Hi All! I am trying to figure out a budget for my trip next year to Egypt and having difficulty with the Egypt Air site. Does anyone have any idea what an internal flight to Abu Simbel from Luxor should roughly cost? When I searched EgyptAir it came up over 1,000 dollars! Surely I did something wrong?? Thank you for any advise you can spare!

If you're working with a tour operator to handle your ground arrangements - hotel, tours, sightseeing, etc. - have them arrange book this ticket.

For sure, $1K is way way way off. Fare Luxor/AbuSimbel/Luxor is probably $300, if that.

I paid $ 250.00 a couple years ago, so you can rest assured the price has not Quadrupled !!

Like sandi said , let you tour company book this for you.

You can even book it once you get there, and your tour guide can do this for you.

The flight might be internal from Luxor to Abu Simble, but it is NOT a small plane.!!! It's huge !

I flew to Abu Simble but have no idea how much it cost. I just looked at Egyptair and a flight in August 2011 from Luxor to Abu Simble return the same day was $560 US.

Thank you everyone for your help. I have been trying to arrange this trip on my own-I am finding out that that is quite difficult but I felt like I have time since its not until late next year. So far the best group tour price Ive gotten is $3,500 per person and that is without flight. That is for a 15 day trip with 3 days in Petra. I feel like that is steep and was hoping I could do it a little more "thrifty" on my own...I would appreciate any thoughts anyone has on this...am I wasting my time? I have never been on a group tour before-My dh and I are solo travelers and I love planning our trips...but if I am doing this in vain I greatly welcome suggestions!! Thanks everyone..this is a great forum!

doryyoung, I hesitate to reply but I would be remiss since you seem frustrated and the group price you were quoted is a little out of line.
We are a group of 15 meeting up in Cairo Feb 15, 2012. A few of us were introduced through this forum.
Our travel plans (18day/17 night tour) includes 4 nights Cairo, 2 nights Petra, 5 nights Sharm El Sheikh (includng Mt Sinai), 1 night Luxor, 4 night cruise and finally departing from Cairo. Most of our meals, domestic flights, transportation and excursions are included.
Some of our excursions are: a hot air balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings, camel ride around the pyrimids, tours within Cairo (The Great Pyramid, the Sphinx, Old Cairo Coptic Church, the Citadel), bedouin dinner while in Sharm, snorkeling in the Red Sea, Abu Simble, the Siq, etc....
I worked with our Egytian tour operator for over 1.5 years and feel I know him and his company well enough to recommend him. We were originally scheduled to go last February (5 days before the revolution begin). He has been nothing but kind and accommodating - going out of his way to assist us through our "crisis" while in his own.
Our price is $3000.
I would be happy to pass on his name. Write if you are interested.

If you book your international flight with them ,they will give you great rate for internal flight..
The Abusimbel flight is for sure less than $200..
you can ask your operator in Egypt to book it for you
will be even cheaper if included within a package.

dory -

Many people here have used Lady Egypt to plan their Egypt and Jordan itineraries with positive results, good prices and reviews. Suggest you contact them to see what they can do with the itinerary you think you'd like and it would be private, your dates, where visited, lodging of your choice, cruise (if you wish) and extension to Abu Simbel.

Another resource and a regular poster here, Casual Cairo - Debbie Senters, can be reached at www.casualcairodetours.com (or maybe it's .net)

Last may I booked my flight Cairo/Aswan Aswan/Abu Simbel/Aswan Luxor/Cairo with 449$, you can use any travel agent in Egypt, I booked through one of them..

Dory-My family are very independent travelers and I work for a major US carrier so I thought that I was pretty savvy in trip planning. I found when we were doing our planning two years ago to Egypt and Jordan that in the long run it was easier to have an agency over there to make your arrangements . I too was trying to obtain the Abu Simbel tickets on my own along with some other things within Egypt.
I found out through quite a bit of research that the majority of those seats on Egyptair are kept for the tour groups and it is a difficult to obtain them on your own.
In the long run it was easier to book through a good agent and tell them what you want to do and what you don't want to do so that they can tailor your trip. Our family did a two week trip to Egypt and Jordan and we were completely alone except for a driver and sometimes guide.Nice without a crowd!

Especially in Egypt, suppliers keep their best discounts for their best customers, primarily the tour operators and, to a lesser extent, travel agencies. Even with markups, the prices from these companies can be way lower than what can be found on the internet.

I almost always look to a local company when arranging bookings, even if traveling independently. Purchase what is needed, a la carte, and usually avoid packages unless they are 100% what I want.

Best example of this is internet published airfares to Seychelles in the $3000 range but street prices can be less than half that when purchased with a few hotels and transfers, which also are less.

I used Lady Egypt and Abu Simbel cost me $200. That included the flight, the tour of Abu Simbel and even the pick-up at the hotel. That was 4 years ago so it might be a little more now.

Definitely use a travel agent for this trip. Even if you want to do this privately, a travel agent will get you much better pricing. This is not a time to do it yourself.

Given what you describe, $3,500 seems about right if the trip includes flights. It's too much---way too much---if it's land only.

My friend check the internal flight with Le Caire Travel www.lecairetravel.com & De Castro Tours www.decastrotours.com
he have good price 165$ for Cairo Aswan /Luxor Cairo through Le Caire Travel & 189 $ through De Castro Tours, maybe you can check with them or any local travel agent

I have used Lady Egypt twice and they are very helpful. I also like to plan my own trips, but this was simpler. I highly recommend staying overnight in Abu Simbel if your schedule allows -- being at Abu Simbel at dawn for sunrise was magical.

Bonnie

Sit on the left side of the airplane flying into Abu Simbel-the view from the air will take your breath away!
Another tip is that most of the bus tours leave around 930am so when they all leave you usually have the whole place to yourself which is magical!