Aswan Day Trip from Luxor by Train

About this trip

See Aswan without changing hotels. A first-class train takes you south in the morning; in Aswan your guide shows you the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae Temple, with lunch in town, before the train back to Luxor. Train tickets, car, guide, lunch and entrance fees are included.

The day

1. Morning

   Pickup from your hotel and transfer to Luxor station

   We collect you from your hotel in Luxor and drive you to Luxor railway station, where you board the first-class train to Aswan. Your train tickets are booked for you in advance, so there is nothing to arrange at the ticket office.

2. Morning

   First-class train to Aswan

   The line runs south beside the Nile for the whole journey. From your window you see sugar cane, date palms, mud-brick villages and the river appearing between the fields. It is a calmer way to travel than the road, and a good time to rest.

3. Late morning

   The Aswan High Dam

   In Aswan, your guide and private car take you first to the High Dam, built between 1960 and 1970. It controls the Nile, produces electricity for much of Egypt and holds back Lake Nasser. Your guide explains why it was built and how it changed farming, villages and monuments along the river.

4. Midday

   The Unfinished Obelisk

   In the ancient granite quarries of Aswan lies an obelisk that was never lifted. Cut most likely in the time of Queen Hatshepsut, it cracked while still attached to the bedrock and was left where it was. Finished, it would have been the largest obelisk ever made, about 42 meters long.

5. Midday

   Lunch at a restaurant in Aswan

   A sit-down lunch at a restaurant in Aswan, included in the price. It is the main break of the day, out of the sun, and a chance to ask your guide questions before you head out to the island temple of Philae for the afternoon.

6. Afternoon

   Philae Temple, the island temple of Isis

   A short boat ride takes you to Agilkia Island, where Philae now stands. The temple honored Isis, mother of Horus, and it was one of the last places where the old religion was practiced. Its oldest part dates to Nectanebo I; most of what you see was built by the Ptolemies and the Romans.

7. End of the day

   Train back to Luxor and hotel drop-off

   Your guide and car take you back to Aswan station for the first-class train north. In Luxor you are met at the station and driven to your hotel. Train tickets, the guide, the car, lunch, water and entrance fees are all covered; you only need money for tips and personal extras.

Questions about this trip