3–5 days · Luxor ⇄ Aswan by cruise ship or dahabiya · Abu Simbel before dawn · hotel pickup in Hurghada
Hurghada is on the Red Sea, not the Nile, so every 'Nile cruise from Hurghada' starts with a drive: about four hours to Luxor or six to seven to Aswan. The usual package is a car to Luxor, four nights on a cruise ship sailing to Aswan with an early-morning trip to Abu Simbel, and a car back to the coast. Abu Simbel on its own is not a day trip from Hurghada. It is about 280 km beyond Aswan.
Hotel to hotel
3–5 days
Pickup
Day 1 morning at your Hurghada hotel
On the way
≈ 295 km to Luxor, ≈ 500 km to Aswan; Abu Simbel ≈ 280 km beyond Aswan
Best for
A first Egypt trip, couples, anyone who wants temples without 20-hour days
Photography. Photos with a mobile phone are free of charge; drones need a Ministry of Defense permit.26
Buying tickets. Official e-tickets are sold on egymonuments.com for a chosen date; they are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled. Visa and Mastercard are accepted online and at site counters.27
People search "Abu Simbel from Hurghada" expecting something like the Luxor day trip. The distances say otherwise. Aswan is about 500 km from Hurghada by road, six to seven hours with stops. Abu Simbel is another 280 km south of Aswan, close to the Sudanese border, about three and a half hours each way through empty desert. Even from Aswan, the Abu Simbel trip leaves around 04:00–05:00 and takes most of the day. From Hurghada you need at least one night in Aswan, and in practice it comes as part of a cruise package.
How the packages from Hurghada work
Most packages sold for Hurghada guests follow the same pattern:
Day 1: a car picks you up at your hotel and drives to Luxor. You see Karnak and Luxor Temple, then check in on the ship.
Days 2–4: the ship sails south. West Bank of Luxor, the Esna lock, Edfu, Kom Ombo, and the early start for Abu Simbel.
Last day: Philae and the High Dam in Aswan, then a car back to Hurghada, which takes about six to seven hours.
The sailing days and mooring order follow a weekly timetable set by the Ministry of Tourism, so the order of visits can shift. Check-in day and the number of nights don't. Packages that start in Aswan simply reverse the trip and are a night shorter.
Cruise ship, dahabiya, or your own arrangement
Cruise ship (Luxor ⇄ Aswan)
Dahabiya (sailing boat)
Transfer + your own cruise
Size
A large motor ship
A handful of cabins
Depends on what you book
Speed
Motor, sticks to the standard timetable
Slower, moors at quieter banks
Your choice
Who guides
A group Egyptologist
A guide for the boat
Your choice
From Hurghada
Car both ways is often included
Usually a separate transfer
A private car, priced one way or return
Price level
Mid
Highest
Depends on the cruise
For a first trip, the cruise-ship package is the simplest: one booking, one guide, meals on board. A dahabiya is a different holiday. It is slower and quieter, and it costs much more. If you want one, book it separately and add a private car from Hurghada to Aswan or Luxor.
Read the inclusions twice
On these packages the small print matters more than on a day trip. Things to check, in writing:
Entrance fees. In some listings the line 'entrance fees' appears right next to 'tips' and 'drinks', and it isn't clear which list it belongs to. Ask the operator.
Abu Simbel transport. By road from Aswan in a group, or private, and at what time.
Drinks. Meals on board are normally included. Drinks almost never are.
Tips. Usually not included. Operators call them optional, but guides and crew expect them.
Hotel pickup zone. Makadi, Sahl Hasheesh, El Gouna, Soma Bay and Safaga can cost extra.
If you want to do it your own way
You don't have to buy the whole package from Hurghada. A private car to Aswan takes about seven hours and to Luxor about four, so you can book any cruise you like and arrange the road part separately. At the other end of the scale, longer tours of a week or ten days combine Cairo, a Nile cruise and a few days back on the Red Sea, with domestic flights replacing the longest drives. They are worth looking at if this is your one big trip to Egypt and the beach is the add-on, not the other way round.
Shorter options if you only have two or three days
If five days is too much, a two-day Luxor trip with a hotel gives you the temples without the boat. Or take a three-night cruise from Aswan to Luxor with private transfers at both ends. That route skips Abu Simbel unless you add it in Aswan on the morning you arrive.
For heat, October to April is the comfortable window. In midsummer, the 05:00 starts are what make the days bearable.
Questions people ask
Can you do a Nile cruise from Hurghada?
Yes, as a package. A car takes you to Luxor or Aswan, where the ship is, and brings you back at the end. There is no river at Hurghada itself. Day trips to Luxor include at most a short boat ride on the Nile.
Is there a one-day Nile cruise from Hurghada?
No. What day trips to Luxor offer is a 15–40 minute boat crossing or a felucca ride. The shortest real cruise is three nights from Aswan to Luxor.
How far is Abu Simbel from Hurghada?
About 500 km to Aswan by road and another 280 km to Abu Simbel, so roughly 780 km each way. Nobody runs it as a day trip from Hurghada. Abu Simbel is visited from Aswan, leaving before dawn.
Which direction is better, Luxor to Aswan or Aswan to Luxor?
Luxor to Aswan usually takes four nights and fits the 5-day package from Hurghada. Aswan to Luxor takes three nights and suits you if you are already in Aswan. The sites are the same, only the order changes.
Are entrance fees included in Nile cruise packages?
Some packages include them and some list them separately, sometimes in the same block of text. Ask the operator in writing. The official ticket amounts are on the fee card.
When is the best time for a Nile cruise?
October to April. In June to August, Aswan and Abu Simbel are regularly above 40 °C, and the sightseeing starts at dawn for a reason.
egymonuments.gov.eg — “- Inclusive tickets allowing entry into Karnak Temple and Open Museum in Karnak.” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “Summer Working Hours: from 06:00 am Last Entry 05:00 pm Winter Working Hours: from 06:00 am Last Entry 04:00 pm” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “from 06:00 am Last Entry 07:00 pm” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “Students must present a valid ID and their age must not exceed 24” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “Free entry for children below 6 years.” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “You don’t need permission to use your phone’s camera; however, the use of drones is heavily restricted in Egypt unless you have a permit from the Egyptian Ministry of Defense.” (checked 29 October 2026)
egymonuments.com — “Unfortunately, our tickets are non-refundable and cannot be canceled nor replaced if lost or stolen.” (checked 29 October 2026)
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