This 4 night Nile cruise from Cairo takes you from your Cairo hotel to a Nile cruise ship in Luxor in one morning, and brings you back to Cairo five days later. It costs from $990 per person, and that price includes the flight from Cairo to Luxor, the flight from Aswan to Cairo, four nights on board with full board, every guided visit and all transfers.
The Nile cruise ships do not sail from Cairo. They sail between Luxor and Aswan, about 650 kilometres to the south, so every cruise that starts in the capital begins with a flight of about one hour. We collect you from your hotel early in the morning, and by lunchtime you are on board in Luxor. That same afternoon you are walking through Karnak. Over the next four days the ship carries you south past the Valley of the Kings, Edfu and Kom Ombo to Philae Temple in Aswan, and on the fifth day you fly back to Cairo.
The cruise leaves Luxor every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, all year, and you choose between four classes of ship. It is planned and run by Egypt Best Vacations, a licensed Egyptian tour operator based in Luxor and led by Egyptologist Essam Ali, and it is one of our Luxor Aswan Nile cruise packages.
| Detail | What you get |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 days / 4 nights, all four nights on the ship |
| Route | Cairo → fly to Luxor → Esna → Edfu → Kom Ombo → Aswan → fly to Cairo |
| Departures | Every Monday, Thursday and Saturday, all year |
| Starts and ends | Your hotel in Cairo, or Cairo Airport |
| Flights included | Cairo to Luxor on day 1 and Aswan to Cairo on day 5 |
| Sightseeing | Private: your own Egyptologist guide and vehicle at every stop |
| Meals | 12 meals: 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners |
| Ship classes | Standard, Deluxe, Ultra Deluxe and Luxury |
| Price from | $990 per person, flights included |
Already in Luxor? The same sailing without the flights is our 5 day Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan. For the shorter trip in the other direction, see the 3 night Nile cruise from Aswan to Luxor, and for the full round trip, the 7 night Nile cruise package. If you only want the top ships, the 4 night luxury Nile river cruise from Luxor to Aswan is the one to read. To add the Pyramids and hotel nights in Cairo around this cruise, choose the 9 day Egypt tour with Nile cruise.
We collect you from your hotel in Cairo early in the morning and take you to the airport for the flight to Luxor, about one hour. Meet your tour guide to begin your tour. Visit Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, covering about 100 hectares, and walk through the Hypostyle Hall with its 134 columns. The day ends at Luxor Temple, which is at its best as the light fades.
Then proceed to your Nile cruise to check in and have lunch on board at the start of your 4 night Nile cruise from Cairo. Dinner and the night are on board in Luxor.
Meals: Lunch and dinner
After breakfast you cross to the west bank. In the Valley of the Kings you go down into three royal tombs chosen by your guide. You then visit the terraced Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. Hatshepsut began as regent for Thutmose III and went on to rule as a crowned king in full pharaonic regalia, with his regnal years still running alongside hers. The last stop is the Colossi of Memnon.
Back on board, the ship sails south during lunch, passes through the Esna Lock and moors at Edfu for the night.
Optional before breakfast: a sunrise balloon ride over Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
A horse-drawn carriage takes you through Edfu to the Temple of Horus. Built between 237 and 57 BC under the Ptolemies, it is the best-preserved temple in Egypt, with its roof, pylon and sanctuary still in place.
The ship sails on to Kom Ombo, where the temple stands right above the river. It is a double temple, with one half for the crocodile god Sobek and the other for Horus the Elder, and the Crocodile Museum beside it displays mummified crocodiles found nearby. You then sail to Aswan and spend the night on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
The morning is spent in Aswan. You visit the High Dam, completed in 1970, and the granite quarry of the Unfinished Obelisk, which would have stood about 42 metres tall. A motorboat then takes you to Philae Temple on Agilkia Island, where the temple of Isis was rebuilt in the 1970s after its original island was flooded.
The afternoon is free, on the sun deck or in the town. Dinner and the last night are on board in Aswan.
Optional this afternoon: the Nubian Village tour
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
After breakfast you leave the ship and we take you to Aswan Airport for the flight to Cairo, where a driver is waiting to take you to your hotel at the end of your 4 night Nile cruise from Cairo.
Optional before your flight: the temples of Abu Simbel by road from Aswan, with a later flight back to Cairo.
Meals: Breakfast
