ABU SIMBEL - Worth the Extra Time & Money ?

[dlhamlten]

Our upcoming 15-Day Grand Circle Tour of Ancient Egypt and the Nile offers an optional trip to Abu Simbel @ $ 199 per person which has to be booked in advance.

 

For those who have been there, would you recommend it ? especially if this is likely to be our only visit to Egypt ?

 

Anybody else who has taken Grand Circle / Overseas Adventure Tours to Egypt :

 

Are any of the other Optional Tours recommended ? ( Pyramid Sound & Light Show ; Alexandria ; Spiritual Cairo ; Dendera Temple ? )

 

Thank You

[paul929207]

We took this tour in March. Abu Simbel is a wonderful experience. We felt it was worth every penny.

 

The only other optional tour we took in Eqypt was to Alexandria. Train ride there & bus back. It was a lovely day. I would do it again.

 

Paul

[ajilimojil]

We just returned from this trip. We did not sign up for our trip in time to book Abu Simbel, so we didn't go.

They did ask those who had not signed up previously and wished to go to put their names on a wait-list and we did. At the last minute they said they couldn't get enough seats for everyone, so no one could go. A man raised hell and demanded to be booked anyways and we all supported him and told the guides to book him. I think he finally bought the ticket from someone who couldn't make it at the last minute.

 

On the other hand, by the time this excursion came up, we were all "templed out" LOL and did not really miss going there.

 

If you REALLY are into egyptology and this trip is important to you, by all means, sign up for it.

Also, it's possible to buy the trip once you are there from local operators but I think in this case you'd have to go on the land convoy (3hrs drive each way)

 

We did most of the optionals except for The Light show and Dendera. I agree that Alexandria is a very nice trip and a change of pace from the desert and temples... wish we had more than one day to spend there.

[roscoe39]

Ive being to Abu Simbel, twice., I thoroughly recommend it. Yes you can buy the trip from the local operators but my experience is that you are better off with the excursion offerred by your tour. The timing can be quite tight if you are going to Abu Simbel on the day you are getting on or off a boat., we sailed last year and a couple had to play catch up because their local operator didnt have them back in time. Flying is the mos efficient use of time to get there. The bus trip there can be quite tedious when your time is limited and you dont see much other than desert.

Its a magical experience seeing the incredible statues and the amazing temple they front, expecially if you so some research beforehand, not only on the ancient egypt but the more recent history that includes the creation of Lake Nassar and the incredible loss of Temples and Sites that happened as the dam filled.

 

Let us know what you decide.......roscoe

[Sekhmet]

Abu Simbel is a highlight, but for those of you who might contemplate more than one visit to Egypt, I would recommend visiting by way of one of the cruise boats which are available - they do 3- and 4-day sailings between Aswan and Abu Simbel (or vice versa), or the whole 7-day round trip.

 

Not only do you get to see the temples from the water, the way Ramesses II intended, the whole trip is very relaxed and peaceful, and a great antidote to the common "templed out" feeling which can strike, as ajilimojil pointed out.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We did Abu Simbel about ten years ago with another company. It was spectacular and I'm glad I didn't miss it. However, you get only about an hour at the temples, which was pretty tight. (This is if you are flying in and back in one day.) I know that some tours do give you more time at the site; OAT is one, I think.

 

I personally wouldn't miss this excursion.

 

We also did the light shows at Karnak and the Pyramids. They were both good, but we enjoyed the Pyramid show the most. Of course it helped that Comet Kohmenik (I've forgotten it's exact name) was clearly visible in the sky above The Sphinx! Very unforgettable.

[Robb]

dlhamlton, We did the trip with Grand Circle two years ago and it was fabulous. I am ready to go back. We were on the Anuket riverboat with Nabil as our guide. I hope you are fortunate enough to have him as well. If you do happen to meet him say 'hi' from Robb and Tony.

 

He is wonderful, still sends us Christmas cards and wishes at Easter.

 

Robb

[Hlitner]

We just returned (yesterday) from 2 weeks in Egypt where we basically did "our own thing" with liberal use of private (licensed guides) and drivers. Going to Abu Simbel was a real pain, but worth the effort. We had to take a 4AM Egyptair flight from Cairo (it makes a short stop in Aswan) that got us to Abu Simbal before 7. We than had a little over two hours to tour the ruins before catching our 10:15 flight back to Aswan. Many visitors to Abu Simbal combine the visit with a Nile cruise that begins or ends in Aswan...where you can also pick up the flights to Abu Simbel. The site must be seen in the morning (the earlier the better) when the sun is still in the East where it reflects on the site. Although we found the two temples totally amazing, it was even more amazing to consider that this site had been totally dismantled, moved, and reassembled. They did such a great job that its actually difficult to see where they cut the stones.

 

Hank

[cougfan]

Hi,

 

we went to Egypt in February. We did not go to see Abu Simbel, but one of the people in our group from the cruise did. He enjoyed it. He sent us pictures, which are great. We did a camel ride to a Monastery instead. We did do a trip to Dendara and Abydos. The ride there was the fun part. We were in a convoy of other buses, taxis and minivans. We got to see a lot more of the way the real Egyptians live. Both of the temples were good and I am glad I went. Alot of the convoy did just pull into Dendara and not continue to Abydos. We say the Sound & Light show at Karnak, it was part of our tour. I enjoyed it, being there with just lights and not many people.

 

Julie

[nancycoop1]

Thanks to all who posted information on this site. We did sign up for Abu Simbel. We are going with GCT in February. I would like to skip the included tour to the dam - does anyone know if this is possible?

 

Thanks Again

 

Nancy

[MercedMike]

AIRC, the way it worked when we did it was that we flew to the airport near Abu Simbel, and the bus from the airport to Abu Simbel passed over the dam on the way. Basically we just stopped a few minutes for pictures.

 

Check out our pics at

The Halls Cruise the Nile

 

Have a GREAT trip!

[paul929207]

In March, we sailed Luxor to Aswan. We did the included tour to the dam the day before Abu Simbel. We did cross the dam go to and from the airport, but did not stop then. You can skip any included tour.

 

Paul

[Caroliner]

Nancy Coop1,

 

I did the GCT trip in November and while my immediate reaction is "Skip the Dam if you can" here's the deal:

 

My itinerary was Aswan to Luxor on the ship, so after Cairo, we flew direct to Aswan, and were supposed to do a short stop/visit to the High Dam before going into Aswan to board the boat.

 

When we arrived, there was a schedule adjustment and we went directly to Aswan and the boat. By the way, between city and airport and city and High Dam, you will repeatedly cross the top of the Old Dam built by the British in the early 1900's at the First Cataract on the Nile just on the edge of Aswan. It's actually much more interesting and picturesque from a tourist point of view than the great High Dam could ever be.

 

So, the next morning, the High Dam was the first (thankfully short) stop on our tour that included a papyrus demo(and shopping opportunity - surprise) and a trip by boat to the incredible Temple of Philae on Angilika Island (this is a don't miss).

 

So not sure you can avoid it, or you can but lose out on something really worthwhile.

 

By the way, Abu Simbel is truly worth the time and the hassle and the cost involved. It's an "I'm only gonna be here once" opportunity like the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat or Macchu Picchu; skip it and you'll always regret it. GCT's scheduling works great, with an early flight and then bus that gets you to Abu Simbel just as the horde in the tour convoy is leaving for its 3-hour trek back to Aswan. We had the entire site almost to ourselves and as mentioned in an earlier post, morning is the only time to see and appreciate not only the temples but that they are there at all. Magnificent place; incredible undertaking !

 

Not sure what dam/bridge Merced Mike was referring to - don't remember anything like that at Abu Simbel; maybe he meant Aswan ?

[cruzqueen]

We went to Abu as part of a 11-day Egypt land and cruise tour. While ending our Nile cruise in Aswan, we took a plane for a very short flight there; toured on our own about an hour or so; flew back to meet the rest of our group. Since it was part of a package, I am not sure how much it cost to fly, but I can not imagine riding for a few hours on bus.

 

By plane, I hiighly recommend it. It was especially wonderful flying over the monument.

[nancycoop1]

Thanks for the info on visiting the Aswan Dam. It sounds as though we might be missing some other very interesting sights if we chose to skip the dam. Hopefully, the stop there will be a short one.

 

Nancy

[Caroliner]

Nancy C,

 

The stop is like 20-30 minutes max; plaza at end of dam with open-air display on building it, and chance to visit(?) monument to its construction.

 

The dam is not a big deal visually, say like Hoover Dam or Glen Canyon. It is however a MAJOR national monument in Egypt, both as achievement and for its impact on the country's development. It has changed life significantly already. Be discrete in your disinterest to avoid giving offense.

 

Note: If Mohamed El-Wassif (Big Mohamed) is a Program Director (there will be 4) on your departure, do what you can to be assigned to his group. He is knowledgeable and personable, very attuned to his guests.

[MercedMike]

Not sure what dam/bridge Merced Mike was referring to - don't remember anything like that at Abu Simbel; maybe he meant Aswan ?

 

Yeah, reviewing my pics I think you're right -- in any case, as others have said, the stop at the dam was on the way to other sites and was not very long. It is an amazing engineering achievement ... interesting to compare it to the pyramids!;)