Philae Temple in Aswan: daytime tour or sound and light show?
4 min read
Book the daytime tour if you want to see the reliefs properly, and the sound and light show if you would rather see Philae after dark. They are different experiences, not two prices for the same visit. The Philae Temple guided half-day group tour has 343 reviews and a rating of 4.7/5, and is listed from €40.11 per person.
Philae is dedicated to the goddess Isis. UNESCO’s listing of the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae names it as one of the temples moved during its international campaign, and gives its present location as the island of Agilkia. Every tour below includes a short boat ride to that island.
| Tour | Duration | From | Rating | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided half-day group tour | 3 hours | €40.11 | 4.7 · 343 | Group, English or Arabic guide, hotel pickup |
| Private guided tour with entry | 3 hours | €60.61 | 4.7 · 263 | Private group, motorboat and admission listed as included |
| Sound and light show with entrance fees | 2 hours | €51.70 | 4.2 · 176 | Evening show with audio guide, hotel transfers |
The group half-day tour
You are picked up at your hotel, ride a motorboat across the Nile and follow a guide around the temple, who also explains how Philae was dismantled and relocated to escape the rising waters of Lake Nasser. The guide speaks English or Arabic, and cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start.
The includes list is mixed. It names the guide, hotel transfers and the boat ride, and gives entrance fees only “if the option is selected”. Compare what you pay at checkout with the private tour before you decide the group version is cheaper. Pickup from Gharb Soheil, the Island, Nagaa al-Mahatta or New Aswan is listed at US$10 per person extra.
The private tour
The private Philae tour lists the motorboat fare, admission tickets, water and an English-speaking guide, with Spanish, German or French as add-ons. The page says private transportation spares you waiting for other people. This suits families and anyone who wants to stay longer at one courtyard. The same extra of US$10 per person applies for pickup from the neighbourhoods listed above.
The sound and light show
The sound and light show takes you by private vehicle to the marina, then by boat to Agilkia Island, where music, lasers and projections tell the story of Isis and Osiris and of the temple’s move. It lasts two hours and includes an audio guide in English, French, Spanish and German, entrance fees and return transfers. You see the showtimes on the booking page when you check availability for your date.
The page describes a narrated multimedia show, not a guided walk through the inscriptions, so choose it for the story and the setting rather than for close study of the reliefs. It has free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
Seeing Philae as part of a longer day
If you also want the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, several Aswan tours combine them with Philae; our guide to the High Dam and Unfinished Obelisk compares them. Philae also appears on the first day of many Nile cruises, described in our Aswan to Luxor cruise guide.
Which to book
Take the group half-day tour for a daytime visit at a moderate price, the private tour if you want a slower pace, and the show as an evening extra rather than a replacement. All three are on the Philae Temple and High Dam tours page.
