Advice: Luxor - Abu Simbel - Aswan
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Oct 23, 2012 2:22 PM Last Post By: Chesty_LeRoux
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Advice: Luxor - Abu Simbel - Aswan
Hi, all -I'm going to be in Egypt for 10 days, but I only have a weekend available to travel. I'm wondering if anyone can provide suggestions for hotels or a tour guide that can help plan the following:
Thursday night/Friday morning: Arrive in Luxor
Friday: Tour Luxor
Saturday very early morning: Depart for Abu Simbel
Saturday: Tour Abu Simbel
Saturday evening: Depart for Aswan
Sunday: Tour Aswan
Sunday evening: Depart for Cairo
I can book the flights to and from Cairo, so it's the arrangements from Luxor to Abu Simbel to Aswan that I'd need help with. I know this is a very ambitious itinerary, so if anyone has suggestions otherwise, I'd be happy to hear them.
Thanks!
1
Welcome, You do not need a tour, but you do need to adjust your itinerary.Are you aware that Abu Simbel is south of, and much closer to, Aswan than Luxor?
How about this:
Thursday evening fly from Cairo to Aswan. Stay in the Keylany Hotel and have them arrange for a visit to Abu Simbel on Saturday. Spend Friday exploring Aswan. Take a felucca ride on the Nile in the afternoon.
Saturday morning Abu Simbel, return in the afternoon and take the train to Luxor. It's a three hour train ride. Arrive in Luxor around 7 or 8pm.
Sunday explore Luxor and catch an evening flight back to Cairo.
That's not nearly enough time to see all there is to see, but if that's all you have then that's all the time you have.
Good luck.
2
Thanks for your suggestion! My initial plan was Luxor-Abu Simbel-Luxor, but a friend suggested that I stop in Aswan, since it's closer, rather than go all the way back to Luxor. I can see why your itinerary makes more sense, though.Any thoughts on whether this is the best use of time? I know that it'll vary from person to person whether Luxor, Abu Simbel, or Aswan is a must-see, but I'm wondering if maybe it would be a better experience overall to stick with just 2.
Thanks again!
5
While laketraveller's itinerary is perfectly do-able (and preferable to yours), with so little time to spare I'd be tempted to just skip Abu Simbel. By road it's a seven-hour round trip and although flying from Aswan is obviously quicker, it will still take more or less a full day.You initial plan to do Luxor-Abu Simbel-Luxor in one day would be virtually impossible without flying from Aswan and even if you managed it, it would be a very long day.
I'd suggest:
Thursday evening flight Cairo-Aswan.
Friday - Early morning visit to Philae temple, then hire a car for the drive to Luxor, stopping at Kom Ombo and Edfu temples, and Esna temple if you still have the time. Tourists on this route have to be in Luxor by 1800.
Spend Saturday and Sunday exploring Luxor. There's so much to see there that even with two long days of sightseeing, you'll still only be scratching the surface.
10
In Luxor, I'd highly recommend the Hotel St. Joseph. It's well located overlooking the Nile, has an included breakfast, and a rooftop you can sit on at night and look at the Nile and the sky. Not fancy, but reasonably priced and clean. Ask for the highest room with a Nile front balcony. Get up early one morning and watch the hot air balloons float down the Nile.The desk clerk lined us up a guide and driver at a reasonable price for the day. The tombs, including Tut's, are must sees and fabulous. We also liked very much the night light show at nearby Karnac.
The tours are quite bothersome. We found the best thing was to simply ignore them, don't look at or speak to them. If you say "No thank you", they follow you and keep pitching.
You'll have a great trip.
11
I was thinking of doing something similar - 2 days in Luxor, 1 day in Aswan. But I'm wondering if 3 days in Luxor, skipping Aswan, might be better? I've read that Abydos and Dendara are amazing, and worth the extra day. (The other two being Hatshepsut + VOK and Karnak +Luxor temples.)Any thoughts? Thanks!
13
Abydos is definitely in a league of its own. Behind Seti I is an awesome Ramses II temple, some of the reliefs of which are obviously made by the master responsible for the ones in his father’s temple that FarleyFlavors mentions. The temple of Ramses II is to be enjoyed while the incredible colors are still there! There is even a wonderful, usually empty, Seti I temple in Luxor and other beauties that you will miss if you only have two days there. While Aswan offers a different culture and nature, the drive north of Luxor to Abydos is also very scenic and makes a wonderful day trip.If you expect to return, you could save Aswan, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo and Edfu for when there is more time or Abydos/Dendarra for when you have seen more of the tombs and temples in Luxor.
No matter what you choose you will only regret that you have so few days!
