I had decided not to arrange the Abu Simbel tour as part of my tour package due to the $350.00 pp additional price tag. I have the whole day free in Aswan and feel it "should not-be-missed" Can anyone advise a reputable place in Cairo or Aswan to book it less expensively traveling there by bus or flight?

No; that's the price! BIG mistake not to go to Abu Simbel! IMO; when can you ever do it for $350 again?

Brighton Blue you really should not miss Abu Simbel! Apart from the pyramids it is the most impressive of all ancient Egypts wonders IMO. Well worth the extra money to go and see.

I remember paying only USD$70pp for Abu Simbel on the last day of cruise at Aswan.Left early at 4am & was back by 3pm.Definitely worth it. Incidentally we booked the whole package with TourEgypt.Highly recommended.

I meant Abu Simbel.Highly recommended.

Another vote for Abu Simbel not to be missed. While the fly to/from is expensive especially if from Cairo vis Aswan to AS and return to Aswan... there is a road trip option for less money.

Don't have a contact, but if you do a search on this board, you might find some information.

However, the departure is very early, departing Aswan 4am when it's still cool, through the desert in caravan, time spent at AS, then return thru the desert in the heat of day to Aswan.

Unfortunately, internal airfares are expensive and few tour operators offer this as much less, if they do at all.

It does seem expensive but it is an amazing place. I don't have a specific booking reco for you, but typing in "abu simbel aswan tour" brings up several possibilities. One was offering a one-day bus tour to Abu Simbel for one person at $115 (for two people at $70 a person). Maybe the $350 is to fly. For a specific agency reco, you might also try posting on the Egypt branch of thethorntree as it caters primarily to the independent traveler. Good luck and I hope you find a way to make it happen!

Above should have said:
typing in "Abu Simbel Aswan tour" into Google...

Paid $150 pp and was well worth the $$$'s. This was admission and flight from Aswan.

We were in a similar situation when we got to Cairo a few years ago. Our tour company would take only cash (similar $$$ to your $350.) for the Abu Simbel trip since we hadn't paid in advance. Don't know if you can still do it but when we got to Aswan we went to the Egypt Air office and charged our tickets for a fraction of the cost. With today's exchange rate the 288 Egyptian pounds we paid would be around $50. USD. Once we got to Abu Simbel we took the shuttle bus, paid a minimal entrance fee and had a grand afternoon. It is such an impressive site that the next year we booked a Lake Nassar cruise so we could be at Abu Simbel at night and at dawn.
DO IT!

Another vote for Abu Simbel. It is really really amazing.
I think $350/pp is very expensive. We did it in 180/pp through our tour (it was an optional). We went with Globus.

Thank you all kindly for your detailed responses. I will definitley do the tour but will wait until arrival.
I will post my "hopefully" inexpensive findings upon return.

http://tinyurl.com/yroh32

Viator has a bus tour for $76 US pp.

I read at the LP Egypt board that a day tour from Aswan is 45-55EGP ($11USD). It includes the 3am convoy, a couple of hours at AS, lunch, the unfinished obelisk and the high dam. Seems to be offered at many hostels for this price.

Fayray - That price sounds WAY too low. First off, LE55 isn't even $10 now. If someone is offering that, I would be very wary of what sort of transport they are using and what is/isn't included.

Remember LP people (in general) are often backpackers and cheap, and might be willing to ride on the top of a bus for a barain. My first reaction is to not believe it could be that cheap (tickets alone into the temple won't be much less than that, probably are more), and my second reaction is IF it is that cheap, be careful of what they aren't telling you.

I'm by no means a backpacker - I'm definitely more high maintenance than that, but I'm not able to afford packages. I intensely dislike hostels ($5pp/night in Egypt), and plan on staying in mid-range hotels ($25dble/night). So I plan on arranging it when I get there in Oct/Nov. I read that no, the price didn't include admission into AS. And no, it wasn't a nice sedan, but rather a minibus with a crappy AC (sitting inside), but still part of the 3a /4a convoy. There is a public bus, but the guarded convoy is important to me. I'll let you know if a tour at that low of a price works out.

It costs about $200 per person for the excursions from Aswan to Abu Simbel by RT air, including shuttle bus to the site and entrance fees. These flights are often heavily booked and you may not be able to add it on-site. Several members of our travel group tried to add it, not everybody was successful.

If you go by road transport, it takes 4 hours each way, leaving in a convoy at 4 am. It's cheaper, but takes up your entire day, so I don't think it's worth it unless it's the only way you can afford to go.

Fayray,

FYI - I've only been to AS twice in my life and both times were in the road convoy. I just want to forewarn you, since you said "There is a public bus, but the guarded convoy is important to me.", that once the convoy leaves Aswan, it is every man for himself. There is little to no "protection" available for anyone on the road as every bus, car, and microbus will head out as fast as they can possibly drive and there is no rhyme, reason, or system to keep them in much order for this 4 hour drive south, and back again when they leave AS. You don't need the protection, if you ask me, so don't worry, but just don't go with some preconceived idea that this is going to be orderly and everyone will drive along nicely with police in the front and in the rear keeping some sort of order in there. My guess is that the last time I went there were no less than 100 and probably closer to 200+ buses, cars and microbuses leaving at the same time.

Enjoy A.S.

If anything, the "convoy" makes sitting (driving) ducks of the tourists. Every terrorist knows exactly what time hundreds of people will be driving along that road.

The "police protection" was annoying, most of them practically boys, usually everybody in the car but the driver either asleep or talking on a cell phone. What a waste of money. But I guess it gives the young men a job.

"The "police protection" was annoying, most of them practically boys, usually everybody in the car but the driver either asleep or talking on a cell phone. What a waste of money. But I guess it gives the young men a job."

Not a waste of very much money as civil service jobs in Egypt pay next to nothing. They may be sought after jobs for some of the benefits, but the pay check is NOT one of them.