuary of the Great Temple.
You drive back north to Aswan for lunch. Aswan is a quieter, slower city than Cairo, with granite islands in the river and feluccas under white sails, and the meal gives you a chance to see a little of it before your flight.
After lunch you transfer to Aswan Airport for the flight back to Cairo. A driver meets you on arrival and takes you to your hotel in Cairo or Giza, closing a full day that covers well over a thousand kilometers.
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 Cairo or Giza, where a driver picks you up in the morning for Cairo Airport. Pickup from downtown Cairo and the Giza area is included, and other areas can be arranged for an extra charge. At the end of the day you are dropped back at your hotel.
The price includes return flights between Cairo and Aswan, a private Egyptologist guide, a private air-conditioned car for the road to Abu Simbel and all transfers, mineral water in the car, the Abu Simbel entrance fees, lunch in Aswan, and all taxes and service charges. Tips are not included.
Yes. The guide and car are only for you and your group. The per-person price falls as more people share the car and guide, and it changes with the season, because domestic airfares to Aswan are higher in the busy winter months and over Christmas and New Year.
You can ask for it. Around 22 February and 22 October the sunrise lights the inner sanctuary, and flights and roads are very busy. Seeing the sunrise itself depends on reaching the temple before dawn, so tell us early and we will check what is possible for your date.
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.
