I’m in the midst of planning my trip to Egypt in January, and have seen most tours have an optional a morning tour to Abu Simbel from Aswan.
The temple looks amazing (but honestly they all do), and I would love to see it, but it is fairly pricey for a a day tour, and I saw you have to leave very early (like 4.30am!) and it is a long drive there and back.
I’m trying to weigh up if it’s worth the extra cost and all that driving, considering all the other amazing sites i’ll already be seeing! Has anyone been? And if so, do you think it is a ‘must-see’?
Yes, do it!
You’re going all the way to Egypt anyway so I would squeeze in the extra trip as it’s one of the absolute best sights. Definitely a must see for me!
I think most tours leave super early to try and beat the crowds and the heat of the middle of the day. You can hopefully get some rest on the journey.
Also it’s so funny to me that they went to all the effort of moving the temple to save it from flooding, but didn’t think to pop it somewhere closer to Cairo etc
I spoke to an Egyptian friend before I went and asked their top tips… and they had only 1: don’t miss Abu Simbel. I took their advice and was glad for it. You’re not wrong - it is an early day, but walking into the temples with the sun just rising was beyond amazing. The temple itself is a sight to behold (wait until you hear the story of how it was moved!), and is in great condition inside and out. Like any of the sites in Egypt, a little bit of basic prior research will enhance the experience to another level as well. Highly recommend.
I’ve just come back from Egypt and did opt for the Abu Simbel extra on my tour!
I can confirm - definitely worth it! The drive ended up being 4 hours each way (because of a road closure, usually it’s around 3.5 hours I believe) - which sounds like a lot I know, but the first leg I slept most of the way, and it’s just so easy being driven around that it does go by quickly! There is a rest stop about halfway.
We got 2.5 hours free time at the site, which was plenty to take your time looking around. It was the most stunning temple I saw in Egypt, very grand, amazing setting on the shore of Lake Nassar, and I also loved Nefertati’s temple, Ramses II tribute to his queen. And the story of how they so careful moved the temple a few meters back was also very interesting! There was also a very nice cafe and snack shop, and the markets there sold some different items from elsewhere, some Nubian style.
Definitely looks like I should go!
