Private Tour: Abu Simbel by Minibus from Aswan

Aswan, Egypt

See the magnificent temples of Abu Simbel on a minibus tour from Aswan. With a qualified Egyptologist as your guide, you'll enjoy a personalized visit to Abu Simbel on this private tour. With its four rock-hewn pharaohs, you'll agree that the Great Temple is one of the most impressive sites in Egypt, and the highlight of any trip to Egypt.

On the short walk to the temple entrances, your guide will explain the history of the site, including details of the UNESCO-led relocation of the entire cliff face to higher ground, and how the temples were discovered by accident in 1813. Due to the large number of visitors to Abu Simbel, guides are not permitted inside either the Great Temple of Ramses II or the smaller Temple of Hathor. However, by using photos and illustrations, your guide will explain to you the structures and their interior artworks. You will then have free time to enter the temples and explore them at your leisure.

As one of the few ancient Egyptian sites which largely escaped damage by past invaders, the interiors of Abu Simbel's temples are astounding. The scale of the buildings and their detailed decoration leaves most visitors in awe. The temples' attraction is further enhanced by their scenic location on the edge of Lake Nasser in the orange sands of the desert.

After visiting the temples there may be time for a short visit to the small visitor's center which documents the UNESCO relocation project, before returning to the minibus for the drive back to Aswan. The drive is approximately three hours each way.

USD $103.00

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Ronald M	September 2011
The local agency met us at our boat when we arrived in Aswan and made arrangements to met us the next day at 3:45 am. The boat provided a box breakfast and coffee/tea. My son and I were the only participants, so we basically had a private tour. We went in a car with driver and guide. Abu Simbel is well worth the long drive and early morning departure. Afterwards they took us to our hotel in Aswan and arranged for transportation to the airport the next morning. Very impressed with the service and highly recommend the tour.

Review by: Jeff O	December 2010
Excellent and efficient - guide included. A personal tour, all excellent.

Review by: GLORIA V	December 2010
On time and as advertised, would love to have more time at the temples but the tour guide wanted to go to the papyrus shops which i didn't want to go to. So we just waited for a while until the convoy was ready to go. Overall, a good experience

Review by: jorn r	November 2010
Overall a good tour - the guide was excellent, the vehicle was comfortable and the on-board ice-box was appreciated. The second half of the return trip in darkness was a bit hairy since the driver was reluctant to use his headlights!

Review by: Joanna O	November 2010
Guide was wonderful, and we enjoyed the trip. Our driver was a little crazy, but we made it there and back just fine.

Review by: Lesley M	November 2010
Tour went well, a bit rushed at the site however. Guide should stay with customer longer I feel. Generally good.

Review by: Raymond G	October 2010
We had a great day with Mark and the drivers. Mark is a wonderful young man, well-educated in Egyptology and a lot of fun! We were amazed at the size and color of the Temples. We dare you to find the seams where modern work moved the Temples to above the dam! The convoy was a problem - they were very disorganized & wasted a lot time making the convoy turn around to start another way. We were so delayed that we only had about 1:15 to see the Temples. Mark made a yeoman's effort to give us all the info we needed in the Temples. Folks, the problem is w the gov't convoy system - NOT with Viator. DON'T MISS these wonderful Temples because of the convoy. We suspect that some days it'd work great & others it'd have problems. An additional idea - try to get to the Nubian Museum - these people were displaced as were the Temples by the dam & their story is amazing. Just above the museum is Nubian House. Whether you stop there for the hibiscus drinks, tea, cakes & fried doughnuts which were great or just get near there, the view is the most beautiful we saw in Egypt. We got there because of a taxi driver we hired to take us to the Museum. In Luxor Viator had told us not to miss the Aswan sunset - we merely mentioned it & the driver zoomed up to the House. At first we felt a little hijacked, not surprising in Egypt - the cabbies are trying to make extra money in a poor economy - be firm if you don't want something - but this time it was a gift!

Review by: Geoffrey M	October 2010
absolutely brlliant. the trip, although long, was very comfortable with just the two of us..the actual time for looking at the temples was only one hour. i thought that was not enough time to see them.i was aware that we had to go in convoy but i felt we could have gone an hour later.

Review by: Kathleen P	September 2010
Visiting the temple rates a 6 star, but transit & content rate a 3-4. The guide was very helpful and well informed, but it would have been better facilitation to provide content during other opportunities, not when standing in full 107 degree sun for 20 minutes to go over details. If we had known about return options we would have elected gettting an earlier convoy for the return journey. However we had a great guide, willing to help with photos and anything we asked. The 4am, 4 hour trek through the desert would have been much better in an a/c spacious bus than our little fur-rugged, windows opened and 3 guys sleeping small van. But the driver was very nice.

Review by: Laura R, Mexico	May 2010
The trip was great, the way is kind of long but you may get see a lot of camels on the road. We went to the tour at 1130pm it was nice because we had the temples to our selves. If you can stand a little heat then I would recommend going at this time, you get to see the sunset on the way back. The guy who arranged the tour with the guide was very nice, he also helped me confirm the tours I had in Luxor and Cairo.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2010
Very good service. The local travel agency was VERY attentive in assuring that all of the arrnagements were in place and understood. A representative came to our boat the day bedfore to meet with me. Greatly appreciated. That being said, the guide who traveled to Aswan with us was essentially useless. Spent most of the time in the van on her cell phone had only the most elementary knowldege of the site, with a folio of photographs to show but inability to answer even the most basic questions. Would have been happier to just have the drivers on the trip.

Review by: Sean F	May 2010
While Abu Simbel was fantastic and is a must see, the six hour drive (3 hrs there, 3 hrs back) seemed excessive for the short time you are actually at the temple.

Review by: Heather H	May 2010
Abu Simbel was great. The guide was ok, but considering we spent hours with her, she gave us a 10 minute briefing we could have gotten from any tour book and that was it. They were gracious enough not to insist we stop at the Papyrus factory on the way back. It's a long drive, and while the private car was nice, we could have gotten one with a guide through our hotel for the same price that we paid for 1 person with Viator. We were concerned we wouldn't be able to get a tour for all 4 of us on the 1 day we were in Aswan, but once we arrived, it was clear we would have had no issues finding an alternative tour for much cheaper.

Review by: Juan Jose G	May 2010
The trip was great, the way is kind of long but you may get see a lot of camels on the road. We went to the tour at 1130pm it was nice because we had the temples to our selves. If you can stand a little heat then I would recommend going at this time, you get to see the sunset on the way back. The guy who arranged the tour with the guide was very nice, he also helped me confirm the tours I had in Luxor and Cairo.

Review by: John S, Australia	April 2010
Excellent organisation and ran without a hitch!

Review by: Anonymous	April 2010
Abu Simbel is amazing. A must-see for anyone traveling to Egypt. I was not impressed with the guide at all. We were with him for 8 hours and he gave us a 10 minute overview of Abu Simbel. I learned more by reading my guide book. Also, the second driver in the van entitled himself to take an entire row of seats to sleep during the trip down while one of our group members was forced to sit up in a sit for a 3 12 hour pre-dawn trip. I would not recommend the local tour company for anything....

Review by: Tessa D, United Kingdom	March 2010
This was a great experience and well woth the long bus trip. Our delightful guide made the whole journey interesting.

Review by: Arthur B, United Kingdom	February 2010
Comfortable minibus, good driver and guide, sleeping policeman a doddle of a day for security duty! View of quarry with unfinished obelisk. Road across old dam with high dam in the distance, mirages in the desert. Would like to have had more time on the display of the project to move the temples.

Review by: iain m, United Kingdom	January 2010
Honestly an excellent tour, the highlight of my trip to Egypt. A clean, safe bus and wonderful insightful guide. A brilliant day and organised with no trouble at all, which isn't always easy in Egypt despite it being an incredible place.

Review by: Stephen R, Qatar	January 2010
Despite the early morning off-boarding from the cruise ship, the trip was amazing and definitely worth doing.... once in a lifetime. You can't avoid the 6 hours total travel tofrom unless you fly but there again, the cost would have been three times as much. Take a pillow for the vanbus ride if you can. My only recommendation to the vendor was to provide more clearly defined instructions for cruise passengers on what do to with their luggage while on this excursion, when we get back, what to do after the trip if you have a later train or flight to Cairo or elsewhere. We got all of this information but it was pieced together and took some work to do so. All in all, this was a great adventure and worth the time and money to see this spectacular monument....truly breathtaking!

Review by: Iain M	January 2010
Honestly an excellent tour, the highlight of my trip to Egypt. A clean, safe bus and wonderful insightful guide. A brilliant day and organised with no trouble at all, which isn't always easy in Egypt despite it being an incredible place.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	October 2009
The highlight of the trip, well worth the journey.

Review by: Anonymous	September 2009
The car was old and not maintained properly, we blew a tire on the way. The driver drove on the wrong side of the road the whole trip going 150 km/hour. It was dangerous. They made us stop for a cigarette break. The guide was not useful and whole 'tour' took 5 minutes with poor explanation. It is shame such a magnificent place was let down by a badly organized tour. I would not recommend anyone use these services, which is a shame because I live in Dubai and all of my work colleagues travel withing the middle east a lot.

Review by: William Z, United States of America	April 2009
This trip was a long haul on the van, but we were happy to have a private tour with only the two of us. Our guide was personable, but somewhat wooden. No photos in the temple, which is unfortunate, but some good photos sold. Incredible temples, both Ramses and Nefertari. The time at temples is limited, 2 hours, so it is somewhat rushed, especially after a 3 hour drive. Beautiful sunrise in the desert. Definitely worth the time and effort.

Review by: Anonymous, United Kingdom	April 2009
Trip was fine and the actual site was fantastic, however, I believe for what is provided the tour is very overpriced. The transfer is long however and guides are not allowed in the temple itself, therefore guides travel the 6 hour return journey to speak to you for 10-15 minutes on the site. Fantastic site, definitely visit, however, I would recommend a cheaper option as there are many operators who offer the exact same programme.

Review by: Sachin J, United Kingdom	January 2009
Very good guide. Extremely helpful. The temples are stunning.

Review by: Joerg G	January 2009
The guide was not so good, the drivers were sometimes pretty scary, the time at the site too short, and the requirement to tip everyone a pain in the bum esp. given how much we already paid.

Review by: Anonymous	January 2009
Our English speaking guide had a very strong accent and it was hard to understand him. guides leading other groups had better visual aids for the explanations. We we not aware that the tour included some stops at shops. At the end of the day I felt rushed through amazing Abu Simbel so they could drive us to the stores.

Review by: Judith R, United States of America	December 2008
Very impressed with the efficiency of the web site, message waiting for us on the cruise ship, prompt pick up, guide's courtesy and knowledge. It was worth the early wake up and drive. Sunrise over the desert was awesome. Abu Simbel should not be missed.

Review by: Anonymous	December 2008
Fly to Abu Simbel-do not take the minibus tour. It was 3 hours going and four hours coming back. As long as Egypt is insisting on "convoys" it is a waste of time. Also very dangerous. Driver was going 140 km on a two lane road and on the way back played "chicken" with another tour bus. Abu Simbel itself is well worth seeing.

Review by: Rita D, Australia	October 2008
This was our favorite part of the entire trip to Egypt. The long trip to get there via the mini van was draining, but the end destination was PHENOMENAL. The guide was a pleasure to deal with, considering we had many OTHER guides on various other tours who were not remotely interested in our enthusiasm for Egypt.

Review by: Nitin R	October 2008
This was our favorite part of the entire trip to Egypt. The long trip to get there via the mini van was draining, but the end destination was PHENOMENAL. The guide was a pleasure to deal with, considering we had many OTHER guides on various other tours who were not remotely interested in our enthusiasm for Egypt.

Review by: David G	June 2008
We were a little concerned with the style of driving to and from the site. Turning the head lights off and then on and driving on the other side of the road is not a good look or feel. Sure it may be the way one drives in Egypt but to us it was very worrying. Our guide seemed to be in a real hurry and after giving us a few minutes talk about the photos he wanted to sell, his involvement seemed to be over. However Abu Simbel was great to see.

Review by: Sonia K, Brazil	May 2008
It is very very very beautiful! There are no ways to put it in words, must see it.

Review by: Sonia M S O K	May 2008
It is very very very beautiful! There are no ways to put it in words, must see it.

Review by: Richard B, United Kingdom	April 2008
You can do this trip by air but driving through the desert and watching the sun rise is something special. You start from Aswan in a convoy with about 100 other vehicles and drive at hectic pace for 3 hours to Abu Simbel where the temples are superb. We would have liked a bit more time at AB aprox 90 mins but this is due to the scheduling of the convoys not a restriction by the tour operator. South Sinai tours are very good indeed, we did 4 others with them.

Review by: John H	February 2008
It was a very early start, but you just can't miss this one.

Review by: Kenneth N	December 2007
Great place to visit! But check prices for commercial flights as they do fly into Abu Simbel. Also if you have children, as we do, don't include them in reservation as many places don't require kids to pay. Later, if you need to pay, it is easy to work it out with local agent. We wasted our money on paying for our 6 year old as the guide never paid for her. If you get this far into Egypt don't miss this location! Photos aren't allowed inside - who knows why - but 10 Egyptian pounds to the guard does wonders - as it seems to do all over Egypt.

Review by: John M, United Kingdom	August 2007
We booked this trip just before we left on holiday because our tour operator had been unable to get us flights to Abu Simbel. We were dubious about a three hour bus ride through the Western Desert, but as we had traveled so far south especially to see Abu Simbel, we felt it was worth the risk! We had booked a bus trip, so we expected to be joining a coach load of other tourists. Rather, we were picked up at 3:30 a.m. by a private air conditioned 15 seater minibus complete with 2 divers and our own delightful English speaking guide! We joined the daily convoy of vehicles which travel as one to the temples. One of our party slept the whole way there, but I was treated to the most amazing sunrise over the desert! We arrived at Abu Simbel about 7:00 a.m., before the heat of the day, and had a fantastic guided tour of the area and then had lots of time to wander round the temples and take lots of photos. The whole experience was breathtaking and one we will never forget. Viator organized everything perfectly. All the staff were courteous and helpful without exception.

Review by: Roy M	August 2007
We booked this trip just before we left on holiday because our tour operator had been unable to get us flights to Abu Simbel. We were dubious about a three hour bus ride through the Western Desert, but as we had traveled so far south especially to see Abu Simbel, we felt it was worth the risk! We had booked a bus trip, so we expected to be joining a coach load of other tourists. Rather, we were picked up at 3:30 a.m. by a private air conditioned 15 seater minibus complete with 2 divers and our own delightful English speaking guide! We joined the daily convoy of vehicles which travel as one to the temples. One of our party slept the whole way there, but I was treated to the most amazing sunrise over the desert! We arrived at Abu Simbel about 7:00 a.m., before the heat of the day, and had a fantastic guided tour of the area and then had lots of time to wander round the temples and take lots of photos. The whole experience was breathtaking and one we will never forget. Viator organized everything perfectly. All the staff were courteous and helpful without exception.

Review by: Carlos Alberto M, Mexico	May 2007
This was pretty cool.

Review by: Gretchen B	October 2006
Unfortunately the guide can not go inside the temples to explain what you are looking at. After our guide told us what to expect inside and explained things with pictures he had, he just left. All the other guides where hanging out and talking pictures for their groups.