Full Day Tour to Abu Simbel Temples from Aswan
Badge of Excellence
Aswan, Egypt
- 10 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
With only one bus a day, getting to the Abu Simbel Temples on public transit is a high-risk approach. Skip the stress without breaking the bank on this affordable shared shuttle service, with an early morning pickup from your Aswan hotel. You’ll have time to explore the temples independently before your driver drops you back at your door.
- See the temples of Ramses II and his queen, Nefertari, in Abu Simbel
- Shuttle service is budget-friendly, compared to private tours
- Small group (maximum 15) means less time spent waiting on other travelers
- Convenient round-trip transfers direct from your Aswan city hotel
What's Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off from Aswan
- Speaking guide (if option selected)
- Driver
- Entrance fees
- Gharb soheil, The island, Nagaa al-Mahatta or New Aswan Pick up/Drop off (10 USD extra per person)
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Operating hours.4:00 am
Itinerary
1
Aswan
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Abu Simbel Temple
2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Aswan
3 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infant seats available
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
4.4
based on 315 reviews
INDERVEER_R, May 2026
Booked tour with no guide
Easy pick up and drop off in shared mini van (clean, modern, spacious, AC)
However additional $10 charge for pick up per person from our hotel in new aswan.
We had 1hr 45 mins to look around which was enough time.
Dominik_S, May 2026
Communication was smooth from start to finish, and everything was well organized. The guide was friendly and knowledgeable, making the visit to Abu Simbel even more enjoyable. The van transfer was comfortable, and the hotel pickup made everything very convenient.
Omkar_D, Apr 2026
Zero star 🌟 for this one. Pick-up 315-345am. They made us wait for 45 mins at some random location. Approx. 7 to 8 hrs total drive and you get to spend just 1 hour in the temple.
Guide gives you all the information for 15 mins outside the temple which i barely understood coz of heavy accent.
They wont even stop for even 15 mins for you to rest or to take quick bites and rush to take you back.
Cab AC was also not working well while coming back.
This tour is simply not worth the time and energy. Choose a tour that allows you to spend at least 2 hrs inside the temple and around the vicinity.
One thing i truly detest about Egypt not just here but mostly all the sightseeing places that they charge for TOILETS!!!
Toilets thats broken and not even maintained well and for such little service, they expect TIPS!!
Sophie_A, Apr 2026
Very well organized tour with a fantastic guide
Left at 3:30 am our guesthouse at elephantine Island (they come to catch you) and returned around 2 pm.
Had several stops during the trip, for toilets and food
Prithwijit_K, Mar 2026
A marvel of engineering and truly an awe inspiring moment for me. Both the temples are brilliant and the ride through the Egyptian desert is an experience too.
ChiHo_C, Mar 2026
Malak is very a good guide, a wonderful trip, comfortable bus and a happy day. The operate is very helpful.
kshitij712, Mar 2026
Mido and Hedra made the tour great today. They communicated well and transfer was smooth. Mido was knowledgeable
GEORGIA_A, Mar 2026
Mustafa is an excellent guide with great knowledge . The tour started on time and Mustafa explained a lot of history during our travel in the bus
Anonymous, Mar 2026
A perfectly organized trip. Everything was precise and on time. The guide was attentive and unobtrusive.
PaulD, Mar 2026
Great tour with Ahmed Achraf and Hazem would recommend to anyone interested in Egyptian history or amazing sights
Etienne_P, Mar 2026
Ahmed abd elwahab was terrific today. Very educated, knowledgeable and friendly. He shared knowledge of Egypttian history and culture very well. Highly recommended!
emre_a, Mar 2026
Ahmed abd elwahab was a great guide. Definetly suggets this tour. They take us from our hotel. It was good trip.
Monica, Feb 2026
They picked me up at 3:30 a.m.
But the checkpoint didn't open until almost 5 a.m.
It was quite chilly, not comfortable weather that early.
The tour guide Wallid gave good explanations.
The driver was careful and courteous.
However, I don't see why it's necessary to go so early. It was crowded even at that hour. Why not sleep in, have breakfast, then go.
This was not Summertime, as I said, it was cold, especially before dawn.
I would do it with a private driver instead.
Tahir_K, Feb 2026
Ahmed Abdul Wahab , our guide, made this trip memorable by talking us in van on the way and letting us enjoy all the important reliefs . Ahmed was courteous to take our pics as professional photographer, had much more than we bargained for .
hyewon_j, Feb 2026
The Abu Simbel tour was a great experience. Our guide, Hedra, made the whole trip smooth and enjoyable.
Patrick_F, Jan 2026
What an extraordinary place to visit. This tour was a very reasonably priced option with a pretty comfortable van for the 6+ hours of driving, great drivers and adequate but hardly outstanding guides. They picked me up on time - a good thing when you are standing outside at 4 in the morning.
Recommended as a viable option.
Adam_M, Jan 2026
Grear work, Waleed Adnan & Krolos. Comfortable drive and informative guide. No issues at all. Would recommend.
ChiHin_C, Jan 2026
Ahmed Sony is our guide today who shared us the details of stories of the temples. It was impressive.
Kresimir_F, Jan 2026
Reading the comments the day before the tour I almost canceled, but didn't because it was too late for the refund. Thank god, this was great tour and nothing was so wrong as other said.
My hotel was on the island and I choosed via whatsapp to come to starting point at 4am for free. Public ferry works all night and it cost 100egp. It took some time to pick up other people, and we got to Abu Simbel at 9:15, bought tickets, entered, got to the temples and there our guide Ahmed talked some 20min. After that we got 1:15 to enter temples and do whatever. It's enough, you can take it slowly.
Long day, but 100% worth it. Don't forget you are going through the desert most of the time, so you have amazing views as well.
I admit, they could be more organized and not send you the messages about pick up at 11pm night before, that was the only problem I had.
Alice_O, Dec 2025
Asked our driver/guide’s WhatsApp number at 10:37 pm. No respnse. Went to bed. Waiting at 3:50 am at the hotel door. Realized that they sent a message at 11:06 pm that the pick up tjme was 3:20. Also realized that they sent a guide texted at 3:21 and 3:24 to inquire our whereabouts. They said they could not return to pick up us. Neither Viator nor the operator were willing to refund us. I explained that they should have called us instead of texting us. We were up and waiting in our room. No explanation other than they tried but we failed to show up. I wish they responded my inquiry by telling me to wait for pickup confirmation and that the driver/guide’s would have called us instead.
Wish they were better at Communication. They asked for copies of passports twice, 10 days apart. Wish they were more organized. .
Hanuman_K, Dec 2025
The drive each way was about 4+ hours. The pick up was well coordinated from our hotel at early morning about 4.30am. I could only wish we start little later to avoid huge crowds at abu simbel, as an hour after the visit when we are exiting we saw no one entering. This could give a better tour experience worth full for 8hr travel. We met the guide directly at the site.
Theofania_T, Dec 2025
Unfortunately, the tour was not well organized. We were informed that the meeting time was 4:00 PM, but the bus arrived at 5:00 PM with no prior communication or explanation. Additionally, the tour was advertised as a small group, but there were more than 20 participants. During the visit, we were given only brief explanations and then left to explore on our own, which did not meet our expectations. Overall, the experience could be improved with better organization, clearer communication, and a more professional approach.
Hasan_T, Dec 2025
The guided tour was not very informative as the guide only told things at the enterence of Abu Simbel and talked very quickly. We highly recommend you to take the non guided tour as the tour only includes taking you to Abu Simbel and then back to Aswan. The bus was old and was not comfortable, also at the website it says that there will be a small group but we travelled with a big bus. The tour started very early around 4 am and we came back around 3 pm, lunch is not included and there was no lunch break. It would be better if the tour started later and include a lunch break because the duration of the tour is very long.
jonathan_w, Dec 2025
Was told to meet at the dock at 345 am. Bus arrives at 4:15 am, with no communication at all. Bus finally leaves at 4:45 am. Only stayed at Abu simble for 1 hour. 8 hour ride for 1 hour activity, not worth it
Jiaxi_S, Dec 2025
I have booked with viator for 40+ times and so far and this is the worst tour I had ever experienced. First, the pickup time was 3:30 and they confirmed it at 23:45 leaving with only 3 hours of sleep. Second, they left me waiting in the lobby until 6:00 in morning, during this time I tried to call and text them for updates and they just keep ignoring them. Third, when we finally reached Abu Simbel only to find out that there was only a 10 minutes explanation by the guide and a mere 45 minutes of free time. Not to mention there is no time for us to buy breakfast and lunch, the guide is a racist, he makes fun of our nationalities, and the bus is shabby with zero leg rooms, also the pit stop they give us is in a middle of nowhere with extremely dirty toilets and overpriced drinks. Finally, After 14 hours of hunger, exhaustion, humiliation and trauma I made a conclusion; DO NOT BOOK YOUR TOUR WITH THEM!!!!!!
Shubha_A, Dec 2025
This might have been the worst experience I’ve ever had in all my travels. Do yourself a favour and avoid this company. Let me just say, we were in a bus for about 14 hours and Abu Simbal for only 1 hour. The people running this have no respect for people’s time. For starters we were told the driver would pick us up at 4:00am and we were instead picked up at 4:40am. You would think we would head straight to Abu Simbal but rather we spent another 2 and a half hours picking up more people. We ended up reaching at 10:30 and only having an hour there. Again, I was told we would be home by 2-3pm as I had booked another tour. Instead we got back at 5pm because 1. They were taking their sweet time dropping people off and 2. One person went to go get McDonald’s that the tour guide accompanied him, while the rest of us waited. Not sure why that was allowed. Also expect to be starving the entire time, they make a stop at a coffee shop on the way but there is no real food anywhere throughout this journey. Abu Simbal itself was amazing but it’s unfortunate that the experience left us frustrated.
Spend the extra and book yourself a private car with the hotel and get there at a good time, spend how much time you want and leave accordingly.
Mark_C, Dec 2025
This was a chaotic experience from start to finish.
Pickup: The bus was 1 hour late with zero heads-up. The provided phone/WhatsApp numbers didn't work, so I was left waiting in the dark with no info. Their excuse was 'every tour is like this today,' which was false as I saw many other buses pass by on time.
The Guide: Far from professional. We got less than 10 minutes of history explanation, no warning about the massive ticket queue, and were mostly left on our own.
Safety Risk: The scariest part was returning to the bus. I asked the driver if it was the 'Nice Tour' bus, and he said NO. I only got on because I recognized other passengers inside. If I hadn't, I might have been stranded.
Despite this mess, the 'guide' still had the audacity to ask for tips. I cannot recommend this operator.
YAJHEN_L, Dec 2025
I recommend Mustafa and Maro. Both of them are always taking care of everyone. I’m enjoy this trip!!!Nice trip!!!!!
DanielZoltan_S, Dec 2025
The tour was good, but we should have had at least half an hour more at the temples (we had 90 minutes), so there was no time to look around properly or sit down. It was unpleasant that the tour guide came over to me on the spot, before the return journey, and wanted me to fill out this review form right there and then. I think it was too early for that. The 10-minutes-stop during the return journey was also only 8 minutes long...
Diyang_L, Dec 2025
Mustafa is a friendly and knowledgable guide, we got picked up at a spot closer to our hotel (not listed on the website) and we got dropped off near Philae Temple, which helped a lot.
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