Organising your time in Aswan

Many people travel to Egypt without spending some days in this city, unfortunately. There are many things to see and do here and around, and the fact that everything’s so scattered makes it harder to compile your days in Aswan. We chose to stay four nights on Elephantine Island. It’s pretty central, safe, and there’s a cheap, public boat service between the island and the eastern bank of the Nile (where most people live) for just 5EGP/person. Here’s how we planned our four days here:

Day 1: Elephantine Island

Having arrived from Cairo by plane at 9:30am, we went for a quick rest at the guesthouse. After that, we changed some money and had lunch at a restaurant on the eastern bank of the Nile. We planned to have a relaxed day, so our afternoon was spent on Elephantine Island itself after getting back on the public boat. We visited the Aswan Museum and the ruins of Abu (which contain the small but beautiful Temples of Khnum and Satet) at its southern tip. The island itself is one of the attractions of Aswan: the colourful houses and the narrow, dirt streets with almost no motorized vehicles can really take you centuries back in time.

• Ruins of Abu: 35EGP
• Aswan Museum: 70EGP

We stayed at Basmatic Nubian guesthouse but, if you’re at Elephantine Island, make sure to have dinner at Bob Marley’s guesthouse rooftop restaurant, which absolutely has the best views over the eastern bank.

Day 2: West Bank

This day was fully destined to the western bank of the Nile, which has plenty of sites to visit. They are all near the river, so it’s possible to cover them easily with a boat. You can hire a motorboat anywhere near the Nile, but make sure to haggle the price. Our base was Elephantine Island, so we got one at Elephantine Port. Everyone asked us for 300EGP/hour initially but we managed to lower it to 200EGP, which we think is fair enough.

2.1) Tombs of the Nobles

We planned to start from the northernmost site, the Tombs of the Nobles, where you’re allowed to visit 3-4 tombs with some relief carvings with a mandatory guide. He will obviously ask you for some baksheesh (tip) at the end of the visit. For the best views of the Nile and central Aswan, go further up to the highest point – you will not regret it.

• Entrance ticket: 60EGP

2.2) Botanical Garden (Kitchener’s Island)

The next stop was the botanical garden (Kitchener’s Island), a garden-island of exotic plant species from other parts of Africa and Asia.

• Entrance ticket: 30EGP

2.3) St. Simeon’s Monastery & Aga Khan Mausoleum

Heading further south you’ll reach Aga Khan Mausoleum. It has been closed for years but still deserves a quick photo before you head to St. Simeon’s Monastery, a now-abandoned Coptic Christian Orthodox Monastery dating back to the 7^th century. Some traces of frescoes can still be spotted here! You can walk there (we did it) or hitch a camel ride near the beach where the boat stops.

• Entrance ticket: 40EGP

2.4) Nubian Village

The last stop on the west bank was the Nubian Village, where we ended our boat rental. It’s possible to reach this final stop after maybe 4-5 hours. We stopped for lunch at a very nice restaurant overviewing the Nile and also spent some time sightseeing the village, as the houses are really characteristic and colourful. If you’re looking for souvenirs, this might be a good place to get some, as things are not as pricey as in the main bazaar.

From the Nubian Village to the centre you can use a taxi (±100EGP) but the cheapest option is to find public buses as you head South to the Aswan Low Dam (5EGP/person).

Day 3: Abu Simbel & Nubian Museum

3.1) Abu Simbel

Please note that the tour should be arranged at least two days before, as you’ll need permits beforehand (Abu Simbel is located near the Sudanese border so you should cross some military checkpoints to get there). Your hotel or guesthouse should be able to organise this tour on your behalf.

The day started before sunrise. It takes a 3-hour drive to reach Abu Simbel so our minivan left Aswan at 4:30am. If you’re able to choose, minivans arrive about one hour before the organised tours who travel on bigger, slower buses. This means the place will not be crowded when you arrive. In fact, waking up that early is not much of a sacrifice when you realize what’s before your eyes: one of the biggest wonders ancient Egyptians ever built, moved piece-by-piece in the 1970s before the construction of the Aswan High Dam put it all underwater.

The independent tours usually give you 2 hours to visit the two temples (Ramses II and Hathor), which is enough: we actually did enter the Great Temple of Ramses II twice. On the way back, the mini-bus leaves you in the centre of Aswan at nearly 1:00pm.

• Entrance ticket: 255EGP
• Camera ticket: 300EGP (no one asked us to pay for our camera though)

3.2) Nubian Museum

After lunch is still possible to visit the amazing Nubian Museum. If you only have time for one museum in Aswan, look no further: this one’s much better than Aswan Museum. Here, you may witness the history of Nubia from ancient times until today. It even features a rich gallery of unique photos from the UNESCO-driven project to save Egyptian temples from the rising waters of Lake Nasser.

• Entrance ticket: 140EGP
• Camera ticket: 50EGP

Day 4: Philae Temple & Central Aswan

4.1) Philae Temple

Early morning was destined to visit the Temple of Isis (Philae Temple), located on an island in the middle of the Nile, between the High Dam and the Low Dam. A taxi here should cost ±150EGP (including waiting time for the return trip).

After the ticket office, you should negotiate one of the many boats waiting for tourists. The better option here is to approach a captain with a boat halfway full, especially if you are not a big group: he will want to depart as soon as possible and may lower your ticket price more easily (don’t expect it to be very cheap, anyway). The ride lasts no more than 10 minutes and you can see the temple as you approach by the river – choose the left hand side of the boat so you have a clear view of the temple! The captain should allow you one hour to visit and after that he’ll pick you up on the same place.

• Entrance ticket: 180EGP
• Boat ticket: 100-150EGP/person

4.2) Central Aswan

On the afternoon, we chose to sightsee central Aswan. One of the biggest highlights here is a 41-meter unfinished obelisk laying on a quarry since ancient times. Presumably, this obelisk was rejected after a major crack was discovered on the bedrock. The site also features other interesting traces of the activity of ancient stonecutters. The last few hours of the day were spent on the city souq (bazaar).

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