Aswan in one day
One day in Aswan means Philae and one island, and nothing else. Everyone tries to add the High Dam and the unfinished obelisk, and that turns a good day into a bus day. If your cruise starts tomorrow, this is the day to have.
Morning — Taxi to Shellal and out to Philae by boat, early. Give the island ninety minutes rather than forty, and walk past the first court before you start photographing.
Afternoon — Back for lunch, then the public ferry to Elephantine. An hour on the excavation and an hour walking north into Koti and Siou.
Evening — A felucca at sunset, then the souq after six. Nothing scheduled after that.
The High Dam, the unfinished obelisk, the west bank, the Nubian Museum and Abu Simbel. Adding any of them costs you the felucca, which is the wrong trade.
You are trading breadth for the two things that actually make Aswan different: an island and the river at the end of the day.
If your cruise starts tomorrow, arrive tonight rather than treating Aswan as an airport transfer. One unhurried day here is worth more than a rushed one plus a morning.
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