Breathtaking Abu Simbel: Private VIP Day Tour from Aswan

Had a great time our guide Zak was very entertaining - obviously it is a long way so be prepared for a long drive. We did not book lunch but ended up having it and it was delicious much better than other tour lunches we have had on the trip.

The drivers were nice! That’s the beginning and end of what was positive. We were supposed to have our own private expert Egyptologist guide as part of our trip, traveling with us, which we paid extra money for and instead we were lumped together with another group. The guide was awful, didn’t wait for us and instead followed the other two people who he came there with from Aswan and you could barely understand his English. And to top it off he was trying to upsell us into buying some silver items at the end of our trip. He ruined our abu simbel trip and the price of $180 for 4 people from Aswan to Abu simbel is not worth it if you can find another way. The drivers also asked us to write a positive Google review 20 minutes before the end of our trip and told us they have to take a screenshot of it…smh. I was so excited for this Abu simbel visit and it was the worst visit of our 10 day Egypt trip.

Apart from some confusion about the actual meeting place, the trip went very well. The guide gave us a full introduction to Abu Simbel before we arrived and very attentive to our needs.

Abu Simbel is definitely worth the drive from Aswan. It is a 3 and a half hour drive, though. There were only the 2 of us in the backseat of a Hyundai Elantra. It was a bit cramped. We did stop about 2 hours into the drive for a stretch and WC break. We were supplied with a bottle of water. Our guide was good and gave a decent overview of the 2 structures at Abu Simbel. Guides aren’t allowed to guide inside. On the way back, we stopped again for a stretch and WC break. We had a choice of lunch in Abu Simbel or in Aswan. We chose Aswan. The Grand Restaurant and Cafe is less than nice. Standard Egyptian fare. You do have to pay for your drinks. I don’t remember being told about that ahead of time.

The private tour of Philae Temple and Abu Simbel was fantastic. Marwan was very educational and helped me add Philae to the itinerary, which cost an extra $85. I learned a great deal and navigated the sites more effectively because of him. The ride from Aswan is long, but the driver and guide showed great hospitality. The tilapia lunch was excellent. Their history and insight were unmatched compared to other tours I have taken. I got great photos. I highly recommend this tour.

A very informative and intersting tour. We learnt about some fantastic history from our guide Zack. He is very knowledgeable, it was like being guided by a Professor. Zack was friendly and patiently answered our questions. It was incredible experience! Our driver Hadi was good and safe. The temples are absolutely amazing! Every aspect of creating the temples, the reason it was built, The various Gods and how the Temple was shifted was well explained by Zack. (Zak sorry I did not get the spelling). Highly recommend this tour.

Zak is an absolutely deserving 5-star guide. If I could, I would give him 10 stars. His explanations of Egyptian history were incredibly detailed, and he can even directly interpret some ancient hieroglyphs. The day before, we asked his agency if we could add Philae Temple to our itinerary, and he arranged it immediately with a very reasonable price! The whole trip was perfectly smooth. Highly, highly recommended.

Very long day to Abu Simbel + additional stop at Philae temple. We left Aswan at 4:30 am but abu Simbel was busy already at 9 am. We really wanted to squeeze Philae , too and our guide Mohamed was helpful organising this as well as the tour for the next day. He was knowledgeable and also giving us freedom to explore by ourselves. He was also giving us tips about markets / shops and we really appreciated his help ! Highly recommended

Magdy gave us a most wonderful experience during our tour for Abu Simbel. He was very patient, gave us a great lesson, and answered any questions we had! He encouraged us to add on a tour for Philae temple and I’m glad we decided to go. This was our first out of two tours with Emo Tours. This tour was great! Our second tour with this company (for Luxor) was not so great. Booking with this company could be hit or miss.

I must divide this review in 2. The temple of Abu Simbel is amazing, perhaps my favourite from all Egypt, so I definitely recommend to go. The driver we had, Mustafa was excellent, very friendly and kind person. Now it comes the bad side , the guide who was waiting for us in the temple tried to harassed my mother when I when to the toilet , he touched her back and the back part of the head , saying she was beautiful and so on. My mom stopped him at once, and the he took distance. I didn't know this until we finished the tour otherwise I'd have act differently... You know what I mean. So the guide lack of respect. Also his explanations were just ok and he didn't enter to the temple with us , just explained on the shades using some photographies.