The question of, “is Abu Simbel worth visiting,” came up a lot during my planning research. It’s not that the temples weren’t worthy enough of a visit, but it was more of the trek and time to get to these temples since my vacation was pretty short. These temples aren’t anywhere close to any major city so you really have to decide wisely if Abu Simbel is worth visiting or not. I only had 6 days in Egypt and the drive alone to get to Abu Simbel would take 6 hours roundtrip from Aswan. In the end, I decided to go and I’m so happy I did. I probably took some of my favorite pictures of my whole trip there!

• Related Article: Ultimate Guide to Visiting the Pyramids in 2023

 

What is Abu Simbel?

Abu Simbel is the site of two important temples built by the Egyptian king, Ramses II.The main temple is dedicated to himself while the smaller temple is dedicated to his wife, Nefertari. What I found super interesting is that both temples had to be relocated to higher ground in the 1960s since it was at risk of being flooded due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. So, the Egyptian government, working with UNESCO, painstakingly took down the two temples piece by piece and rebuilt at a higher elevation and further inland.

 

What is the Entrance Fee of Abu Simbel?

As of May 20, 2023, the entrance fee was 275 EGP (~$8.87 USD) for a foreigner.

 

Hours of Operation?

Google seems to think that the hours of operation is from 5:00am-6:00pm, but when I visited, the sign that was posted said that it’s open from 6:00am-5:00pm.

 

What Time Should I Visit Abu Simbel?

I booked my visit as part of a tour group so I didn’t really have a choice of what time to go. I will say though that all the tour buses leave Aswan around 4:00am and get to Abu Simbel around 7:00am. If you want to beat all of the tour groups and crowds, I highly suggest you come before 7:00am or after 12:00pm noon. A lot of these tours are part of a package deal with various Nile cruises so the tours have to leave Abu Simbel by at least 9:00-10:00am to get back to the cruise in time to set sail.

If you are big into photography, then obviously the best time would be before the sun rises and after the sun sets. In the morning, the temples face the sun directly and in the late afternoon, the sun sets behind the temple. So, if you don’t want all the harsh shadows, you’ll have to come super early or stay pretty late. 

 

Is Abu Simbel in Aswan?

Some people might be confused and think the temples are located in the City of Aswan, but it’s not. The temples are located in the Aswan Governorate. I imagine governorates to be kind of like counties in the U.S. Like how there’s Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County. Either way, the Abu Simbel temples are located in the southern part of the Aswan Governorate and almost near the border of Sudan. 

 

 

How to Get to Abu Simbel?

There are three ways that I know of to get to these temples: 1) Plane 2) Bus/Van 3) Private Car

• Plane: This option really depends on what city you are going to disembark from and how much money you want to spend. After doing some flight research, I noticed that there are only non-stop flights out of Aswan. If you are in Cairo, you will have to layover in Aswan and if you are in Luxor, you will have to layover in Cairo and then Aswan before getting to Abu Simbel (ABS).
• Bus/Van: This is the option I took. This was an add-on excursion that I booked as a part of my Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor. It only cost me $25 and we had our own private van with probably a max of 10 people. The downside is that we were on a schedule so I didn’t get the chance to really roam around as much as I wanted to. The other problem with the bus/van is that all the tours come at the same time so it was definitely crowded.
• Private Car: If you are coming from Aswan and want to have as much time as you want, I would recommend this route. The private car will be much cheaper than a plane ride and you can set your own schedule. If I were to do it again, this is the route I would take and I would go during sunset. 

 

How Long Does it Take to Get to Abu Simbel?

If you are driving from Aswan, it takes 3 hours to get to the temples and another 3 hours back. If you are flying from ASW>ABS, it will only take you 45 minutes. 

 

Should I Spend the Night?

I thought about staying the night for a hot second, but then I read somewhere that there’s nothing to do at night in the town. I would personally just save the overnight money and hire a private car so that way you can go back and stay the in a bigger city like Aswan. 

 

Is Abu Simbel Safe?

Yes, it’s super safe and it’s a protected UNESCO World Heritage site! There were people around all the time and the staff were very friendly. I even had one guy offer to take pictures for me (for a small tip of course). To be honest, it’s so hard to take pictures of yourself when you’re traveling alone so I gladly gave him a tip. 

 

What Special Days Should I Visit Abu Simbel?

On October 22 and February 22 of every year, the site hosts the Solar Alignment Festival. The date coincides with the king’s birthday (October 22) and his coronation day (February 22). It is believe that the temples were purposely designed so that on these two days, the sun would shine through the main temple and illuminate the king’s face inside the inner sanctum. A fun fact to note is that the solar alignment used to happen on October 21 and February 21 before the temples were relocated. Due to it’s new position, the sun now shines through on October 22 and February 22. 

 

So, is Abu Simbel Worth Visiting?

I say if you have the time and energy, just go ahead and do the trek. Yes, I know 6 hours is a lot of driving time to allocate for a short vacation and trust me when I say that I was still 50/50 up until the day before. In the end, I chose to do it because I really don’t know when I’ll ever be back and frankly, I’m just getting older and don’t really see myself roughing it as much as I do now.

The van ride was also not that bad! Since we left at 4:00am, it was still dark outside and the whole van was asleep right up until we got into Abu Simbel. The same thing for going back too. We all managed to fall asleep again and then the next thing you know, we were back in Aswan. If you just bring a set of headphones and wear a hoodie so you can cover your eyes with the hood, you’ll be pretty set. 

 

Abu Simbel Pictures