Aswan City is located in the East Bank of Nile River. It stands as the southern frontier of the pharaonic time in Egypt. The ancient name of the city also said to be derived from the Egyptian symbol for “trade” or “market”. Today, it is an important administrative center of Egypt. Due to it’s location too, there are many resorts established in this city and perfect area for trade with it’s neighbor country Sudan.
As for me, I only had one goal why I wanted to travel to Aswan. It was the majestic “Abu Simbel”. So, when I was preparing for my itinerary, I really squeezed it and ensured to add Aswan in my bucket list. Though, like my entire experience of creating my own itinerary in Egypt, it was challenging to get information about the current state of Aswan from a female solo traveler perspective. Nevertheless, with my eagerness to see Abu Simbel, I dug deep in my online research.
- How did I get there?
- Where did I stayed?
- Where are the places I travelled?
- Expenses in Aswan
- Farewell, Aswan!
How did I get there?
While preparing my itinerary, I pre-booked a train to Aswan. From all the blogs and Facebook posts I read, Aswan can be reached via air and train. There were other forms of transportation too like bus but you will stop first in Luxor then ride another bus to Aswan. However, I haven’t read any updated posts about the bus from Luxor to Aswan as my last stop is in Luxor. Thus, I decided to book the train via https://abelatrains.com. I chose the Upper Egypt Station for the departure and Aswan for the arrival.
I booked a one way train ride from Upper Egypt Station to Aswan. After my payment, I received an email about my booking reservation. Since I will stay overnight in the train, I booked a single cabin. I was pleased with their customer service as they responded in my inquiries within 24 hours. If you have inquiries about Abela Trains, you may send an email to info@abelatrains.com.
After checking out from my hotel in Giza, my driver drove me to Upper Egypt Station in less than 20 minutes. I was delighted to see that this train station was clean and huge. It also looked like a museum. There were convenience stores inside so you can buy your snacks.
My train schedule was 19:45. I arrived in the station, about an hour earlier. After buying snacks, I went to the platform to wait for the train. For some minutes, the train arrived. The train conductor greeted me, brought my luggage and assisted me to my cabin. From this part, let me just say that the train is not for the faint hearted. 😅😅😅
The train couch upholstery was old. My cabin has a small sink but it was secured by a masking tape only. 😅 I had my own lights, charging station and trash cans. The first 15 minutes, I felt that I was itching. If you are a fan of modern style, consider flying to Aswan instead. 😅 I was like I wanted to experience the train ride in Egypt but for that minute, I wanted to get out. 😅 The common rest room is expected old too and unclean. 😓😓😓
I wanted to lay my back so I tried to set up the couch to a bed. Not knowingly, my conductor should do it.😅 He has this key that can slide the couch to a bed. Viola! A bed was made. Happily, the sheet and pillow was clean. 👍 Our train left Giza at around 20:30.
After some minutes, my conductor knocked again and gave me my dinner. I already forgotten that there was a dinner included in my train booking. The food was just ok. From the booking, there were options for chicken, beef and fish. I forgot that I ordered a chicken meal. 😅
After my dinner, I tried to sleep. Luckily, maybe because of the long day, I found myself asleep. At around, 6AM I was wide awake. My conductor knocked again and gave me my breakfast.
The train arrived in Aswan by 10AM. At last, I was free from the old cabin. 😭😭😭 Do I have regrets in booking the train? Maybe, yes. 😆 But believe me, I will not exchange it to another experience. For that overnight train ride, it proved again that travelling is not always pretty yet can add a moment of resilience. 💜
Where did I stayed?
As I spent a night on the sleeper train and headed directly to Abu Simbel, after I returned to Aswan, I stayed in David’s Hostel. I found this hostel in Booking.com while searching for a cheap place in Aswan. After my booking, David, the hostel owner contacted me and informed me that he can arrange for my transportation in Aswan.
After my day tour from Abu Simbel, my driver dropped me off in David’s Hostel. The hostel is an old house. David informed me that he will transfer me from the basement room to the 2nd floor instead. I was delighted to hear this from David. I was exhausted from an overnight stay in the train and the travel to Abu Simbel.
However, when David was showing me my room, I was terrified. The room is too old. All of the furnitures are neither tearing off or rusted. 😞😰 The AC in my room felt like all the dust has been collected there for years. There was this creepy huge cabinet too. 😱
When David invited me to have my dinner which is included in the room reservation, he prepared a meal that I was not sure if safe. The table where he placed the meal was dirty with dusts and dried flakes of rice or chips. It was also weird that there were saw, rope and packing tapes on the table. I was not sure if he was doing some sort of repair, but it was creepy. 😰😰😰
I had a hard time to sleep. Aside that it was not comfortable, it was noisy outside. I also did not turned off the lights just to be safe. It was like a nightmare. I understand that I just paid less than US $6 for a night but it was really not comfortable. After praying so hard, I was able to sleep for about 5 hours.
On the next day, I used the shower and it was all rusted. 😰😰😰 I tried to bathe as fast as I can. After arranging my stuffs, I headed downstairs to wait for my driver. It was indeed a different experience. What a night! 🥺😢😭
I hope that David can save enough money to renovate the place as it has a good potential. The house is huge and has character. Overall, with the service of David including the arrangement of transportation, I cannot thank him enough. 🙇♀️
Where are the places I travelled?
Abu simbel
Entrance Fee: EGP 822
After almost 14 hours from my train ride in Giza to Aswan, I pre-arranged a transportation to Abu Simbel. My hostel owner David helped me to arrange my trip to Abu Simbel. My driver picked me up from Aswan Train Station and we drove to Abu Simbel.
Before we reached Abu Simbel, the dessert welcomed me. We were like driving in the middle of nowhere. There was this re-route that my driver took and we passed by a rough road. My driver mentioned to me that we diverted the road to skip a checkpoint for tourists. Since he cannot speak English well, I didn’t asked why we needed to do it. But deep inside, I was nervous. 😖😖😖 I was alone and the road we took was very bumpy. That passage took about 10 minutes. After that, we returned to the highway.
My driver smiled at me and said, “I told you, you are safe with me”. I was like, “ok, ok”. 😅 After almost an hour of the bumpy road, we passed by a checkpoint. One officer asked to open the front seat. He entered our car. It seemed he was hitchhiking. The officer then exited our vehicle. I was like, “who was this guy to enter our car?”. We also passed by a route and my driver mentioned that it was the road going to Sudan. 😵😵😵 I was like “God! I was so far away from home!” 🤣😂🤣
After 3.5 hours, we reached Abu Simbel. It was hot on that one day in June. The temperature was over 38°! I know that I lived in a tropical country, but oh my, it was BLOODY HOT! 🥵🥵🥵🥵🥵 I thought I will pass out. But with the water I had and just taking my steps slower, I survived! 😁
Abu Simbel is located in the West Bank of Nile River, over looking Lake Nasser. The twin cold granite temple structures were built during the reign of Ramses II, with some dating from around 1264 BCE to around 1244 BCE, during the New Kingdom period. It was said that the temple construction was for about 20 years that adoring with Gods like Amun-Ra and Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, plus Ramses II himself.
Also part of the Abu Simbel is the Temple of Queen Nefertari. It is one of the few temples in Egypt where a queen is depicted, with her stature made the same size as that of the pharaoh. The Queen’s temple was very beautiful.
The temples were located on the upper ground from 1964 through 1968. These brought the temples to save from drowning under the rising waters of Lake Nasser due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The government of Egypt and UNESCO worked hand in hand to complete the relocation and save these ancient temples.
As today, both temples were part of the most visited places in Egypt. As for me, as I added Abu Simbel in my bucket list, I was really wondering how these mega structures been built and relocated. I was blessed and happy to be one of the traveller to visit this site.💜✨💜
Both temples were amazing with intricate details inside. It made my travel to Aswan all worth it! It was like visiting an ancient city while overlooking a beautiful lake. The heat, the tiredness of the transportation, my thirst, went away when I saw these temples. It was spectacular! ✨✨✨
I spent more than an hour inside the Abu Simbel complex. After visiting the two temples, I saw that there was like a golf cart that I can ride to return to the main entrance. I grabbed that chance to ride the golf cart since it was bloody hot. 🥵
After Abu Simbel, my driver took me to a local restaurant for lunch. Finally, after a long day in the heat, I can have a proper meal. I was delighted that my lunch was really delicious. The fish was freshly caught. As I was done in my lunch, we drove back to Aswan city proper.
When driving, we passed by another checkpoint. Sadly, the officer asked for money from my driver in broad daylight. 😞😞😞 This was not the first time I encountered an officer like this. We had one in Cairo too. Evidently, corruption is everywhere. 😞
After 3.5 hours and driving on that rough road again, we reached Aswan City. My driver dropped me off in my hostel then I stayed in Aswan for a night before heading to Luxor.
the temple of Kom ombo
Entrance Fee: EGP 450
David, my hostel owner, informed me that I can visit 2 sites before heading to Luxor. With that I agreed as it has the same tour fee. After a creepy night in his hostel, my driver picked me up and we drove to Kom Ombo. It was about 2 hours away from Aswan.
The Temple of Kom Ombo came from the Arabic word “kum” meaning mound and “ombo” derives from the ancient Egyptian name of the city “Nubt” or Golden City. It was built in the Ptolemaic period. It was constructed to honor two deities – the crocodile god named Sobek and the falcon god Horus.
Due to the conflict between Sobek and Horus, the ancient Egyptians felt it was necessary to separate their temple spaces within one temple. The Kom Ombo temple has two entrances, courts, colonnades, Hypostyle halls, and sanctuaries, one side for each god.
The Temple of Kom Ombo is small only where you can spend 20 to 30 minutes. I spent almost the same time too inside the temple. It was like I owned the entire temple as there were no other travellers than me. 😁
After spending time in Temple of Kom Ombo, we drove again for about 2 hours going to Temple of Edfu. We were getting near to Luxor too. ☺️
Temple of edfu
Entrance Fee: EGP 550
The Temple of Edfu is the second largest temple in Egypt. It is also known as the Temple of Horus or known with the falcon-headed God. Edfu is the most beautiful and well-preserved of all the Egyptian temples. A French archaeologist by the name of Auguste Mariette uncovered it from its sand burial in the 1860’s.
The Temple of Edfu is located now in a residential area. When driving, we passed by ordinary Egyptian houses. My driver dropped me off outside the Temple. Then, I walked to the main entrance gate for about 10 minutes. It was about 11AM and the heat was scorching. 🥵🥵🥵
Inside the Temple, there were few travellers alike. It was like we were just less than 10 and the others are police officers and locals. With that, I had more private time to explore the temple. I was truly amazed how the Temple of Edfu has been preserved. All the hieroglyphics and statues were like preserved inside a museum.
After an hour, I sent a message to my driver and informed him to meet him again in the entrance gate. We drove to Luxor from Edfu for about two hours more. Before 3PM, we arrived safely in Luxor and my driver dropped me off my hotel.
Expenses in Aswan
For my expenses in Aswan, please see below. Please note that the conversion was from last June 2025. Expenses displayed below do not include souvenirs. Adding these expenses not to brag but for you to have an idea of how much you can spend in Egypt.
Click here
Farewell, Aswan!
It was an incredible stay in Aswan that I will never ever forget! 😅😊 From the train ride to Abu Simbel to the creepy overnight stay to the temples of Edfu and Kom Ombo, it was an adventure that I may say “one for the books”. ✔️
Travelling is not always pretty and comfortable. Travelling is about experiencing the unexpected experiences. It will take you to beautiful and far places but it can also give you a dose of the real life.
For now, thank you, Aswan! It was a memory that I will never ever forget! 💜💜💜
Off to Luxor! ✨
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