My friend and I are planning to go on the Nile Valley and Red Sea excursion at the end of Feb. The tour offers a free day to visit Abu Simbel from Aswan. I read in earlier postings that this should be done through personal travel agents, who can book flight tickets. My confusion however lies in the fact that while I am flying from Bombay, India, my friend will be joining me in Cairo from London, England. We are to meet and take the tour together starting in Cairo. Does this mean we must co-ordinate the date of the free day in Aswan and ask our individual travel agents to book us separately (but on the same flight) to Abu Simbel? It would involve a lot of planning and co-ordination from both our ends... Isn't there a simpler way to do this? Perhaps get to Cairo and have an Egyptian travel agent book both of us on an internal flight from Aswan to Abu Simbel? This is a matter of some confusion to me, and I would appreciate any kind of facts, or advice on this!
Thanks!
Peri
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
Hi Peri,
As I'm sure you are aware the road to Abu Simbel is still closed and the only way to get there is to fly.
We recommend that you refer back to the individual agents with which you booked your tour for flight tickets. If you are flying into Egypt with Egypt Air you will be able to book flights at the local price of US$85.00 (rtn - not including transfers or entrance fees - approx US$10.00).
Alternatively you can book flights when you arrive in Egypt.
[b][email]chris@imtrav.co.uk[/email][/b]
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
I just did this also. Your guide will ask you about this the first day of the trip and can book it with a credit card no problem--and don't let them give you crap like they have to charge a 5% fee for it. That's BS. And it appeared as $120 in my credit card, not $85. There is another option IT doesn't talk about. Apparently you can go by boat there for the day for about $50 instead of the 45 min flight and the 2 hour rush through the temple for $120. It's a great place to go, but it's very rushed. You might want to ask about the boat. Don't worry about doing it ahead of time though. You don't need to.
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
I agree with Shareen's recommendation of paying for the trip to Abu Simbel after you land in Egypt. I also found that it was much cheaper that way....about US$90, instead of US$230 that they would have charged me in the US. However, there is a slight risk that tickets may not be available. We met up with another group during the Nile Cruise. Some of the folks in that group could not get tickets in the last minute.
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
Like Shareen I booked with my tour leader and paid the same price of $120.00, But this was also for transfers to the airport which I received. It was cheaper without the transfers. I felt my tour leader offered me the options and left it to me. The boat is another way of getting there but as the leader explained, it is a full day and we sailed that afternoon on the cruise boat. So that option was out the window. I felt I was given a great service in all, this option being a very small part of an overall outstanding trip.
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
Hi
Fair bit of debate about this!
The Abu Simbel road closure has been a great inconvenience for travellers and awkward for us at Im Trav trying to ensure travellers get a good deal and don't miss out on the amazing temples.
I'd first like to clarify some points raised above, which relate to services Im Trav no longer offer.
Until 1 Jan this year, Im Trav offered a package excursion which included return flight, transfers, services of representatives to fix the frequent problems (eg bumping of flights). This package was the same price whether bought from Im Trav in Cairo or in advance from a travel agent. Therefore our advice was to book it in advance to avoid the possibility that the flights were full on the day travellers were in Aswan.
Since 1 Jan however, we only offer the return flight ticket - no transfers or any other bells or whistles.
This ticket can be booked in advance or at our Cairo office for the ticket price, currently GBP52, plus a service charge of GBP 25.
Of course you don't have to book the ticket with Im Trav. Travellers can contact Egypt Air in Cairo directly for a ticket (though that will take up a large part of your valuable time in Cairo). Alternatively you can book the ticket with your travel agent at home.
If you are flying to Egypt with Egypt Air you may even get a better deal for the add on.
Unfortunately, Shareen's advice about credit cards is no longer correct. Im Trav overseas offices (including the one in Cairo) do not accept Credit Card as payment for amounts less than GBP 100 (USD 150).
There is indeed a boat service, which has not been operating long. The boat operator has chosen only to sell directly to the public. So although your tour leader will advise you of this option you will have to go about booking it yourself. As Julie pointed out it doesn't fit well with our trips which only have a limited time in the region.
Whatever you chooose to do. Good luck. I'm sure you will enjoy the site. It is my favourite in Egypt and everyone should really consider going. After all when will you pass this way again.
We're all hoping the road re-opens. Sadly despite many many many many rumours about impending openings, we'll only believe it when it happens.
Good luck
John Burgess
Head of Operations
The Imaginative Traveller
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
We booked a flight to Abu Simbel through our travel agent, becuase we thought it was the only way to get there. We are going in Feb. on Kingdoms of the Nile. However, I hate to fly and if possible I would much rather take a boat which we could do since we have a free day and night on that trip. Would it be possible to wait until we get to Asswan, check out the boat situation and then cancel the flight the day before, when we arrive at Asswan? Please advise. Thanks.
Re: Booking a flight to Abu Simbel
I don't know who your travel agent purchased the ticket from or the rules they would enforce, but there would be no refund for cancellation of a service booked with Im Trav the day before travel.