How to Visit Abu Simbel: Everything You Need to Know (2026) 

Egypt is filled with incredible sites that constantly compete for your attention. From the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, to Karnak Temple in Luxor, a Nile cruise through ancient temples, the desert oasis of Siwa, and of course Abu Simbel, there is no shortage of history and unforgettable experiences.

We spent close to a month travelling through Egypt, and one of the questions we kept hearing was how best to visit Abu Simbel. Its remote location in the far south of the country means a long journey, with roughly a 7 hour round trip from Aswan and a fair distance from most of Egypt’s other major temple sites. So in this guide, we’ll help you decide the best way to approach it.

We’ll also cover whether Abu Simbel is actually worth the long journey, the different ways you can visit depending on your travel style, and our personal recommendations on how to make the most of the experience, along with practical tips to help you plan it properly.

Is Abu Simbel Worth Visiting

When we were planning our trip to Egypt, Abu Simbel was one of the places we were very excited about. But once we finally visited… did it live up to the hype?

For us, it was a bit of a yes and no.

On one hand, the four massive statues of Ramses II at the entrance are undeniably impressive. Seeing them in person is one of those moments that really reminds you just how incredible ancient Egypt was. It’s iconic for a reason.

On the other hand, we personally found the overall site smaller than expected, and the interiors of the temples didn’t stand out as much compared to others we had seen in Egypt. Even though we arrived very early, it was also shockingly crowded, which took away from the experience.

With that said, this is one of those places that really depends on your travel style and priorities. If you’re short on time, you might get more value by spending extra days in Luxor or cruising the Nile, where there’s a higher concentration of temples and experiences.

But do we regret going? Not at all. Those towering statues are truly unique, and it’s still a memorable stop.

If you do decide to visit, we’d recommend rethinking the typical rushed day trip.

Below, we’ll share the four different ways to visit Abu Simbel, and ultimately how we chose to experience Abu Simbel in a way that made it feel much more worthwhile.

Best Ways to Visit Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel sits way down at the southern tip of Egypt, just a short distance from the Sudanese border.

From Aswan, it’s about a 3.5 hour drive through the desert to reach.

If you’re not up for the long road trip, there’s also a small domestic airport at Abu Simbel with direct flights only from Aswan that can get you there much faster.

There’s also a customized route tour that we decided to take where we had our own private guide and driver, and spent 1 night in Abu Simbel before visiting the temple early in the morning.

Finally, if you’re after the most relaxing and luxurious option, you can take a 4-5 day Lake Nasser cruise bringing you from Aswan, through multiple Wadis, to reach Abu Simbel. 

Below, we’ll break down these four main ways to visit Abu Simbel and help you figure out which one fits best into your Egypt itinerary.

Summary of the Best Ways to Visit Abu Simbel

Option 1: Abu Simbel Day Trip by Car

Doing a day trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan is by far the most common option. Most travelers only have a single day free after their Nile cruise before needing to make their way back to Cairo, so this quick visit fits perfectly into their schedule. It does, however, come with an early start.

Most of these tours schedule pickup in Aswan at 4am to begin the 3.5 hour drive through the desert and arrive at Abu Simbel by sunrise.

Once there, you’ll typically have about two hours to explore the temples before making the return journey to Aswan, bringing the total tour time to roughly 10 hours. If you prefer going at a more comfortable pace and having more time to explore Abu Simbel, we would recommend doing an Abu Simbel Private Day Trip tour, where the total tour duration is 15 hours. 

Most of the other guests that were on the Dahabiya with us did the day trip option, and I think we were the only ones to decide to customize our visit and spend a night in Abu Simbel. 

Option 2: Abu Simbel Day trip by Round Trip Flight

If you want to skip the 3.5 hour drive to reach Abu Simbel, there is an option where you take a direct flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel which takes about 45 minutes only. However, the flights typically cost 125-200 USD per person each way, significantly increasing the cost of your day trip.  

Option 3: Overnight trip to Abu Simbel (How we did it)

We visited Abu Simbel on a customized tour as part of our overall Egypt Itinerary. Instead of just doing it as a day trip, we decided to spend a night in Abu Simbel, and then wake up early the next day to visit the temples. This helped us avoid packing in 7 hours of driving in one day from Aswan, and allowed us to be at Abu Simbel even before sunrise.

We’ll share more details of how we did it in the section below.

Option 4: Lake Nasser Cruise to Abu Simbel

The final option, and one that rarely gets talked about, is a Lake Nasser cruise. These multi day journeys depart from Aswan and slowly make their way across the lake over 4 to 5 days, stopping at remote wadis along the way before finishing at Abu Simbel.

They are far less popular than the classic Nile cruises, but honestly, that is part of the appeal. You will visit sites that most travelers never even hear about, including temples like the Temple of Amada, the Temple of Wadi El Sebua, and the Kalabsha Temple.

If the idea of exploring incredible Egyptian temples without the crowds sounds like your kind of experience, this is easily one of the most unique ways to do it.

There seems to be only 3 ships that sail this route, including the Movenpick Prince Abbas Lake Cruise, Steinberger Omar El Khayam Lake Cruise, and Ms Nubian Sea Lake Nasser Cruise.

How We Would Recommend Visiting Abu Simbel Instead

If you have the flexibility of time, we would highly recommend either doing the Lake Nasser cruise, or doing a customized experience like we did where we spent 1 night in Abu Simbel before visiting the Abu Simbel Temples. We booked with Oriental Tours Egypt.

Itinerary of Customized Abu Simble Overnight Tour

After disembarking from our Dahabiya Nile Cruise, we spent the afternoon exploring Aswan before making the 3.5 hour drive to reach Abu Simbel.

We arrived in Abu Simbel in the late afternoon and spent the rest of the day unwinding at the beautiful Eskaleh Eco Lodge, where we stayed for the night. We instantly fell in love with the architecture, and after chatting with the owner, learned that he and his family built the entire place by hand using natural materials from the surrounding area.

There’s also a small restaurant on site, and we ended the day sharing stories with our guide over dinner before heading outside to stare up at a sky full of stars.

Then the next morning, we woke up at around 6am to make the short 10 minute drive to Abu Simbel We got there even before sunrise and were able to appreciate the splendour of the site before too much of the crowds arrived. 

Where to Stay in Abu Simbel

For your one night stay in Abu Simbel, we would highly recommend checking out Eskaleh Eco-Lodge, but if you’re after something more luxurious you can stay at New Abu Simbel Tourist Hotel, or for something more simple, you can stay at Wawat Guesthouse.

Review of Abu Simbel Temple Experience

• Opening Hour: 6:00AM to 5:00PM
• Ticket Price: 750 EGP for adults (1200 EGP February 22nd & October 22nd during the solstice)
• Time needed: 1-2 hours

If you’re thinking about visiting Abu Simbel from Aswan and want a clearer idea of what to expect, we’ll walk you through our experience below.

We’ll cover the three main highlights: sunrise at the site, the main temple with its four massive statues, and the Temple of Nefertari.

Part 1: Sunrise at Abu Simbel

We visited in October, when sunrise was around 6:35am. We arrived at about 6:15am and got to experience the magic as the first light slowly illuminated the massive statues of Ramses II.

This ended up being our favourite part of the entire experience. During those early moments, the crowds were still relatively light, and standing in front of the towering statues without too many people around really gave us a true sense of their scale and grandeur.

In our opinion, the best time at Abu Simbel is the short window from about 10 minutes before to 10 minutes after sunrise. The atmosphere changes quickly, and so do the crowds. We’ll share photos below to show just how dramatic the difference was between 6:27am and 6:53am.

If you’re planning a visit, we highly recommend arriving before sunrise. Those first 20 to 30 minutes are easily the highlight of the entire experience.

Part 2: Abu Simbel Main Temple

The main temple of Abu Simbel is is the reason most people make the journey.

Guarding the entrance are the four towering statues of Ramses II, each carved directly into the mountainside and standing over 20 meters tall. What makes this site especially fascinating is that it wasn’t originally located here.

In 1968, the entire temple was carefully cut into massive blocks and relocated piece by piece to higher ground to save it from flooding during the construction of the Aswan High Dam. It’s one of the most impressive archaeological rescue projects ever completed. I can’t even fathom how challenging it must have been, making sure that each piece fit in the right spot, orientation, and relative position.

Spend some time taking in the front façade before heading inside. The temple was designed to showcase the power of Ramses II, with detailed carvings depicting his military victories. Deeper within, the inner sanctuary aligns with the sun in a way that twice a year, sunlight reaches all the way inside to illuminate statues of the gods and Ramses himself.

With that said though, the interior is relatively compact, and by the time we entered, it was completely packed shoulder to shoulder with other visitors. It made it a bit harder to fully take in the details and atmosphere, especially compared to the quiet, awe-inspiring feeling we had outside.

Part 3: Temple of Nefertari

Right next to the main temple is the Temple of Nefertari, dedicated to Ramses II’s wife, Queen Nefertari, and the goddess Hathor. The façade is elegant, with statues of both Ramses II and Nefertari carved into the rock, which is quite unique as queens were rarely depicted on the same scale as pharaohs.

However, compared to the main temple, we personally found it far less impressive. The façade is nice, but it doesn’t have the same awe-inspiring presence as the massive statues next door. Inside, the temple is also smaller and lacks the towering statues you’ll find in the main hall, making it feel less memorable.

Best Day Tours to Abu Simbel

If a day tour is the best option for your visit to Abu Simbel from Aswan, we’ve highlighted two of the best choices below: one shared tour and one private tour.

Overall, we’d personally recommend going with a private tour. It gives you much more flexibility with timing, the freedom to explore at your own pace, and a more comfortable experience without being tightly packed in with larger groups of tourists.

Abu Simbel Shared Day Tour

This is a 10 hour tour departing at 4am from Aswan. This should bring you to Abu Simbel right after sunrise. The drive takes about 3.5 hours each way and you’ll be spending about 2 hours at the temple site.

Abu Simbel Private Day Tour

This is a 15 hour private tour option. Since it is a private tour, you have more flexibility with regards to departing earlier in case you want to make sure to arrive before sunrise, like we did.

Private customized Tour (like we did)

We booked this as part of our customized Egypt itinerary, which also included a Dahabiya cruise, Cairo, Luxor, Aswan, and Siwa Oasis. If you’d like to arrange something similar, you can reach out to Noha from Oriental Tours Egypt and mention Ryan from WaylessTravelers. They’ll know exactly which itinerary to put together for you, and you’ll also get a 5% discount by mentioning us!

Where to Stay in Abu Simbel

If you’re planning on spending a night in Abu Simbel like we did, we would highly recommend checking out Eskaleh Eco-Lodge. It has an undeniable Nubian charm and was built by hand by the owner’s family using local and nature resources. The family is also lovely and we felt immediately at home. 

If you’re after something more luxurious, you can also take a look at New Abu Simbel Tourist Hotel, or for something more simple, you can stay at Wawat Guesthouse.

This post is part of our series about Egypt. If you want to learn more about the traveling in Egypt including itineraries, travel tips, recommended activities and more, check the guides below:

Is Siwa Oasis Worth Visiting? An Honest Review + Best Things to Do

Best Egypt Nile Cruise: Sailing on the Dahabiya Amoura

14 Unique Things to Do in Luxor: Complete 4-Day Itinerary

FAQ

How far is Abu Simbel from Aswan?

Abu Simbel is located around 290km south of Aswan. Reaching Abu Simble by car requires a 3.5 hours drive each way from Aswan. Alternatively, you can take a direct flight from Aswan which takes around 45 minutes.

Can you visit Abu Simbel without a tour?

Yes, you can but we would recommend just booking a tour to simplify the logistics. Otherwise, you would need to arrange your transport from Aswan to Abu Simbel, your night hotel, your tour to Abu Simbel, and your return transport back to Aswan.

What time should you arrive at Abu Simbel?

We highly recommend arriving as early as possible, ideally 15-20 minutes before sunrise. Make sure to check what time the sunrise is at Abu Simbel depending on the month that you’ll be visiting. For example, in October when we visited, the sun rises at about 6:40am. We arrived at 6:20am and got to enjoy the site before the crowds arrived.

How long do you need at Abu Simbel?

We recommend spending about 1-2 hours there.

Is it better to fly or drive to Abu Simbel?

If you have the budget, you can fly, but overall I think the more affordable and best option is to drive. In any case, if you fly, the flight takes 45 minutes but you need to be at the airport 2 hours ahead of time, so in total it will take 3 hours. Whereas driving takes around 3.5 hours, so the time savings isn’t huge, it is just likely more comfortable than driving through the desert.

What to do After Abu Simbel

After visiting Abu Simbel, you’ll need to make your way back to Aswan. Most people return the same way they came either via the 3.5 hour desert drive or a quick 30 minute flight.

Best Things to do in Aswan

Once you’re back in Aswan, we recommend spending a day or two to explore the local sights. This area has a completely different feel compared to the rest of Egypt, where you can make day trips to visit the colorful Nubian villages, enjoy laid-back Nile views on a Felucca Ride, watch a sound and light show at Philae Temple, and visit the fascinating unfinished obelisk.

We really enjoyed visiting the obelisk because it gives you a real sense of how it was carved directly from the stone, and honestly puts into question how something like this was even possible.

Nile Cruise Aswan to Luxor

After Aswan, you’ll then continue heading north. One of the absolute must-do experiences is taking a Nile cruise, like this 4-day Aswan-Luxor Nile Cruise. We did a traditional dahabiya cruise between Luxor and Aswan, and it ended up being one of our favourite experiences in all of Egypt. If you’re after something authentic and exclusive like that, take a look at this Aswan to Luxor Dahabiya Cruise or you can check out our Nile Dahabiya Cruise Review Guide. 

If you’ve already done a Nile cruise on the way down, then the easiest option is simply to catch a flight back to Cairo, which is what we did.

Using WISE card in Egypt

When taking cash out of an ATM while abroad, you will most likely be charged both a foreign exchange fee and a foreign transaction fee by that country’s ATM. With my Canadian card, this can easily be 3-4$ + 2.75% + a markup on the exchange rate charged by my bank, and then another 3-5$ charged by the foreign ATM.

This can be really costly. For this reason, we recommend using WISE card which has only minimal fees and just about no foreign currency exchange markup. This helps me save at least 5-7$ every time I take out money from an ATM. If you want to see our full review of the card showing exactly how WISE can help you save, check out our WISE Travel card Review post.

Conclusion: How to Visit Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel is one of those places that sits right on the edge between “worth visiting” and “maybe not essential,” depending on the kind of traveller you are and how much time you have in Egypt.

For us, it wasn’t the most impressive temple complex we saw in Egypt, but it was still a memorable experience, especially standing in front of those towering statues at sunrise. That moment alone made the long journey feel worthwhile.

If you’re short on time, a day trip from Aswan is the most practical way to visit and still gives you a good taste of the site. If you prefer a more comfortable and meaningful experience, the overnight stay is what we did and what we’d personally recommend. And if you’re after something truly unique and slow-paced, the Lake Nasser cruise offers an entirely different side of Egypt that most travellers never get to see.

Hopefully this guide has helped you decide if Abu Simbel is right for you and to choose the version of the experience that best fits your trip.

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