Private 2-Day Overland Aswan and Abu Simbel Tour from Luxor with Overnight Accommodation

Day 1: Luxor - Aswan (L)

Meet your guide at your Luxor hotel at 7am, and begin your roughly 2-hour journey to Edfu by private, air-conditioned Car. Follow the Nile River valley, and hear about Egypt’s ancient history on route. On arrival, explore Edfu Temple with your guide, seeing its well-preserved courtyards, sanctuaries, and Birth House dedicated to the falcon-headed god, Horus, built between 237-57 BC. Continue to Kom Ombo, a double-temple dedicated to Horus and the crocodile god, Sobek dates back to the greco-Roman period in Egypt.

Head to Aswan and the Temple of Philae, set on an island in the Nile. Admire the pylons, kiosks, and chapels of the temple as your guide explains how it was built during Ptolemaic and Roman times.

Afterward, savor lunch at a local restaurant, and transfer to your comfortable Aswan hotel, enjoying the evening independently.

Overnight: 5-star Helnan Aswan Hotel

Day 2: Aswan – Abu Simbel – Luxor (B, L)

Early in the early morning at 04:30, collect a boxed hotel breakfast and board your air-conditioned vehicle with your guide for your roughly 3-hour journey Abu Simbel.

On route, hear background to Abu Simbel’s two temples: the Great Temple of Ramses II and smaller Temple of Hathor, both built in the 13th century BC. Learn about the UNESCO project that relocated them both to Lake Nasser in 1968, a move prompted by the building of the Aswan High Dam. Arrive and marvel at the lakeside temples, fronted by vast statues of Ramses II and his wife Nefertari. Hear about the temples’ history, interiors, and relocation project, and look around inside (guides not permitted inside).

Next, drive back to Aswan, and after viewing the Aswan High Dam, completed in 1970 to help prevent the Nile flooding, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before returning to Luxor by air conditioned seated Train (almost 3 hours drive), Finishing with a late afternoon or evening hotel drop-off.