In short
- Abu Simbel is 283.4 km from an Aswan hotel, about 3 h 26 min without traffic.
- Two of our Philae days start at the High Dam, 20.6 km from the hotel, about 20 min without traffic; a third goes by motorboat to the island alone.
- Last entry is 4 PM at Abu Simbel and 3 PM at Philae, in every season.
- Both belong to the UNESCO listing Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae, inscribed in 1979.
- No tour on this site combines the two in one day.
Pick Philae if you have one day in Aswan and want more of the town in it; pick Abu Simbel if its two temples are the reason you came south and you accept close to seven hours of driving without traffic. Abu Simbel is 283.4 km from an Aswan hotel; Philae is a short motorboat ride from a marina.
The two days compared
| Abu Simbel | Philae | |
|---|---|---|
| What you see | The Great Temple of Ramses II, dedicated to Ramses II and the gods Ptah, Re-Horakhty and Amun-Re, and the smaller Temple of Nefertari, for Queen Nefertari and the goddess Hathor | Philae Temple, a Ptolemaic temple of the goddess Isis, moved to safety in a UNESCO rescue |
| Getting there | By road in a private air-conditioned vehicle: 283.4 km, about 3 h 26 min without traffic | By car, then a motorboat to the island and back, included |
| Driving in the day | 283.4 km each way, about 3 h 26 min out without traffic | On the tours with the High Dam: 20.6 km from the hotel to the dam, about 20 min without traffic; the legs after it are not listed |
| Other stops | None | The High Dam on two of our Philae day tours, the Unfinished Obelisk on one; none on Philae Temple by boat |
| Opening hours | 6 AM to 5 PM daily | 7 AM to 4 PM daily |
| Last entry (summer, winter, Ramadan) | 4 PM | 3 PM |
| Meals | None listed | None listed |
| Evening option | None on this site | The Philae sound and light show |
Tickets
Entrance fees are included on our Abu Simbel and Philae day tours, so these prices are for reference, in Egyptian pounds (EGP) as of August 2026. Two official ministry sources disagree on the everyday Abu Simbel price, so both are shown.
| Ticket | Foreign adult | Foreign student |
|---|---|---|
| Abu Simbel, ministry monuments website | EGP 750 | EGP 375 |
| Abu Simbel, ministry ticketing portal | EGP 822 | EGP 445.5 |
| Abu Simbel on February 22 and October 22 | EGP 1,200 | EGP 600 |
| Philae, general admission | EGP 550 | EGP 275 |
