Aswan Trips

historically pivotal location alongside the First Cataract

Aswan is a major town on the east bank of the River Nile in Egypt. Lying around 700 km south of Cairo, this area marks the southerly limit of boat navigation on the River Nile.

The majority of travellers exploring the Nile Valley end their trip in Aswan, usually having sailed here over 3-4 nights from Luxor. However, many make the mistake of not spending time here. This is a genuinely interesting place, with a much more relaxed atmosphere.

As you cruise upstream from Luxor, past Kom Ombo, the broad green irrigated fields start to diminish and the arid walls of the valley close in on either side. Approaching Aswan, the great river is divided by a network of small islands, where the cruise boats moor to off-load their guests.

A little further south, past the islands, the path of the river is blocked by the Aswan Low Dam, which holds back a lack with further more arid islands, including one which is home to the impressive Temple of Philae and another with some nice Nubian guesthouses.

At the top of the lake is the Aswan High Dam, which in turn holds back the massive Lake Nasser, which stretches for almost 300 km to the border with Sudan.

Unlike almost all of the towns and cities further north, which lie amongst the fertile fields irrigated by the waters of the Nile, the city of Aswan is perched on an arid plain, high above the river. It’s a busy place, not of great appeal to most travellers.

Of more interest are the various islands out on the river, including the arboretum on Kitchener’s Island and the Nubian village and archaeological sites on Elephantine Island.

The best time to visit Aswan is widely considered to be the winter months of Nov-Mar, but we sometimes favour other times of year, when temperatures may be higher, but visitor numbers are often much lower.

Aswan experiences a conventional northern hemisphere climate, with a hot dry summer centred on May-Sep and a warm dry winter Nov-Mar …

May-Sep : Summer

During the May-Sep summer the daytime temperatures typically reach 41C, with night-time temperatures holding up around 23C. Although these temperatures may seem concerning, the relative humidity drops considerably, meaning that comfort temperatures are not so bad, at least during the day. This season can also be advantaged by light summer breezes out on the river. However, given the warm nights, we do recommend that you stay somewhere with air-conditioning.

Despite being ‘out of season’, visitor numbers do increase during the European vacation season, centred on Jul/Aug, so best to head for May, June or late September if you can.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably lower during some of these months.

Oct : Autumn

The month of October represents a transition between summer and winter conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low.

Nov-Mar : Winter

During the Nov-Mar winter the daytime temperatures typically reach 25C, with nighttime temperatures plunging to 8C. Relatively humidities rise considerably, meaning that the middle of the day can be surprisingly uncomfortable, given the relatively low absolute temperatures.

These warm (rather than hot) conditions have led to winter being the most popular time to visit, meaning that visitor numbers reach their peak, especially around Dec-Jan. We therefore recommend November to mid-December and mid-January to March (excluding a week either side of Easter), although even then you probably need to deploy traffic avoidance measures when visiting the key sites.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably higher during some of these months.

Apr : Spring

The month of April represents a transition between winter and summer conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low (except for a week either side of Easter).

Getting there

We normally recommend spending 2-3 nights in Aswan, or 2 nights here and one further south at Abu Simbel, before flying back north to Cairo.

Aswan is usually reached by cruise boat from Luxor, a journey of 3-5 nights.

It is also possible to do the journey by train in 3 hours, or to do it by road if you want to visit any of the historic sites along the way.

The majority of travellers then fly out of the local airport, back to Cairo.

We also organise trips which arrive into Egypt from Sudan, travelling down the River Nile to Lake Nasser and on down to Aswan, in which case the next stop would most likely be Luxor.

Once in Aswan, the usual way to get around is by private vehicle transfer, with private boat taxis to get between the various islands.

the usual end location for boat cruises on the Nile