Nice Tours · Hotel pickup in Aswan
The cheapest and most booked way from Aswan to the temples: an air-conditioned van collects you at your hotel before dawn, drives about 3.5 hours south and gives you the morning at both temples. Pick it if you want the base price low and the choice of adding the entry ticket and a guide yourself.
This is a 10-hour shared day trip from Aswan run by Nice Tours, and with more than 3,000 reviews it is the trip most visitors take. The van leaves early, usually around 4am to 5am. Abu Simbel is about 280 to 300 km south of Aswan, roughly 3.5 hours each way by road. The old police convoy is gone, but tourist vehicles still pass security checkpoints and travel in daylight. You reach the temples mid-morning with the other road tours and get about 2 hours there, the usual length on these trips; one October 2026 guest had an hour of free time for both temples after the guide's talk. Back in Aswan by early afternoon.
The base price covers the van, the driver and hotel pickup in Aswan, nothing more. The entry ticket is an option at booking, and so is an English-speaking guide (Spanish, German or French cost extra). Add the ticket and it is handled for you; leave it off and you buy it yourself at the gate. Entry to both temples costs EGP 822 for foreign adults and EGP 445.5 for students up to 24 with ID on the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' official ticket site (2026). Children under 6 go free, and on 22 February and 22 October the price rises to EGP 1,272 (students EGP 670.5). The ticket office at the temples takes bank cards, not cash. Without the guide option, you get the drive and the time on site, and you read the temples on your own.
Hotels on the islands, in Gharb Soheil, Nagaa al-Mahatta and New Aswan are outside the standard pickup area: pickup there is an add-on at checkout. The listing also warns that local rules sometimes stop a hotel pickup, so read the meeting point in your voucher; the supplier sends details by email or WhatsApp the day before. Food is not included, and the listing asks you to bring a packed lunch, water and a credit card. It is not suitable for wheelchair users. There is little shade at the temples, and from May to September it passes 38 C by midday. You can cancel free up to 24 hours before the start on GetYourGuide.
The exact time is in your voucher and the supplier's message. Island and west-bank hotels need the pickup add-on.
Around 280 to 300 km through the desert, with security checkpoints on the way. Most people sleep.
With the ticket option, your guide or driver hands it over; without it, pay at the gate by card.
With the guide option, a briefing outside, then time inside the Great Temple and the Temple of Nefertari on your own.
The same road north and drop-off at your hotel, about 10 hours after pickup.
★★★★★All the pick ups were timely. Starting EARLY was very important [...] Early visit to the Temples is very comfortable. The guide Haany [...] was very clear, informative and gave us adequate time for the interior visits and photos.
★★★★★Very nice comfortable air conditioned van, we met the guide Hani at the site and he was funny and very knowledgeable. His English was excellent. We had an hour of free time to explore both temples which was enough.
★★★★★Incredible seeing the temples. Long drive is well worth.
★★★★★It's a long road, but it's worth it. Thank you.
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Only if you select that option at booking. Without it, you pay at the gate by bank card: EGP 822 for foreign adults and EGP 445.5 for students up to 24 with ID (2026, official ticket site); under-6s are free.
Early, usually around 4am to 5am. Your exact pickup time is in the voucher and the supplier's message the day before.
About 2 hours, the usual time on road tours from Aswan, on a 10-hour day with roughly 3.5 hours of driving each way.
UK government advice (FCDO, updated 27 October 2026) lists Aswan and Abu Simbel as exceptions to its Western Desert warning. Tour vans travel in daylight and pass security checkpoints on the way.
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Hotel pickup in Aswan, the drive south and both temples, with the entry ticket and a guide as options.
Abu Simbel Group Tour with Entry TicketA shared day from Aswan with the entry ticket and an English-speaking guide already in the price.★ 4.5 · 10 hours · from $65
Abu Simbel Private Tour from AswanYour own car, driver and English-speaking guide from Aswan, with the entry ticket included.★ 4.5 · 10 hours · from $128
Abu Simbel by Flight from AswanHotel pickup, return flights from Aswan, a private guide and the ticket. About 6 hours instead of a full day on the road.★ 4.6 · 6 hours · from $450