Self-Launched Aswan to Luxor: Nile Felluca, Abu Simbel & West Bank Balloon

Fly or take the train into Aswan and drop your bag at a budget hotel on the Corniche or in the Nubian-style neighbourhoods of the west bank. In the afternoon, take a local taxi or the public Nile ferry to the Philae Temple boat jetty, where you join a motorboat across to Agilkia Island (about £3–5 return, often shared with other travellers). Philae is at its best in late-afternoon light. Combine it with a quick stop at the Aswan High Dam viewpoint on the way back — a taxi for the half-day loop should cost around £8–12. If you want a licensed Egyptologist for the temple, book a small-group Philae tour on GetYourGuide or via your hotel for roughly £12–18. In the evening, eat at a Nubian restaurant and, if you fancy the cruise ships' 'Nubian party', find a live Nubian music night in a west-bank guesthouse instead — many put on dinner and drumming for around £8–10.

🚌Airport or train station transfer by local taxi (~£3–5); afternoon loop by taxi and motorboat

🛏Budget hotel or guesthouse in Aswan (private twin, roughly £12–20/night)

• →Motorboat to Philae Temple
• →Aswan High Dam viewpoint
• →Optional licensed guide for Philae (~£12–18)
• →Nubian dinner/music at a west-bank guesthouse

Join the classic pre-dawn shared minibus convoy to Abu Simbel — book through your hotel or a GetYourGuide day trip the night before (roughly £20–30 including entry-adjacent transport; the site ticket is about £18 separately). Leave around 04:00–05:00 to reach the temples just after sunrise and beat the big coach groups. You get 2–3 hours at the site, then return to Aswan by early afternoon (about 3.5 hours each way). From Aswan, take an onward shared minibus or the train towards Kom Ombo (roughly £4–8, around 45 minutes by road). Stay overnight in Kom Ombo village or in a small guesthouse near the temple rather than on a cruise berth — and if you want the Nile-at-sunset feel, many Kom Ombo guesthouses run short felucca sails for £5–8.

🚌Shared minibus Aswan–Abu Simbel–Aswan (~£20–30); shared minibus Aswan–Kom Ombo (~£4–8)

🛏Guesthouse near Kom Ombo temple (roughly £10–18/night)

• →Sunrise visit to Abu Simbel temples
• →Optional sunset felucca on the Nile (~£5–8)

Start early at Kom Ombo Temple on the riverbank — the double temple of Sobek and Horus is quiet before 09:00, and the crocodile museum is worth 20 minutes. Entry is around £6. Then take a shared minibus or local train north to Edfu (about £3–5, 45–60 minutes). At Edfu, pick up a horse-drawn carriage from the riverside to the Temple of Horus — negotiate the fare before setting off (roughly £3–5 each way, or £8 for the round trip). The Edfu temple is one of Egypt's best preserved; a licensed guide for an hour costs about £12–15 and is genuinely worth it for the reliefs. Afterwards, catch the Nile Valley train from Edfu to Luxor (roughly £5–9, 1.5–2 hours) — the equivalent of the cruise's Esna Lock sailing, and you'll pass the lock on the way. In Luxor, check in near the Corniche or the West Bank, then visit Luxor Temple after dark when it's floodlit and less crowded (entry around £6). Dinner on the East Bank with a local dance or music show at a rooftop restaurant replaces the ship's belly-dancing night.

🚌Shared minibus Kom Ombo–Edfu (~£3–5); horse carriage in Edfu (~£3–5); train Edfu–Luxor (~£5–9)

🛏Budget hotel in Luxor, East or West Bank (roughly £12–20/night)

• →Kom Ombo Temple and crocodile museum
• →Horse-drawn carriage to Temple of Horus
• →Edfu Temple with optional private guide (~£12–15)
• →Floodlit Luxor Temple visit

Book a hot air balloon flight for the first light slot the day before — GetYourGuide and local operators in Luxor run sunrise flights of 30–45 minutes for roughly £55–80 including hotel pickup, which is the single biggest saving versus cruise-ship pricing. Land by about 07:00 and head straight to the West Bank sites. Buy the combined West Bank ticket (Valley of the Kings plus Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, roughly £18–22) and add the Ramesseum or Medinet Habu if you have time. Take a local microbus or taxi between the Valley of the Kings, Deir el-Bahari (Hatshepsut) and the Colossi of Memnon — a West Bank taxi for the morning is around £10–15, or you can rent a bike for £3–5. Cross back to the East Bank by the public Nile ferry (about £1) and finish at Karnak Temple (entry around £7) in the early afternoon, when the light through the hypostyle hall is excellent. Local lunch at a West Bank restaurant costs about £4–6. Bags can be left at your hotel before an afternoon train or evening flight out of Luxor.

🚌Balloon pickup; West Bank taxi or microbus (~£10–15); public Nile ferry (~£1); onward train/flight from Luxor

🛏None included (day 4 is the final day) — hotel luggage storage available

• →Sunrise hot air balloon flight over the West Bank
• →Valley of the Kings
• →Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari
• →Colossi of Memnon photo stop
• →Karnak Temple
• →Local West Bank lunch