Our dahabiya Nile cruises sail the stretch of river between Luxor and Aswan aboard wooden boats with two lateen sails and eight to fourteen cabins. A cruise ship on the same water carries between 100 and 150 guests. That is the whole difference, and everything else follows from it.
The name comes from dhahab, the Arabic word for gold, after the gilded barges these boats were modelled on. We run four of them, from four days to eight, and our own group is capped at 16 on every sailing.
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A dahabiya is a small wooden boat with two lateen sails and a handful of en-suite cabins. A dahabiya Nile cruise is a sailing journey through Upper Egypt aboard one — quieter and far smaller than a standard cruise ship, and closer to how the river was travelled before engines. The name comes from dhahab, the Arabic word for gold, after the gilded barges the design descends from.
The dahabiyas we use have between 8 and 14 cabins. With every cabin taken as a twin that is 8 to 28 guests on board, and some may have booked through other agents. Our own group is capped at 16 on every sailing. Even at full capacity a dahabiya carries a fraction of a cruise ship’s 100 to 150.
A standard Nile cruise ship is a floating hotel of four or five decks carrying a few hundred guests, tied up each night at a concrete quay. A dahabiya has two decks, sails rather than motors, and moors at sandbanks and islands that larger boats cannot reach. The trade-off is facilities: no pool, no evening entertainment, no shop.
Both are traditional Nile sailing boats, but a dahabiya is larger and far more comfortable. A felucca is an open boat where you sleep on deck; a dahabiya has private en-suite cabins, a dining area and a sun deck. A dahabiya offers the sailing with the comfort of a small hotel.
It depends on how long you have and what you want to see. The 4 days Aswan to Luxor cruise is the shortest and the only one that visits the Temple of Khnum at Esna. The 4 days Aswan to Esna cruise adds Edfu and Gebel el-Silsila. The 5 days Luxor to Aswan cruise sails southbound with two full days in Luxor. The 8 days Luxor to Aswan cruise covers the same river at half the pace. The table above sets all four side by side.
Because the river and the wind pull in opposite directions. The Nile flows north, and the prevailing wind blows from the north, so a boat heading south sails while a boat heading north drifts. Our Luxor to Aswan routes are the southbound ones and spend more time under sail. The ancient Egyptians used a boat with its sail raised as the sign for travelling south, and a boat with the sail lowered for travelling north.
From four to eight days. We run two 4-day / 3-night sailings, one 5-day / 4-night sailing, and one 8-day / 7-night journey. The shorter cruises cover the main temples between Luxor and Aswan; the 8-day gives more time under sail and longer at each stop.
All four sail the stretch of Upper Egypt between Luxor and Aswan, in both directions. Two run northbound from Aswan — one finishing in Luxor by river, one finishing at Esna with a road transfer into Luxor. Two run southbound from Luxor to Aswan, over four nights or seven.
Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon in Luxor; then Edfu, Kom Ombo, Esna and Philae along the river, with the exact list depending on the route. Dahabiyas also moor at sandbanks and villages the large ships sail past.
From $1,050 per person in a twin room for the 4-day Aswan to Luxor sailing, rising to $2,250 for the 8-day Luxor to Aswan cruise, with the 4-day Esna route at $1,075 and the 5-day at $1,285. Three things move the price: the season, the class of dahabiya (Standard, Deluxe or Luxury), and whether you are sharing. Solo travellers pay a single-room supplement.
Yes. The compulsory gala dinner is already inside our 16 December to 10 January rates on every dahabiya cruise. There is nothing extra to pay on board — the price you see is the price you pay.
Accommodation in an en-suite cabin, all meals prepared fresh on board, guided visits with a licensed Egyptologist, entrance fees to the sites listed in each itinerary, airport transfers at both ends, and all transport by air-conditioned vehicle. Water, soft drinks and hot drinks are included. Alcohol, tipping, travel insurance and optional tours are not. We can also arrange flights, hotels and Cairo extensions.
Yes. Our dahabiyas normally sell cabin by cabin, like a hotel, but any of them can be chartered privately for a family or a group. That gives you the deck, the crew and the schedule to yourselves, along with some flexibility over the itinerary. Send us your dates and numbers for a charter quote.
On fixed weekly departures. Cruises starting from Aswan depart Wednesdays and Fridays; cruises starting from Luxor depart Saturdays and Mondays. With so few cabins the high season fills early, so book one to three months ahead for October through April and plan your wider Egypt trip around these days.
October to April, with warm days for the temples and cool evenings on deck. That is peak season in Luxor and Aswan and the reason it costs more. May and September are hotter but good value. June to August is genuinely hot in Upper Egypt — mornings and evenings on deck are lovely, the middle of the day is not.
For couples and honeymooners, yes — the pace and the privacy suit it well. For families it depends on ages. There is no pool and no children’s club, so a dahabiya suits curious children who enjoy history rather than toddlers. Children under 6 travel free, 6 to 11 pay half the adult rate and 12 and over pay the adult rate. Some vessels set a minimum age or require a private charter, so ask us before booking.