Most visitors to Egypt stop at Aswan. South of it lies a lake five hundred kilometres long, a handful of ships, and a line of temples that should not still exist — every one of them taken apart and rebuilt on higher ground when the water came. That is what our Lake Nasser cruises are. Not a variation on the Nile cruise, but a different country entirely.
Three or four nights of sailing covers the stretch between Aswan and Abu Simbel that no road follows and almost no tour reaches. There are only a handful of ships licensed to sail the lake, departures run on fixed weekly dates, and at most sites you will be the only group ashore. Every sailing is a full-board small group tour, capped at 16, with temple visits guided by a qualified Egyptologist.
This is the part that makes a Lake Nasser cruise different from every other trip in Egypt, and it is worth understanding before you board.
The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970. The reservoir behind it drowned Lower Nubia — hundreds of kilometres of villages, farmland and monuments that had stood in the same places for three thousand years. Between 1960 and 1980, UNESCO ran the largest archaeological rescue operation in history to save what could be saved.
Abu Simbel was sawn into more than a thousand blocks and rebuilt sixty-five metres higher and two hundred metres further back, inside an artificial mountain built to hold it. Kalabsha was dismantled and moved roughly fifty kilometres north to a headland near the dam. Amada was judged too fragile to cut, so it was jacked onto rails and hauled two and a half kilometres intact.
Every temple you see from the deck is in the wrong place. That is precisely why you can see it at all.
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A Lake Nasser cruise is a sailing holiday on the reservoir created by the Aswan High Dam in southern Egypt. It runs through what was Lower Nubia, calling at temples that were cut apart and rebuilt on higher ground in the 1960s and 70s to save them from the rising water — Kalabsha, Wadi es-Seboua, Amada, and above all Abu Simbel. It is a quieter, emptier alternative to the busy Luxor–Aswan Nile cruises, with a small licensed fleet and fixed weekly departures.
Three or four nights. The northbound sailing from Abu Simbel to Aswan is four days and three nights, departing Fridays. The southbound sailing from Aswan to Abu Simbel is five days and four nights, departing Mondays. MS Mövenpick Prince Abbas operates on both routes and can be booked as either. The longer sailing gives you more time on the water and a slower pace; the shorter one is easier to fit into a wider Egypt itinerary.
Our Lake Nasser cruises start from $705 per person for the three-night northbound sailing, from $800 on MS Mövenpick Prince Abbas, and from $895 for the four-night southbound sailing. The final price depends on season, cabin category and group size. All sailings are full board with guided temple visits included.
Departures are fixed weekly dates, not daily. The four-night Aswan to Abu Simbel sailing leaves every Monday; the three-night Abu Simbel to Aswan sailing leaves every Friday; MS Mövenpick Prince Abbas sails on both days. Because the dates are set and the fleet is small, we recommend booking earlier than you would for a Luxor–Aswan cruise and building the rest of your Egypt itinerary around the sailing date.
Both directions are available. Southbound sailings begin in Aswan and finish at Abu Simbel; northbound sailings begin at Abu Simbel and finish in Aswan. Prince Abbas runs both. Choose whichever direction suits your onward plans — we book the flights and transfers at either end so the connections work.
The great Nubian monuments, most of them relocated. New Kalabsha holds the Temple of Kalabsha, the rock-cut Beit el-Wali and the Kiosk of Qertassi. Wadi es-Seboua, the Valley of the Lions, is joined there by the temples of Dakka and Maharraqa. New Amada holds the Temple of Amada — the oldest surviving temple in Nubia — plus Derr and the tomb of Pennut. Qasr Ibrim is seen from the deck rather than visited, and Abu Simbel is the finish.
Because it is the only site on the lake that was never moved, and it is still an active excavation. Qasr Ibrim stood on a clifftop seventy metres above the valley; when the water rose it became an island, with the fortress and its churches perched on top. Ships pass close enough for good photographs, but nobody lands. Seeing it from the water is how everyone sees it.
Twice a year, on 22 February and 22 October, the rising sun enters the Great Temple through the entrance, travels the length of the axis and illuminates the seated statues in the sanctuary — leaving Ptah, god of the underworld, in shadow. Before the temple was relocated the alignment fell on the 21st of each month; the move shifted it by a day. The popular story that the dates mark Ramses II’s birthday and coronation is a modern one with no ancient text behind it. Sailings around those dates fill early, so tell us as soon as you know.
Yes. Abu Simbel is the centrepiece of every sailing, and arriving by water is the point — the Great Temple of Ramses II and the temple of Nefertari appear above the lake before you go ashore for the guided visit. Most visitors reach Abu Simbel by road convoy or a short flight from Aswan and see it for a couple of hours. On a cruise you see it from the water first.
A small licensed fleet, which is exactly why the lake feels empty compared with the Luxor–Aswan route. Ships are full board with cabins, lounges and sun decks, and carry far fewer passengers than a typical Nile cruiser. We publish two ratings for every ship — the Egyptian license and an honest Western equivalent — because Egyptian ratings run roughly one and a half stars higher than the European or North American scale.
Full-board accommodation aboard, all main meals, guided visits to the Nubian temples with a qualified Egyptologist, and the full sightseeing program along the lake. Not included: flights to Aswan or Abu Simbel, the Egypt entry visa ($30 on arrival, cash), drinks, gratuities and travel insurance. We arrange flights, transfers, hotels and extensions in Aswan, Cairo or Upper Egypt alongside the cruise.
Small group. Every sailing is a scheduled weekly departure shared with other travellers, with temple visits guided as a group and numbers capped at 16. Because the licensed fleet on the lake is so small and ships carry far fewer passengers than a Luxor–Aswan cruiser, the experience is quiet regardless — at most of the Nubian temples yours will be the only group ashore. Transfers, hotels and the days either side of the sailing can be arranged privately.
A standard Nile cruise sails the Luxor–Aswan stretch and visits Karnak, Luxor Temple, Edfu and Kom Ombo, alongside several dozen other ships. A Lake Nasser cruise sails south through Nubia to Abu Simbel, with a small fleet, far fewer people and an entirely different set of monuments — plus a landscape of open water and desert rather than a green valley. Travellers with the time do both.
October to April, when days are warm enough for comfortable sightseeing and evenings on deck are pleasant. June to August is genuinely hot in the Aswan and Abu Simbel region — 40°C and above is normal — and while sailings still run, the cooler months are far better for standing in front of temples. The Sun Festival dates in February and October fall inside the good season and book out early.
Yes. The calm water, full-board ships, small passenger numbers and guided visits suit couples, families and small groups who want culture and quiet rather than a resort. There is genuinely very little to do aboard beyond reading, eating and watching the shore, which most guests find is the appeal. Tell us your children’s ages when you enquire and we will tell you honestly whether it suits.
Yes, and most guests do. The usual shape is Cairo for the pyramids and the Grand Egyptian Museum, a Luxor–Aswan Nile cruise, then the lake as the Nubian finale. It also pairs with a Red Sea stay. We book the flights, transfers and hotels that connect everything, including the Aswan or Abu Simbel flight at either end of the sailing.