Route Overview

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The lack of options

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Transport Options

Bus

Taking the bus between Luxor and Aswan is possible, though getting information online is quite hard. You can check the available schedules online on Checkmybus, the booking plattform, which offers the largest selection of busses on this route. Just do not book it via them, but rather at the offices directly for a better price. The rough area, where offices are located can be seen on the map above.

The major problem with the busses here is their weird departure times. They always leave very early at 6 or 7am (exact times fluctuate a bit depending on the date) from Luxor, where as the return busses from Aswan only start from 4pm onwards. Prices here fluctuate between 19€ and 23€ depending on the booking plattform, whereas you have to pay 800 EGP for a seat, when booking at the offices in Luxor or Aswan, which comes out to 13,04€ as of April 2026.

The obvious upside of the bus though is that it can be planned ahead of time, so if you need some security on your route and have no issue with weird travel schedules, then taking the bus is a good option. Compared to the train, although expensive for egyptian standards, the bus is still a much cheaper option. Still compared to the 9-hour bus to Siwa, which cost us only 7€, this several times more expensive.

Train

Taking the train is a very comfortable option to travel between cities in Egypt but due to the pricing system, foreigners are charged absurdly high fares. There are more options here, as many different trains are going back and forth between Luxor and Aswan over the day. We actually never took the train during the entire time we were in Egypt, but we heard of others, that it is a comfortable and enjoyable experience, as long as you do not book the lowest class (AC3). Especially the Talgo Trains are very modern, having been produced just recently by a spanish manufacturer.

If you want to book tickets for the train online, you basically have to use 12Go, which most other plattforms redirect you to aswell, as there is no official platform implemented by the Egyptian Railways, where foreigners are allowed to book tickets. You can still use their website to check for schedules. Online prices on 12Go range from 38$ to 53$ for the route. If you buy a ticket in person at the station, there is a special tourist ticket office, where we got quoted 30$. Just as a quick reminder: The normal tickets in the class we wanted to book cost just 110 EGP for Egyptians, which is just 1,79€! Therefore tourists pay roughly 20 times the normal amount.

In conclusion I cannot recommed the train, if you want to save on money, as it is by far the most expensive option. Even private cars from one city to the other are cheaper by a lot if you are not travelling alone, which goes to show, how out of touch with the reality in Egypt this tourist pricing system really is. Only choose this option, if you have no strict budget limit and want to plan ahead without using private transfers all the time.

Shared Taxi

This is the way, that we ended up travelling betweenLuxor and Aswan after unsuccessfully scouting out the other options. Taking a shared taxi is a very authentic way of travelling, as many Egyptians use them aswell, especially during times of the day, when the train has no departures scheduled. The Egyptian government is actually trying to keep tourists and locals separate and no one will tell you about this option on the ground for some reason. And trust me we asked around a lot.

The stations in Luxor and Aswan are a bit outside the city center and there are no signs indicating them. Drivers are informal with many vans being in a questionable condition and packed to the brim to make the ride as profitable as possible. There are a lot of very poor people around these places, especially small children, who are going around asking for money. Arriving at the stations, avoid anyone „helping“ you. They will most likely try to secure themselves a commission by stating you a price higher than what is normal. The drivers do not oppose that, which will lead you to pay more than necessary, as everybody is in a quiet agreement, that tourist can be charged more, as they have more money.

The best strategy is to just walk right into the station and state to one of the drivers, where you want to go. They will point you to the correct minibus. Ask the driver waiting besides it nicely, but firmly, about the price. The locals pay 140 EGP as of April 2026 where as a good price for tourists seems to be 500EGP. They refuse to go much lower, which, according to other passengers in the car is because of the risk of getting checked by the police.

In fact, the drivers are actually not supposed to take foreigners with them, as they do not have the „license“ for it, so if you as a tourist get spotted at one of the police checks on the way, the driver gets into trouble. 500 EGP is still a good price as all other modes of transportation are more expensive and take roughly the same time.

The downside of taking the shared taxi here is obviously that you have to wait for it to fill up completely. In our case, this took roughly 1 hour both times, so plan your schedule accordingly, if you choose this option. I can recommend shared taxis to any budget traveller though, as you really get a feel for the life of the locals and their daily problems.

Private transfer

Probably the most comfortable option to travel between the two cities is to hire a private driver. In any other country, this would be hugely expensive, but in Egypt with it’s famously low gas prices, it can be quite an affordable option. Here I can again recommend you to look for a driver, when you are in Luxor or Aswan, as prices online have a huge mark-up. We asked around quite a bit and got offers from 2000 EGP to 2500 EGP per car. As of April 2026 this comes up to a range of 32,60€ to 40,75€, which is the price for the entire car. Online prices range from 27$ to 80$ per person, but that really depends on where you book as there is a never-ending list of providers online.

Knowing that the trains costs 30$ aswell, you can already take the car for a cheaper price if you are travelling with at least one other person. Not to mention, that you are not bound by any schedule. Furthermore, taking this option allows you to make intermediate stops in Edfu and Kom Ombo aswell, though I would assume, that you will have to pay a little extra for that, as these destinations do not lie on the fastest route at all. If we had a bigger budget, we would definitely take this option compared to all the others, as it is the best way to see sights on the way, for which you would otherwise have to book a tour or spend a lot of time using local transportation.

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Comparison of transport modes

Mode of transportation	Price (offline)	Price (online)
Train	25,45€	32,35€-44,95€
Bus	13,04€	16,12€-19,15€
Shared Taxi	8,15€	/
Private Transfer	32,60€-40,75€ per car	22,90€ and more

Mode of transportation	Pro	Con
Train	-> comfortable -> planable -> defined start and end point	-> expensive -> few services running midday
Bus	-> cheapest planable option -> safe	-> offices can be hard to find -> few services at odd times
Shared Taxi	-> cheapest option overall -> very local experience	-> most unsafe option -> stations hard to find -> pushy sellers everywhere -> slowest
Private Transfer	-> most comfortable option -> cost per car -> options of stops on the way -> easy to find offline	-> expensive, if travelling alone

If you have any more questions, feel free to contact me.

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