Best places to visit as a family in Aswan, Egypt
My family spent several months based in Luxor on our first trip to Egypt, and it is still the place I would recommend most families spend the majority of their time in Egypt. However, while Luxor is the best place for families to start their Egyptian adventures, it is far from being the only place worth visiting in Egypt. The city of Aswan, in particular, is well-worth a visit for families looking to see more of what Egypt has to offer.
Check out the map!
My family stayed in an apartment on Elephantine Island and loved it. Unfortunately, that apartment is no longer available, but I definitely recommend finding a place on the island. It’s incredibly chill and there are several great restaurants on the island.
Try the camel Tagine! Or check out my article:
What’s so special about Aswan, Egypt?
In ancient times, Aswan was part of a region that was contested between Egypt in the north and the more southern kingdom of Nubia, which itself came out of the ancient kingdom of Kush. At times, Nubian rule extended as far north as Thebes (modern-day Luxor), and the Nubian kings from that time are listed among the kings of Egypt. However, control of the region continued to change hands between the two empires until the reign of Thutmose I during the early years of Egypt’s New Kingdom period.
Thutmose I conquered much of the region of Nubia and expanded Egypt’s borders far to the south, securing Aswan as an Egyptian city. However, Nubian culture has continued to permeate Aswan over the millennia. Even today, Aswan just feels different from the rest of Egypt.
It’s a much more laid-back atmosphere than you find in the larger cities like Cairo or Alexandria, and my family spent many evenings relaxing in one of Aswan’s many restaurants overlooking the Nile.
Modern day Aswan remains an important location in Egypt for a couple different reasons. It is the site of the aptly named Aswan Dam, which was built as a way to create a freshwater reserve for Egypt in 1970. And it is the site of several different temples and archeological sites that make up the UNESCO World Heritage site known as the “Nubian Monuments.”
What are the Nubian Monuments? (UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Despite the name, the Nubian Monuments were not built by the Nubians, but by the Egyptians. Many of them are thought to have been built as an attempt to impress the Nubian people with the strength of Egypt and keep them from rebelling. Others, such as the Islamic Cemetery, were built as recently as the 12th century CE. But all of them are impressive in their own right!
From north to south, these monuments are:
- The Old and Middle Kingdom tombs in Aswan (or the Tombs of Qubat El Hawa)
- The Monastery of St Simeon
- The ruins of Elephantine (Elephantine Island)
- The Islamic Cemetery
- The Unfinished Obelisk and Stone Quarries
- Philae Temple
- Kalabsha Temple
- Wadi Sebua
- Amada
- And finally, Abu Simbel
Temple on Elephantine Island
Philae Temple
Abu Simbel
Kalabsha Temple
One of the most unique aspects of the Nubian Monuments is that most of them are not located in their original locations.
Before the construction of the Aswan Dam, these archeological sites were all situated to the south of Aswan in the land covered by Lake Nasser. When plans for the dam and the creation of the lake were announced, UNESCO petitioned engineers from around the world for ideas as to how to save the monuments. Many plans were considered, including one plan to build clear dams around each of the monuments to create underwater viewing stations for them!
Eventually, it was decided to instead cut the Nubian Monuments into large sections of stone and move them to protected areas. Moving these monuments was an absolutely massive operation. Some of the stone blocks weighed as much as 30 tons and they had to be cut, transported, and reassembled at their new site, all without damaging them, and all before the Aswan Dam was completed.
More than 22 different monuments were moved in all. It took just under 4 years to complete and remains, in my opinion, one of the greatest feats of engineering and archaeology ever!
What should my family see in Aswan?
Just because Aswan is significantly smaller than Cairo or Luxor doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty to do there! Whether you’re hoping to marvel at ancient temples, explore Egyptian tombs, or just sit back and relax by the Nile, Aswan has you covered.
Explore Elephantine Island
Elephantine Island is one of the largest islands that you can find in Aswan. Located about mid-way across the Nile river, its southern tip hosts a temple complex dedicated to Khnum, one of the oldest Egyptian deities, as well as a museum dedicated to archeological finds on the island. However, Elephantine Island also hosts an entire Nubian Village, several guest houses and hotels, and Aswan’s Movenpick Resort, which is one of the top-rated stays in all of Aswan!
As my family prefers to have plenty of space to relax in, we chose to rent out an apartment on Elephantine for the duration of our stay in Aswan, and we ABSOLUTELY loved our time on the island.
A large part of that was how green the island is. Its location in the middle of the Nile means there is more than enough water for the farm plots on the island, and every spare bit of land that we saw was covered in plant life. It was an absolutely perfect atmosphere for relaxing, and we found ourselves spending most evenings relaxing at different restaurants on the island and watching the boats on the Nile. (This one was one of our favorites. Try the camel tajine!)
Elephantine Temple / Museum
If you’re spending a lot of time on Elephantine Island, the Museum and Temple are definitely worth a look, though there are definitely better options in Aswan. I would not visit the island just for the temple unless you’re trying to visit everything.
Philae Temple
If I was only planning on visiting one temple in all of Aswan, Philae Temple would be my first choice!
The Philae Temple complex is absolutely stunning and dates back to the Ptolemaic period of Egypt’s history. It was dedicated to the goddess Isis, but was also one of the supposed burial sites of the god, Horus.
Despite the temple complex’s relatively young age compared with other Egyptian ruins, Philae remained an important location for practitioners of the Egyptian religion well into Roman rule over Egypt. It remained in use for so long that it became the location of both the latest known hieroglyphic inscription (394 CE) and the latest known Demotic inscription (452 CE) in all of Egypt. And, in fact, Egyptian worshippers co-existed with Christian worshippers in the area until the temple was officially closed in 537 CE.
After that point, several different sections of the temple complex were transformed into Christian churches, and signs of that time period are still visible today.
Philae was one of the monuments that had to be moved during UNESCO’s rescue project, and currently occupies one of the islands nearest to Aswan.
Visiting Philae
Philae is one of the most popular tourist sites in Aswan, so I highly recommend visiting as close to opening as you can so you can avoid the largest crowds.
Opens at 7am year round
Closes at 4pm October – May
Closes at 5pm June – September
Tickets cost 180 EGP/adult.
Children from 6-12 years old are half-price.
Children under 6 are free.
The map is to the location where you can buy tickets, not to the Temple itself.
Important Note:
After paying the entrance fee, you will enter a fenced in section and only then will you be told that you have to pay for a ferry to get to the temple island. This was an unexpected charge for us and left an unpleasant taste in our mouths that detracted from the beauty of Philae.
The ferries seem to be on a rotation, so there’s very little room to haggle over the price of your transport, and despite costing much less than a similar ferry would in other countries, it felt expensive for Egypt. Go in expecting to pay more than you would for a ferry elsewhere in Aswan, but know that it is definitely worth it.
Alternatively, you can book a guided tour with a local tour company so you can benefit from your guide’s knowledge of the site. This method will be more expensive, but that extra cost translates into a much smoother overall experience.
Kalabsha Temple
Similar to Philae, Kalabsha Temple was moved during UNESCO’s push to save the Nubian Monuments and is located on a small island to the south of Aswan proper.
Kalabsha is both smaller and less popular than Philae, which means there is a good possibility that you’ll have the whole temple complex to yourself. If the crowds at Philae feel overwhelming, this is an excellent alternative!
It was started (but never finished) during the Roman rule of Egypt and dedicated to Mandulus, who was the Nubian god of the dawn.
Visiting Kalabsha
Kalabsha Temple is located on the southern side of the Aswan Dam, so in order to get there on your own you will have to purchase a ticket for the dam. Practically speaking, this means that these two attractions are best done on the same day, if you’re planning on visiting both.
After crossing the dam, you will have to negotiate a ferry price with one of the local fishermen. There isn’t a set ferry price since there are so few visitors to the temple, but it shouldn’t be too expensive.
Once you’ve reached the island you should be able to purchase tickets on site. They cost 60 EGP/ adult, 30 EGP / child, and are free for children under 6.
Or, if you’d prefer to skip the hassle of organizing your own transportation, check out one of these Kalabsha guided tours.
Aswan High Dam
Yes, I just mentioned that you could visit the High Dam in the same trip as you visit Kalabsha, and it’s true. You absolutely could! However, unless someone in your family is a big fan of modern engineering, I would honestly have a hard time recommending that you add this to your itinerary.
The Aswan Dam is an incredible feat of engineering that did a ton to help create a more secure source of water for Egypt. It helped boost their economy and helped to stop the annual flooding of the Nile. But it’s not a particularly exciting place to visit.
The Unfinished Obelisk
While there are tons of obelisks scattered all across Egypt, this particular one is special for a couple different reasons. After all, there are obelisks and there are obelisks, and, if it had been successfully completed, this particular one would definitely belong in the latter category.
If it had been completed, it would have been the largest ever Egyptian obelisk, with a staggering height of nearly 138 feet (42 meters)! Unfortunately, flaws in the stone where it was being quarried led to several large cracks in the obelisk and prevented the monument’s completion.
Despite never being completely cut out from the quarry, it is still a very impressive piece of history. However, I have to admit that I was much more impressed than my kids were. Their favorite part of this site was the fact that there were plenty of places to run around and climb rocks.
Nevertheless, I definitely feel like this is a great site to visit!
If you go on your own, adult tickets cost 80 EGP/person.
As usual, kids ages 6-12 are half price, and kids under 6 are free.
There’s not a lot to see here other than the Obelisk itself, so you probably won’t be sticking around for a long time. This makes it a great place to pair with another location, like the Nubian Museum!
The Nubian Museum
Our family visited our fair share of museums during our time in Egypt, but the Nubian Museum ended up being one of my favorites! A large part of that is because instead of trying to tell the story of Egypt as a whole, they did a really good job of focusing on the history of the Nubian region.
It’s far from being the most elaborate museum in Egypt, but I definitely recommend it for visitors to Aswan.
Entry tickets are 200 EGP/adult and 100 for kids from 6-12 years. Under 6 are free.
Nubian Village
If you ask one of the local taxi drivers to take you to the Nubian Village, they will take you to a small, but extremely colorful collection of buildings right on the banks of the Nile. This area is advertised as a traditional Nubian Village in the heart of Aswan, but over the years it has become undeniably touristy.
That doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth visiting! The architecture really is stunning, and the locals are hospitable. You will be invited in for some tea. But ultimately, if you’re wanting a more authentic Nubian Village experience, I’d point you back to Elephantine Island.
If you do decide to visit the Nubian Village, be sure to bring some money for souvenirs!
(Not part of a tour!)
Aswan Botanical Gardens
If you’ve been in Egypt for more than a few days, the sheer amount of greenery that greets you when you step onto Kitchener’s Island will be a welcome sight.
Kitchener’s Island, or El Nabatat, was granted to Lord Horatio Kitchener during his time as Egypt’s Consul-General from 1911-1914. During those three years, Lord Kitchener indulged his love of beautiful plants by importing trees and other plants from across the world to build his gardens.
After his departure, the island was transformed into a Botanical Research Institute which continued to grow the island’s collection of plants. It was opened to the public as the Aswan Botanical Gardens in 1928, and has been a beautiful spot to visit ever since.
We ran out of time in Aswan before we had a chance to visit the Botanical Gardens, but it looks nice when seen from Elephantine. If you’ve had the chance to visit, let me know how it went!
The gardens are open from 8:00am until 5:00pm daily. I can’t find confirmation on the exact ticket prices, (their phone number was incorrect on Google Maps), but it shouldn’t cost more than a couple dollars for each person.
Day Trip Locations Outside Aswan worth Visiting
Quite apart from all the amazing places you can visit inside of the city itself, Aswan serves as a jumping off point for visiting some absolutely amazing ruins. In fact, the main reason our family visited Aswan to begin with was to get us close enough to visit Abu Simbel!
It is quite possible to visit these locations from Aswan and return in a single day, though it will be a pretty full day.
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is the southernmost of the Nubian Monuments and is famous enough that the area around it has its own airport that gets used almost exclusively for visitors to the monuments there.
There are two separate monuments at the site (called Abu Simbel and Little Abu Simbel), but both were built by Ramses II during the New Kingdom era. The larger temple is dedicated to Ramses II himself, while the smaller is dedicated to both his wife, Nefertari and to the goddess Hathor.
This is one of my favorite architectural wonders in Egypt, for a couple reasons. One is because Abu Simbel is aligned in such a way that the sun illuminates the face of one of Ramses’ statues twice a year on his birthday and on the day he was crowned king.
Another is that Little Abu Simbel is literally a monument to the love he felt for his Queen, Nefertari. In building this temple, Ramses spurned traditions of the day by making the statues of Nefertari the same size as the statues of himself, putting her on equal footing with him. (Also check out Nefertari’s tomb in the Valley of the Queens in Luxor! It’s beautiful.)
Pro tip: If you want to get Abu Simbel all to yourself, be sure to visit as early as possible in the morning! This requires you to get a hotel nearby for a night instead of returning to Aswan, as the shuttles between the two areas only run during the day, but it’s worth it to see these amazing structures with no one else around!
Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples
While Abu Simbel sits to the south of Aswan, Kom Ombo and Edfu are located to the north, between Aswan and Luxor. Both Edfu and Kom Ombo are Ptolemaic era temples located along the Nile.
Edfu was dedicated to the Egyptian god Horus, while Kom Ombo was dedicated to both Horus and to the crocodile-headed god, Sobek. As with many of the Ptolemaic temples, the relatively young age of these ruins mean they are very well preserved.
Unfortunately, I have not had the chance to visit either of these temples yet, as we chose to visit Aswan by train instead of taking a Nile Cruise or hiring a car. However, I have several friends who tell me that they are both stunning examples of Egyptian architecture. Both temples are very solidly on my “to-visit” list.
As with Abu Simbel, visiting these temples can be done from Aswan in a single day. However, it does make for a long day.
I’d personally try to schedule these temples as stops on the trip between Aswan and Luxor.
Aswan to Luxor via Private Car
(including Edfu and Kom Ombo)
Aswan to Luxor Nile Cruise
(including Abu Simbel, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and a hot air balloon ride!)
