The MS Blue Shadow I Nile cruise is a 58-cabin river ship that sails the classic stretch of the Nile between Luxor and Aswan. Choose three nights from Aswan to Luxor, leaving every Wednesday, four nights from Luxor to Aswan, leaving every Saturday, or a seven-night round trip from Luxor, also on Saturdays. Every sailing is full board, with guided visits to Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae, and a pool on the sun deck for the hours in between. Prices start at $850 per person in a triple cabin.
Three nights, Aswan to Luxor (Wednesdays): the shortest way to see the Nile’s great temples. You board in Aswan after Philae, the High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, sail past Kom Ombo and Edfu, and finish with the temples and tombs of Luxor. It suits travellers who start their trip in the south or fly home from Luxor.
Four nights, Luxor to Aswan (Saturdays): the same sites in the other direction, with an extra night and a free afternoon in Aswan. It is the best choice if you want to add Abu Simbel by road at the end, or continue to Cairo by air from Aswan.
Seven nights, round trip from Luxor (Saturdays): both legs of the river, with a free day in Aswan for Abu Simbel and more time to enjoy the ship. It suits travellers who want the Nile to be the heart of their holiday rather than a few days of it.
The Blue Shadow I is one of several ships we sell on this route. The MS Lady Carol sails the same route, and the MS Nile Paradise, with balcony cabins. All our ships, from standard to luxury, are compared on our Luxor Aswan Nile cruises page.
| Class | Egyptian 5-star deluxe; Western equivalent about 4 stars |
| Cabins | 58: 54 standard cabins (21.8 m²), 2 junior suites (37.25 m²), 2 royal suites (42.8 m²) |
| In every cabin | Air conditioning, Nile-view window, private bathroom, LCD satellite TV, minibar, tea and coffee facilities, safe |
| On board | Sun deck with swimming pool and pool bar, main restaurant, lounge bar, fitness equipment, gift shop, Wi-Fi, laundry service, 24-hour reception |
| At extra cost | Sauna and massage, drinks |
| Rooms | Triple, twin/double and single cabins |
| Sailings | Aswan to Luxor every Wednesday (3 nights); Luxor to Aswan every Saturday (4 nights); Luxor round trip every Saturday (7 nights) |
Your Egyptologist guide meets you at Aswan Airport or the railway station and your first afternoon is spent in Egypt’s southernmost city. Begin at the High Dam, finished in 1970, which ended the Nile’s yearly flood and created Lake Nasser, some 500 km long. In the granite quarries nearby lies the Unfinished Obelisk: had it been raised it would have stood about 42 metres high and weighed over a thousand tons, but a crack appeared and the stone masons abandoned it where it lay, leaving a perfect lesson in how obelisks were cut. A motorboat then takes you to the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island, moved stone by stone in the 1970s to save it from the rising water. The last known hieroglyphic inscription in Egypt was carved here, in AD 394.
Board the MS Blue Shadow I in time for lunch and settle into your cabin. The evening is free: watch the feluccas from the sun deck, or join an optional visit to a Nubian village, crossing the river by boat to the brightly painted houses of Gharb Soheil.
Meals: lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
The morning is yours. Stay on board and enjoy the pool, or take the optional early road trip to Abu Simbel, about three hours south, to see the two temples Ramesses II cut into the cliffs above Lake Nasser and that UNESCO moved, block by block, in the 1960s. Around lunchtime the ship casts off and sails north between palm groves and desert. In the late afternoon you reach Kom Ombo, the only double temple in Egypt, dedicated on one side to Sobek, the crocodile god, and on the other to Haroeris, Horus the Elder. Your guide shows you the famous relief of surgical instruments and the temple calendar, and next door the Crocodile Museum displays mummified crocodiles found in the area. The ship continues to Edfu for the night.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board at Edfu
Early, before breakfast and before the heat, a horse carriage takes you through the town to the Temple of Horus at Edfu. Built under the Ptolemies between 237 and 57 BC, it is the most complete temple in Egypt: its 36-metre pylon, roofed halls and the dark granite shrine of Horus are all still in place, and the outer walls tell the story of the battle between Horus and Seth. Back on board, breakfast is served as the ship sails north. In the early afternoon you pass through the lock at Esna, where boatmen paddle alongside and throw tablecloths and scarves up to the decks for passengers to bargain over.
In Luxor you visit Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, covering about 100 hectares: walk through the Great Hypostyle Hall with its 134 columns, see Hatshepsut’s obelisk and the sacred lake. As the light softens, Luxor Temple is your last stop, joined to Karnak by the restored Avenue of Sphinxes. Farewell dinner on board.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Luxor
If you booked the optional sunrise hot-air balloon flight, you will be up before dawn to drift over the West Bank as the sun rises over the temples. After breakfast and check-out, cross to the West Bank. In the Valley of the Kings your ticket includes three royal tombs, their painted corridors still bright after more than three thousand years; Tutankhamun’s tomb and the tomb of Seti I can be added with extra tickets. Next, the Temple of Hatshepsut rises in terraces against the cliffs of 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. A last stop at the Colossi of Memnon, the two 18-metre statues of Amenhotep III, then a transfer to Luxor Airport, the station or your hotel.
Meals: breakfast
Your guide meets you at Luxor Airport and the cruise begins with the two great temples of the East Bank. At Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built, you walk through the forest of 134 columns in the Great Hypostyle Hall, stand beside the obelisk of Hatshepsut and finish at the sacred lake where the priests purified themselves. Then Luxor Temple, built by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II and joined to Karnak by the 2.7-kilometre Avenue of Sphinxes, reopened in 2021. Board the MS Blue Shadow I for lunch. In the evening you can join the optional sound and light show at Karnak, where the temple is lit and narrated after dark.
Meals: lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Luxor
Start with an optional sunrise hot-air balloon flight over the West Bank. After breakfast, cross the river to the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom hid their tombs in a desert valley instead of under pyramids; your ticket includes three tombs, and Tutankhamun’s tomb can be added. Next is the Temple of Hatshepsut: 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 Colossi of Memnon, two seated giants of Amenhotep III, are your last stop. Back on board, the ship sails south; in the afternoon you pass through the Esna lock, with boatmen selling scarves and tablecloths from the water, and continue to Edfu.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board at Edfu
A horse carriage takes you to the Temple of Horus at Edfu in the cool of the morning. Built by the Ptolemies between 237 and 57 BC, it is the most complete temple in Egypt, roofed and almost untouched, with the granite shrine of Horus still standing in its sanctuary. The ship sails on through the morning while you relax on the sun deck. In the afternoon you reach Kom Ombo, the double temple of Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris, Horus the Elder, set on a bend of the river; inside, look for the relief of surgical instruments, and visit the Crocodile Museum next door. The ship sails on to Aswan and moors for the night among the granite islands.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
Your morning tour starts at the High Dam, finished in 1970, which created Lake Nasser and ended the yearly Nile flood. In the ancient granite quarry, the Unfinished Obelisk shows exactly how the Egyptians cut their obelisks; this one cracked and was left in the rock, and would have been the largest ever raised. A motorboat then carries you to the Temple of Isis at Philae, rescued from the rising water and rebuilt on Agilkia Island, where the last known hieroglyphic inscription was carved in AD 394. The afternoon is free: sail on a felucca around Elephantine Island, or join the optional visit to a Nubian village.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
If you want to end with the greatest of all, take the optional early road trip to Abu Simbel, about three hours each way, before your onward journey. Otherwise, enjoy breakfast on board before check-out and your transfer to Aswan Airport or the railway station.
Meals: breakfast
Your representative meets you at Luxor Airport or the railway station and takes you to the MS Blue Shadow I, moored on the Corniche. After lunch the rest of the day is free to settle in, swim in the pool on the sun deck, or walk along the river in the evening.
Meals: lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Luxor
Begin with an optional sunrise hot-air balloon flight, then cross to the West Bank with your Egyptologist. In the Valley of the Kings you enter three royal tombs, their walls covered with the books of the underworld that guided the king through the night; Tutankhamun’s tomb is an optional extra. At the Temple of Hatshepsut, terraced against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, your guide tells the story of the woman who 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. After the Colossi of Memnon you return to the ship, which sails south through the Esna lock to Edfu.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board at Edfu
A horse carriage takes you to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most complete temple in Egypt, built under the Ptolemies between 237 and 57 BC, where the walls tell the story of Horus’s battle with his uncle Seth. The ship then sails on to Kom Ombo, the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris on a bend of the Nile, with the Crocodile Museum beside it. In the evening you arrive in Aswan.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
Visit the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying cracked in its granite quarry, and the Temple of Isis at Philae, reached by motorboat and rebuilt on Agilkia Island when the dam was built. In the afternoon, join the optional visit to a Nubian village, or take a felucca around Elephantine and Kitchener’s Island.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
This is the day the seven-night sailing gives you that shorter cruises cannot: a whole day in Aswan with nothing scheduled. Take the optional road trip to Abu Simbel to see the temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari, saved from Lake Nasser in the 1960s, or stay in Aswan and enjoy the ship, the souk and the view of the river from the sun deck.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Aswan
The ship turns downstream and begins the return to Luxor. It calls again at Kom Ombo and Edfu, where new guests who joined in Aswan make their visits; you have already toured both temples, so the day is for the river itself: the palm groves, the villages and the desert hills sliding past the pool deck. In the evening the ship passes through the Esna lock once more.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board
Your last tour is the East Bank: Karnak, about 100 hectares of temples built over two thousand years, with the 134 columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall and the obelisk of Hatshepsut, and Luxor Temple, at the southern end of the Avenue of Sphinxes. The cruise ends with a farewell dinner on board.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner · Overnight: on board in Luxor
After breakfast and check-out, transfer to Luxor Airport or the railway station, or to your hotel if you are staying on in Luxor.
Meals: breakfast
