Luxury Egypt4 Day Nile Cruise with Abu Simbel
This 4 day nile cruise with abu simbel is the lowest-priced listing on luxury Egypt tours, run by Egyptology Travel CO on GetYourGuide at $690 per person. It packs the classic Luxor to Aswan route into four days: the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel, the High Dam and Philae, with three nights in a cabin on a 5-star ship. The group is shared, up to 18 people, and the price sits far below the private tours. This page sets out what is in the price, what the days look like, and who should book a different listing. Compare it with the other luxury Egypt tour.
About This Tour
Egyptology Travel CO runs this as a small shared group of up to 18 people, guided in English by an Egyptologist. You start at 7:10 AM with pickup from any location in Luxor city, see the west bank tombs, then board a 5-star Nile cruise ship for three nights. The itinerary runs south through Edfu and Kom Ombo, adds a road trip to Abu Simbel from Aswan, and finishes in Aswan at about 2 PM on day 4.
Entrance fees and taxes are included, as are all meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4. Drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities are not. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure, and you can reserve now and pay later.
$690 per person on GetYourGuide, the lowest price in this catalog
4 days, 3 nights, all on board the ship
7:10 AM on day 1 from any location in Luxor city, drop-off in Aswan
Shared group up to 18, one Egyptologist tour guide in English, not private
3 nights on a 5-star Nile cruise ship, cabin with its own bathroom
Included, by air-conditioned bus with a 4:15 AM pickup on day 3
All meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4, drinks not included
Gratuities, drinks, Wi-Fi, the Egyptian visa, anything not listed
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund
Check Dates and Availability
Live dates and prices are shown on GetYourGuide, where this listing holds 132 reviews at 4.6. Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure.
Quick answer 4 day cruise at a glance
This 4 day nile cruise with abu simbel costs $690 per person, runs from Luxor to Aswan in 4 days and 3 nights on a 5-star ship, and takes a shared group of up to 18 with an Egyptologist guide. Entrance fees, taxes and all meals from lunch on day 1 are included.
Key takeaways
- See exactly what the $690 covers in what the price actually covers
- Follow the route stop by stop in what the day is really like
- If you want a private guide, the 5-day luxury Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan is the closer match
- Compare it with every other option in the luxury Egypt tour
What the Price Actually Covers
The $690 headline covers the cruise, the meals and Abu Simbel, but a few day-to-day costs stay outside it. Here is the split, line by line, from the listing itself.
What Is in the $690
The listing includes the 3-night 5-star Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan in a cabin with its own bathroom, all meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4, pickup and drop-off by air-conditioned minibus, the Egyptologist guide, a horse and carriage ride to Edfu, the air-conditioned bus to Abu Simbel, and entrance fees and taxes for the listed sites: the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo Temple, Abu Simbel, the High Dam and Philae Temple.
What is not included is equally clear: gratuities, drinks and Wi-Fi. The Egyptian visa is your own cost, quoted at US$30 on arrival by the FCDO and US$45 since December by Gulf News, so check the current fee before you fly. Tipping is optional per the listing, and one guide to Nile cruise gratuities puts crew tips at US$5 to 10 per person per night, budget for it in cash.
What You May Pay on the Day
Drinks on board and Wi-Fi come out of your pocket. The listing does not offer cabin upgrades, a hot air balloon over Luxor, or pyramid interior tickets, so if any of those matter, look at a different listing. The 8-day Egypt highlights with balloon includes a Luxor balloon ride, and the 9-day private Egypt cruise tour includes both the balloon and domestic flights.
| Line | In the price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Cruise and cabin | Yes | 3 nights, 5-star ship, cabin with its own bathroom |
| Meals | Yes | Lunch day 1 to breakfast day 4 |
| Drinks and Wi-Fi | No | Pay on board |
| Entrance fees | Yes | Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel, High Dam, Philae |
| Egyptologist guide | Yes | Shared, English, up to 18 people |
| Abu Simbel bus | Yes | 4:15 AM pickup on day 3 |
| Luxor balloon | No | Not offered on this listing |
| Domestic flights | No | Not included, arrange your own |
| Egyptian visa | No | US$30 on arrival per FCDO, US$45 since December per Gulf News |
| Tips | No | Optional per the listing |
Sources: UK FCDO travel advice: Egypt, Wikipedia: Egypt
The Great Temple of Ramesses II at Abu Simbel with its four seated colossi. Photo: MatthiasKabel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
What the Day Is Really Like
Four days, seven sites, one ship. The listing states the sailing order can shift with the weekly timetable set by the Ministry of Tourism, so treat the sequence below as the normal pattern, check-in and check-out times and all included tours are guaranteed, the order of visits may vary.
Day 1, Luxor West Bank and Sailing South
Pickup is at 7:10 AM from any location in Luxor city, by air-conditioned minibus. The morning covers the Valley of the Kings, where royal burials ran from about 1539 BC to 1075 BC, then Hatshepsut Temple on the west bank. After lunch on board you sail through the Esna lock toward Edfu, the first of three nights in your cabin.
Esna sits about 55 km south of Luxor and its locks regularly delay cruise ships, so timings here are the loosest of the trip.
Day 2, Edfu by Carriage and Kom Ombo at Sunset
The day starts with a horse and carriage ride to Edfu Temple, which Auguste Mariette began clearing in 1860. The ship then continues to Kom Ombo for a sunset visit to its temple. Both entrance fees are in the price.
The evening is on board.
Day 3, the 4:15 AM Start for Abu Simbel
This is the demanding day. An air-conditioned bus picks you up at 4:15 AM for the road run to Abu Simbel, which sits roughly 230 to 290 km from Aswan depending on the source. The Great Temple facade carries four seated colossi 20 m tall, and the whole complex was cut into more than 1,000 blocks and moved between 1964 and 1968 before Lake Nasser rose.
Admission at Abu Simbel is EGP 750 for foreign adults on the ministry price list, though other guides cite EGP 822, and this listing includes the fee either way.
Day 4, Aswan and the Finish at 2 PM
The last morning covers the High Dam, begun in 1960 and completed in 1970, 3,830 m long and 111 m high, and Philae Temple. Tours finish at about 2 PM in Aswan, where drop-off closes the trip. The listing states no return transport to Luxor, so plan onward travel from Aswan or fly out.
4 Days on the Nile from Aswan with Abu Simbel
A four-day Nile cruise from Aswan that includes the trip to Abu Simbel. Third-party video by Marsa Alam Tours. This site did not shoot it and has no relationship with the creator.
Who This Tour Rules Out
The low price buys a shared experience with early starts. If any of the following describes you, book a different listing.
Not for Anyone Who Needs a Private Guide
This is a shared group of up to 18 with one Egyptologist, not a private tour. If you want the guide to yourself, the 5-day luxury Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan runs as a private group at $1,900 per person, and the 5-day ultra deluxe Nile cruise offers private tours on an ultra deluxe ship at $2,500.
Not for Late Risers
The 4:15 AM Abu Simbel pickup on day 3 is fixed, and the 7:10 AM Luxor pickup starts day 1. If early starts rule you out, the 4-day luxury dahabiya cruise from Aswan to Luxor lists no such start, though it sails the other way and skips Abu Simbel, so read the Abu Simbel guide if that site is the reason you are here.
Not for Peak Heat or Tight Budgets for Extras
Luxor and Aswan both average summer highs above 41 C, and Luxor has recorded 50 C. Travel between October and February is the preferred cruise season per the Nile cruise record. Wheelchair access is stated and no minimum age is stated. One honest note: the sailing order can shift with the Ministry of Tourism timetable, so a fixed day plan can wobble, check the confirmed schedule when you book.
Carved papyrus capitals on the columns of Philae Temple near Aswan. Photo: Hesham Farouk Ragab, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Getting There and What to Add
The tour starts in Luxor and ends in Aswan with no flights included. Here is how to reach the start, and what to bolt on before or after.
Getting to Luxor
Luxor Airport (LXR) lies about 6 km east of downtown. From Cairo, Rome2Rio shows a flight at 3h13m door to door, a train at 10h45m and a bus at 8h55m, over a 637.2 km road. The overnight sleeper departs Giza at 20:00 and 20:30, taking about 9 hours to Luxor, though Rome2Rio lists 10h45m for the train.
Pickup at 7:10 AM from any location in Luxor city means an airport hotel or downtown stay both work, arrange your own airport transfer since the listing does not state one.
Adding Cairo and the Pyramids
The Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza charges foreign adults EGP 1,450 on one 2026 visitor figure and EGP 1,000 on the earlier trial-period figure, so budget for both outcomes. For the pyramids themselves, the 3-day private Cairo pyramids tour covers Giza, Saqqara and Old Cairo as a private add-on. Cairo to Alexandria is about 220 km with trains in around 3h50m if you want a coastal day.
After Aswan
Aswan Airport sits about 10 km from the city centre on one source, 16 km southwest on another, and Rome2Rio shows Cairo to Aswan flights at 3h48m door to door. Hurghada on the Red Sea appears in several longer itineraries on this site. For the full route context, see the Egypt itinerary and Nile river cruise guides.
Day by Day Itinerary
Times come from the listing, which flags that the sailing order can shift with the Ministry of Tourism timetable.
-
7:10 AM
Luxor pickup and the west bank
Pickup at 7:10 AM from any location in Luxor city by air-conditioned minibus. Visit the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut Temple with the Egyptologist guide, entrance fees included.
-
Afternoon
Board the ship and sail through Esna
Lunch on board the 5-star ship, then the cruise south through the Esna lock. First of 3 nights in a cabin with its own bathroom.
-
Morning
Edfu by horse and carriage
A horse and carriage ride to Edfu Temple.
-
Sunset
Kom Ombo
The ship reaches Kom Ombo for a sunset visit to the temple, then sails on toward Aswan.
-
4:15 AM
Abu Simbel by road
An air-conditioned bus leaves at 4:15 AM for Abu Simbel, roughly 230 to 290 km away depending on the source. See the Great Temple with its four 20 m colossi and the Small Temple of Hathor and Nefertari.
-
Morning
High Dam and Philae
Visit the Aswan High Dam, 3,830 m long and 111 m high, and Philae Temple. Entrance fees included for both.
-
About 2 PM
Tour ends in Aswan
Tours finish at about 2 PM on day 4 in Aswan with drop-off included. Onward travel is your own arrangement.
Pros and Cons
An honest read of the $690 listing against its private rivals.
What we genuinely like
- Lowest price in this catalog at $690 per person, with 132 reviews at 4.6
- Abu Simbel included, with the bus and entrance fee covered
- Entrance fees and taxes for all seven sites are in the price
- Three nights on a 5-star ship in a cabin with its own bathroom
- All meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours, reserve now pay later
- Wheelchair accessible per the listing
The honest downsides
- Shared group of up to 18, no private guide
- The 4:15 AM Abu Simbel start on day 3 is part of the program
- Drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities all cost extra
- No domestic flights, balloon or cabin upgrades on offer
- Starts in Luxor and ends in Aswan, no return leg included
- The sailing order can shift with the Ministry of Tourism timetable
Who it's NOT for: Travellers who want a private Egyptologist or flexible mornings should book the 5-day luxury or ultra deluxe cruises instead.
Questions About This 4 Day Nile Cruise
How much does the 4 day nile cruise with abu simbel cost?
$690 per person, the lowest price among the luxury Egypt tours compared on this site. Drinks, Wi-Fi, tips and the visa cost extra.
Is Abu Simbel really included in the $690?
Yes, the listing includes the air-conditioned bus from Aswan with a 4:15 AM pickup on day 3, plus the entrance fee. The Abu Simbel guide covers the site itself.
What is the group size and is the guide private?
The group is shared, up to 18 people, with one Egyptologist guide in English. For a private guide the 5-day luxury Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan is the direct alternative.
What meals are included?
All meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4, on the ship. Drinks are not included on any day.
Can I cancel this cruise?
Free cancellation applies up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later. Book through the booking card at the top of the page.
Where does the cruise start and end?
It starts with a 7:10 AM pickup from any location in Luxor city and finishes in Aswan at about 2 PM on day 4, with drop-off included. See the day by day itinerary.
Which ship and cabin do I get?
Three nights on a 5-star Nile cruise ship in a cabin with its own bathroom. The ship name is not stated, and cabin upgrades are not offered. The 5-day ultra deluxe Nile cruise is the step up in ship class.
Prices, availability and terms are set by the operator and confirmed at checkout.
We may earn a commission if you book through one of our links, at no extra cost to you. Full affiliate disclosure