Edfu temple and Kom Ombo temple: tickets, hours and how to visit

Edfu temple, the Temple of Horus, and Kom Ombo temple are the two stops every standard Nile cruise makes between Luxor and Aswan, and the two that people driving between the cities most often add. Together they cost EGP 1,000 per foreign adult at the gate. The difference that matters is the clock: Edfu stops admitting at 16:00, while Kom Ombo lets you in until 20:00, which is why one is a morning or early-afternoon visit and the other is often seen after dark.

A third temple, Esna, sits beside the lock every cruise ship queues for, and most ships skip it. Gebel el-Silsila and El Kab are stops only the small sailing boats make.

Edfu temple: tickets, opening hours and the horse carriage

The ticket for the Temple of Horus at Edfu is EGP 550 for a foreign adult (EGP 275 for students aged 24 or under with a valid card; children under 6 go free). It opens at 07:00, or at 06:00 on Sundays and Wednesdays, and the last entry is 16:00. The ministry's ticket page is egymonuments.com/details/TheTempleOfHorusAtEdfu; you can buy online there or at the gate.

Cruise ships moor at the Edfu quay and the temple is a ride away. Horse carriages take you from the quay to the temple, and on many packages the ride is included. Ask before you set off whether anything is owed.

The 06:00 opening on Sundays and Wednesdays is worth knowing if you come by car. Cruise groups arrive from about 07:00 onwards, so an independent visitor who walks in at opening time on those two days gets in before the ships do. On other days you start at 07:00 with everyone else.

Kom Ombo temple at night, the crocodiles and the ticket

Kom Ombo's entrance fee is EGP 450 (student EGP 225), and the ticket also covers the Crocodile Museum: if you came for the Kom Ombo crocodiles, that is where they are, and you do not need a second ticket. The temple opens at 07:00 and admits visitors until 20:00, the latest last entry of the big Nile temples; Luxor Temple (last entry 19:00) is the only other one you can visit after dark. Check the current details on egymonuments.com/details/KomOmboTemple.

That late closing is why Kom Ombo temple at night is a thing. The temple stands on the riverbank, and ships sailing upstream from Luxor often arrive in the late afternoon or evening: Sonesta's 4-night Luxor-to-Aswan timetable schedules the visit for 18:30, so in winter you walk through it lit up after dark. Ships sailing downstream from Aswan usually stop there between 07:00 and 09:00, in daylight.

If you have the choice, the evening is the better visit: it is cooler, and you see the temple lit up, which you can only do here and at Luxor Temple without buying a sound and light ticket. Not every upstream ship goes at dusk, though. Mövenpick's Darakum, for example, visits Kom Ombo at 15:30. If the evening visit matters to you, ask what time your ship gets there before you book.

If you arrive by road, a vehicle ticket is charged at Kom Ombo (EGP 25 for a car or taxi).

Edfu and Kom Ombo on a Nile cruise

On a Nile cruise you rarely choose when you visit; the ship's timetable chooses for you. Two published timetables show the range:

Darakum only runs these short Luxor–Aswan cruises in winter; the rest of the year it sails its long Cairo programme. The pattern holds on most ships: going upstream, Edfu is the morning and Kom Ombo the afternoon or evening; going downstream, both are squeezed into one day, Kom Ombo first. This is the main reason the 4-night Luxor to Aswan cruise feels less rushed than the 3-night Aswan to Luxor cruise.

Two things to expect at both stops. First, at busy moorings ships often tie up side by side, so you may walk through the lobbies of two or three other ships to reach the bank, and your cabin window may face the next ship. Second, entry fees: if your package does not include them, these two temples add EGP 1,000 per adult, part of about EGP 4,060 for the eight sites of a standard cruise. Cruise listings on the platforms rarely say which ship you will sail on; the 4-day cruise and 5-day cruise guides explain what to ask after you book.

Some cruises include little else. TUI's Nile ships, when they launched, included only two excursions in the lead price: Edfu and Kom Ombo. Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Philae were paid extras (see our TUI review).

Edfu and Kom Ombo day trip from Luxor or Aswan

Without a cruise, the practical way to see both temples is a private car with a guide, either as a one-way transfer between Luxor and Aswan that stops at both temples, or as a long day out and back. The sleeper train timetable gives a sense of the distances: train 86 from Giza calls at Luxor at 06:10, Esna at 06:50, Edfu at 07:40 and Kom Ombo at 08:40, and reaches Aswan at 09:25. That is about an hour and a half from Luxor to Edfu, then an hour to Kom Ombo and 45 minutes on to Aswan (abelatrains.com).

The opening hours set the order. Travelling south from Luxor, do Edfu first, then Kom Ombo, which stays open into the evening. Travelling north from Aswan, do Kom Ombo in the morning and get to Edfu well before its 16:00 last entry. A one-way transfer is the better use of the day: you see both temples and change city, instead of driving the same road twice.

Our picks for an Edfu and Kom Ombo day trip

1

Travelling from Luxor to Aswan by road

The best-rated listing with real numbers (4.7 from 198 reviews): a private car and guide, Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way, then sights in Aswan. Aswan's sites stop admitting at 15:00, so check the timing, and check "includes" for entry fees.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

From Luxor: Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan Private All-Inclusive Tour

4.7 (198)

from $193Check dates

2

Travelling from Aswan to Luxor

The most-reviewed (4.4 from 439): 6–7 hours, both temples on the way, and you finish in Luxor. Going north, Kom Ombo first and Edfu second suits the opening hours; confirm the order with the guide.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideHalf dayAswan

Aswan: Edfu and Kom Ombo Day Tour with Luxor Transfer

4.4 (439)

from $132Check dates

3

Staying in Luxor and going back the same day

The cheapest private option, with lunch, but only 4 reviews so far. Expect a long day in the car.

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

From Luxor: Private Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples Tour & Lunch

4.3 (4)

from $117Check dates

Avoid trying to fit Abu Simbel into the same day. One listing combines Edfu, Kom Ombo and Abu Simbel in a single 12-hour private day from Luxor. Abu Simbel alone is about 280–300 km south of Aswan, 3.5–4 hours each way, and its last entry is 16:00. Read that itinerary closely, or see Abu Simbel separately from Aswan (our Abu Simbel guide).

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayEdfu

Luxor: Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel Private Tour & Entry Fees

4.2 (134)

from $238Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

Day Tour visit Edfu Kom Ombo temples from Luxor

4.0 (25)

from $125Check dates

◐ Daytime

GetYourGuideFull dayLuxor

Kom Ombo Temple Day Tour From Luxor

4.8 (6)

from $140Check dates

◐ Daytime

HeadoutAswan

From Aswan: Private Guided Day Trip to Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples

No reviews yet

from $140Check dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Headout →See everything on Tiqets →Prices checked on 19 October 2026

A 2-night felucca sail from Aswan to Kom Ombo, ending in Luxor, is also listed (from $340), but it has no reviews yet. Multi-day felucca trips are not a standard product here; for a sail with a track record, take a few hours on the water in Aswan instead (felucca in Aswan).

Edfu temple sound and light show

Edfu has its own sound and light show: USD 15 per adult, USD 8 for children aged 6–12, at 20:00 and 21:00. The second show only runs with at least six foreign or ten Egyptian spectators, and the operator says dates can change (soundandlight.show).

It only makes sense if you sleep in or near Edfu. Most cruise ships visit Edfu by day and move on, but some moor there overnight: Mövenpick Darakum's 4-night Luxor-to-Aswan timetable spends the second night at Edfu, for example. Ask at reception whether your ship stays the night. Platform listings for the show and for Edfu tickets sometimes display a price of a few dollars; that is not the real price. The figures above are the operator's.

Esna temple: the colours most cruises sail past

The Temple of Khnum at Esna costs EGP 200 (student EGP 100). It closes later than usual on three days: it opens at 07:00 and stays open until 18:00 on Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, with the last entry at 16:00 on the other days (egymonuments.com/details/EsnaTemple). The temple lies about 9 metres below today's street level, so you look down into it from the town.

It is worth the stop because an Egyptian-German team has cleaned the astronomical ceiling and most of the columns, revealing their original colours. Yet most 3- and 4-night cruises do not visit: Sonesta St George moors overnight at Esna on its way south, but its programme does not include the temple. Viking includes Esna on its programme, and many dahabiyas start their cruise there.

By road, Esna costs you little: it lies on the way from Luxor to Edfu, about 40 minutes beyond Luxor by rail. On a Luxor-to-Aswan transfer, ask the driver to add it.

Gebel el-Silsila and El Kab: stops for dahabiyas only

Between Esna and Kom Ombo, two sites see few visitors because big cruise ships do not stop there. El Kab (EGP 200, last entry 16:00) has the Temple of Nekhbet and rock tombs on the East Bank. Gebel el-Silsila (EGP 100, last entry 15:00) has the Speos of Horemheb and the old sandstone quarries; Nour El Nil says large Nile cruise ships are not allowed to stop there.

The way to see them is a dahabiya, a two-masted wooden sailing boat with about 6–10 cabins that sails Esna to Aswan in four or five nights. Nour El Nil's single published itinerary shows how the stops fit:

The trade-off: a dahabiya starting at Esna leaves Luxor's sights out of the cruise, so add Luxor nights before it (what to see in Luxor). Read our Nour El Nil review for prices and what they include.

Edfu and Kom Ombo temple tickets: what to know at the gate

• Pay at the gate or online. The ministry's ticket shop sells every site in the table. At the gate, carry a card and some cash.
• Students must be 24 or under with a valid student card to pay half. Children under 6 go free.
• Photos with a mobile phone are free at ministry sites; for other cameras, check at the gate. Drones are illegal without Ministry of Defence permission.
• Treat last entry as a hard cut-off. Arrive well before the times above.
• On a cruise, read "includes". Many Egyptian packages include entry fees, many platform listings do not say, and direct bookings with some ship brands exclude sightseeing. If the fees are excluded, budget EGP 1,000 per adult for these two temples alone.

For the rest of the river, see things to do in Aswan, the Luxor–Aswan cruise guide and our overview of things to do along the Nile.

Edfu and Kom Ombo temples: questions