Our driver was superb, the journey took 3.5 hours each way, and we felt completely safe the whole time. He managed to avoid potholes and uneven road surfaces very well. Our guide took advantage of the journey to have a nap. He gave us a 20 minute photo lecture in front of the temple, which was informative background to moving the temples, but otherwise he was not very engaging. The temples were amazing, but we felt rushed looking round them so we could meet up with our guide for the return journey. To miss crowds we didn’t leave our hotel in Aswan at 8am, in hindsight 7am would have given us more time at Abu Simbel.
It's a long drive to Abu Simbel from Aswan. We arrived after 3.5 hours with one brief stop along the way. The earlier you can leave the better. We had a great guide in Mara. Very knowledgeable and thorough. You will enjoy Abu Simbel but bring a book for the long drive. There is nothing to see along the way but desert. Don't forget to tip your driver cause that is a long day for them behind the wheel.
Whalid was a great guide very interesting with a wide knowledge. I would definitely recommend him for a tour.
Despite being late ourselves due to a misunderstanding if dates, we felt the day was unsafe and formulaic. 1) Our driver frequently drove at 140-150 KPH on 90 KPH desert roads, with frequent heavy braking to avoid other vehicles. 2) Our guide gave a 45 lecture at the start of a 3.5 hour journey and then went to sleep. 3) At the temple...we were hurried (having forgone a break to catch up), given a 10 minute photo lecturer and then our guide went off. 4) It was too far for one temple....a missed opportunity was to fail to join it up with visit to the ASWAN dam and exploration of the numerous geographical and cultural implications of the dam. Felt very rushed with huge missed opportunities along the way.
Long drive to and from temples was smooth and allowed catch up nap and appreciation of vast desert. The temples were awesome and explanations by my guide Adham were succinct and illuminating throughout. In addition he was an excellent photographer. Highly recommend the experience.Bucket list trip.