Abu Simbel with Select Egypt

An alternative to taking the expensive flight from Aswan, Egypt, to Abu Simbel is going by minivan with a driver and guide.

There are many tour companies on the Internet that offer this. We chose Select Egypt (28, 269 St., Maadi, Cairo, Egypt; phone/fax +20 2 2705 75 86 or mobile 2018 5460600, www.selectegypt.com) because they replied promptly and wanted no advance money.

In early February ’08 we were on a cruise aboard the Nile Stephanie with Grand Circle Travel (Boston, MA, www.gct.com). The representative from Select Egypt met us on our riverboat, as we’d requested, the day before our excursion in order to finalize the time and cost.

The cost was $90 each for four of us. We traveled in a police-led convoy of about 40 to 45 vans and buses, so we felt very safe. The travel time was three hours each way, and we spent 2½ hours at Abu Simbel.

JOAN GWYNN

Watsonville, CA