Originally Posted by escog

I think the problem is getting a flight from Luxor to Aswan - from the Egyptair website, it looks like you have to transit through Cairo. You can arrange for a car and driver to take you to Aswan, but that's a very long ride.

How many nights are you spending in Luxor? What I did was fly CAI-LXR, and then took a 4 night cruise to Aswan. From Aswan, I did the drive from Aswan to Abu Simbel, then returned to Aswan to catch a flight to Cairo that same day.

The cruise basically spent 2 days in Luxor. I boarded the ship in the late morning, and then we did a tour of Karnak and Luxor temple that afternoon. The next morning, I did the hot air balloon flight over the West Bank, and then did a tour of Valley of the Kings, Temple of Hatshepsut, Worker's Village, etc. Returned to the ship by late afternoon and the ship departed Luxor that evening. Next day was at Kom Ombo and Edfu. Last day was in Aswan - saw the dam, unfinished obelisk, Philae temple, and Nubian village. Next morning (very early) drove out to Abu Simbel, stayed for a couple of hours, then drove back. Had lunch, and then caught a flight to Cairo.

I did my trip end beginning of last December. My 10-day itinerary looked like this:

Day 1: Arrive Cairo late evening.
Day 2: Giza Pyramids and Saqqara
Day 3: Coptic Cairo, Citadel Salah El Din, Egyptian Museum
Day 4: Flight CAI to LXR (hung out in Luxor)
Day 5: Cruise (Karnak and Temple of Luxor)
Day 6: Cruise (West Bank)
Day 7: Cruise (Kom Ombo and Edfu)
Day 8: Cruise (Aswan - Philae Temple, Dam, Unfinished Obelisk, Nubian Village)
Day 9: Abu Simbel; Flight to Cairo (overnight in Cairo)
Day 10: Flight Home

The whole thing was arranged by an agency and was fully guided. Tours in Cairo were private and tours from the cruise were small group tours. Aside from the the two nights hotel in Cairo (I used points to stay at the Le Meridien Pyramids) and the international flights, total cost was $1335 for everything for one person traveling solo (not including tips - lots and lots of tips; and a few meals).

I think this worked out fairly well. I didn't feel too rushed. On Day four, I did spend some time on my own at Luxor temple which made the next day better even though I revisited the temple. The first day, I could wander around to my heart's content and take pictures. When I went on the guided tour the next day, I could pay attention to the guide without feeling anxious about having time to take pictures. My only regret wasn't also going out to see Karnak on my own in the same way.