Top 5 Abu Simbel Tours: Sun Festival, Flights, Ticket Price
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Book Abu Simbel Tours: Flights, Tickets, and Sound & Light Show
Ancient Egyptians harnessed their knowledge of astronomical events and used it to highlight unique events like the Abu Simbel sun festival.
This majestic event has driven a countless number of Abu Simbel tours, allowing travelers to attend the Abu Simbel sun festival twice a year: on February 22nd and October 22nd, causing a peak season on these dates.
In the next few lines, we’ll walk you through Abu Simbel tours, Abu Simbel ticket price, and how you can get to Abu Simbel by air and by car.
Abu Simbel Sun Festival
As we mentioned earlier in All-in-one Guide to ALL the Facts About Abu Simbel Temple, Abu Simbel Sun Festival is a miraculous event that’s as amazing as aurora borealis, the ancient Egyptian architects planned the Abu Simbel Sun Festival so perfectly that the sun “visits” Ramses II exactly twice a year: once on his coronation anniversary on February 22 and his birthday on October 22.
The festival happens as the sunlight penetrates through all the temples and enters the sacred sanctuary, illuminating three out of four statues: Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ramses II himself, without illuminating the fourth, which belongs to Ptah.
At great precision, ancient Egyptian architects planned the Abu Simbel sun festival without computers and modern tools, they designed a temple that interacts with the cosmos in a way that still works over 3,000 years later!
Recently, Egypt put the final touches on the Grand Egyptian Museum. Egyptian engineers designed the museum to light the face of Ramses II’s statue in the Great Hall on the same two dates at Abu Simbel Temple
Today, thousands of people gather at Abu Simbel to witness this breathtaking event causing peaks in the travel seasons in Egypt.
If you’re planning to attend the Abu Simbel Sun Festival, here are a few tips that will allow you to get the best experience of your lifetime:
- Arrive early, as the festival draws quite a crowd, so you should get there early to ensure booking a good spot to view the event.
- Dress in light and comfortable clothing, with a hat and sunglasses as the desert sun gets hotter during the daytime.
- Bring snacks and water
Visiting Abu Simbel by Air
Why Choose Abu Simbel by Air?
Egypt is vast, and Abu Simbel sits far in the Nubian desert, near the Sudanese border. While overland travel is an option, it involves a four-hour drive each way from Aswan, meaning a total of eight hours on the road for a site that typically takes about two hours to explore. That’s a lot of time lost in transit!
Abu Simbel by air pros:
- Short flight duration, about 45 minutes each way from Aswan
- No exhaustion or endless desert roads, as road travel duration is 4 hours each way from Aswan (8 hours round trip!)
- Enjoy early morning flights, as it allow you to explore before the midday heat
- The possibility to visit the main attractions of Aswan in the same day, thus saving a day of your trip and include a different type of trips like heading to the beaches.
If you want to make the most of your time in Egypt, flying is a no-brainer.
How to Fly to Abu Simbel
Flights to Abu Simbel are operated daily from both Cairo and Aswan.
Flight Options
- Cairo to Abu Simbel: A direct flight takes about 1.5 hours.
- From Aswan to Abu Simbel: A short 45-minute flight, with multiple departures daily.
- Sharm El Sheikh to Abu Simbel: Mostly, there’s no direct flight from Sharm El Sheikh, but you may fly to Cairo, and then to Abu Simbel, taking about 2 hours.
- Hurghada to Abu Simbel: Mostly, there’s no direct flight from Hurghada, but you may fly to Cairo, and then to Abu Simbel, taking about 2 hours.
- Round Trip Availability: Most travelers book a same-day return flight, making it an easy day trip.
Abu Simbel Airport
Abu Simbel has a small airport located just 3 km (1.8 miles) from the temple complex. Once you land, it’s a short 15-minute transfer to the site. You can take a pre-arranged tour bus, private transfer, or taxi.
Our tour packages include round-trip transfers to Abu Simbel via our air-conditioned modern cars.
Best Time to Visit Abu Simbel by Air
While Abu Simbel is stunning year-round, the best time to visit
✔ On 22nd of February and October during the Abu Simbel Sun festival on the 22nd of February and October
✔ From November to April (cooler temperatures)
✔ Early morning flights in general, as it includes fewer crowds and a softer sunlight for photography.
How Much Does It Cost to Fly to Abu Simbel?
Ticket prices for Abu Simbel flights vary depending on the season and how early you book. Here’s a general breakdown:
- Cairo to Abu Simbel (Round Trip): $250 – $400 per person
- Aswan to Abu Simbel (Round Trip): $150 – $250 per person
Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show
Abu Simbel tours in the morning are something, and in the night, it is a whole different thing.
The Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show at night is an immersive nighttime spectacle that brings the colossal temples of Ramses II and Nefertari to life with dramatic lighting effects and narration that tells their incredible story.
The show is featured twice a day at 08:00 PM and 09:00 PM in multiple languages, including English, Arabic, French, Italian, Spanish, German, and Russian.
If you’re considering attending the show, here’s everything you need to know, from honest reviews to ticket prices and how to book.
Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show Review: Is It Worth It?
If you’ve seen Egypt’s other Sound and Light Shows (like at the Pyramids of Giza or Karnak Temple), you might wonder if this one stands out.
The short answer is: Absolutely!
Unlike daytime visits, where you admire the temples under the sun, the nighttime Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show creates an entirely different atmosphere. The temples are illuminated against the dark desert sky while dramatic storytelling, music, and laser projections unfold across the temple walls.
Pros:
✅ Magical vibes of the temples at night, glowing under the lights.
✅ Rich storytelling that explains the temple’s history, Ramses II’s reign, and the Abu Simbel Sun Festival in an engaging way.
✅ Less crowded than the daytime rush, allowing you to experience Abu Simbel calmly and away from the crowds.
Cons:
❌ Limited language options: The show runs twice a day: First in different languages, but you may need to wait for your preferred one.
❌ Not as interactive as the daytime tour, where you’ll mainly be sitting and watching rather than exploring the temple.
Abu Simbel Sound and Light Show Ticket Price
Ticket prices vary slightly depending on whether you book directly or through a tour company, but here’s what to expect:
General Admission:
- Adult Ticket: $20
- Child Ticket (ages 6 to 12): $11
- Egyptians & Arabs: EGP 250 per person
Top 5 Abu Simbel Tours
Most Abu Simbel tours include visiting Cairo highlights and then a Nile Cruise trip between Luxor & Aswan.
Below, you’ll find our handpicked sample of our Abu Simbel tours designed to give you an unforgettable experience:
1. Private Overnight to Abu Simbel From Luxor – (2 days)
One of our short Abu Simbel tours that includes visiting the jewels of the south at Edfu & Kom Ombo and concludes your trip on the second day with your visit to the Abu Simbel tour from Aswan and Philae Temple.
2. Around Egypt (CAIRO / LUXOR / ASWAN) – (4 Days)
Among our exceptional Abu Simbel tours, this one is for sure worth trying as it covers Cairo’s main attractions, Luxor’s East and West Banks, Aswan with its treasures, and ends the trip with Abu Simbel tour from Aswan in the early morning.
3. King TUT Family – (8 Days)
An 8-day tour similar to the previous one, starting with Cairo, flying you to Luxor to start your Nile Cruise trip, and before ending in Aswan, you’ll be taken to your Abu Simbel tour.
4. Exclusive! Long Nile Cruise Cairo to Aswan (15 Days)
Our exclusive 15-day trip is a unique one that will let you cover all the Ancient Egyptian sites that reside along the banks of the Nile and the lesser-known sites in Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, and Sohag, concluding the trip with Abu Simbel tour from Aswan.
5. Tailored Abu Simbel Tour
This type of tour is called “Tailor Made” and it’s left to you to decide what you want to include in the itinerary and the attractions you would like to see during your Abu Simbel tours.
Contact us to tailor your Abu Simbel Tour from Aswan or anywhere else.