The MS Nile Dolphin Nile cruise is the way to sail the Nile between Aswan and Luxor when you want a comfortable, well-run ship without paying luxury-class prices. Nile Dolphin is a standard-class vessel — rated 5-star under the Egyptian system, which we translate honestly to roughly 3.5 stars by Western standards — and that is exactly the balance most first-time Nile travellers are looking for: a proper pool deck, air-conditioned cabins with a French balcony, single-sitting dining, and a crew that has been running the Luxor–Aswan stretch for years.
Built in 2007 and fully refurbished in 2017, Nile Dolphin is 72 metres long with five decks. Her 63 cabins and 2 royal suites sit on three of those decks, so the ship never feels crowded even when she sails full. She departs Aswan every Friday for the 3-night sailing north to Luxor, and departs Luxor every Monday for the 4-night sailing south to Aswan. Combine the two and you have the 7-night round trip from Luxor, which covers every temple on the river at a slower, unhurried pace.
What makes this an Egypt Best Vacations cruise rather than just a cabin booking is who walks you through the temples. Every shore visit — Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings — is led by one of our licensed Egyptologist guides, in your own private group on the 3- and 4-night sailings. You are not being read a script; you are being shown why Ptolemaic Edfu is the best-preserved temple in Egypt, how to read the astronomical ceiling at Esna, and where Hatshepsut’s name was chiselled out and why.
Every one of the 63 cabins measures around 20 square metres and opens onto a French balcony, so you can slide the doors back and watch the West Bank drift past from your bed. Cabins are furnished in mahogany with individually controlled air conditioning, a flat-screen satellite TV and music system, a mini-fridge, a direct-dial phone, a personal safe and a hairdryer. Bathrooms are marble-floored with a full glass shower cabin and jet panel. Bedding is Egyptian cotton. The two royal suites add more floor space and a private terrace. Twin, double, triple and single occupancy are all available — ask us for a triple if you are travelling as three.
The top deck is where most of the sailing hours are spent: a swimming pool, two Jacuzzis, a shaded sun-deck bar and rows of loungers facing the river. This is where you will be when the ship passes through the Esna Lock and when the Kom Ombo temple first appears on the bend.
Meals are served in a single sitting in the 150-seat restaurant, so nobody is hurried through dinner. Breakfast and lunch are buffet style; dinner is a set menu with Egyptian and international dishes, with a themed Egyptian night and a galabeya party during longer sailings. The 140-seat panoramic lounge bar has a library corner by day and hosts the evening entertainment — a Nubian folklore show, belly dancing and whirling tanoura on most sailings.
Nile Dolphin has an air-conditioned spa offering massage, aromatherapy and chromotherapy treatments, a steam bath and an infrared sauna, plus a small fitness room with cardio machines and weights and a beauty salon. Spa treatments and salon services are charged on board.
Your Egyptologist guide meets you at Aswan Airport, railway station or hotel and takes you straight to the ship for check-in and lunch on board. In the afternoon you visit the Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk in the granite quarries — still lying where it cracked, the largest obelisk ever attempted — and then cross by motorboat to the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island, rebuilt stone by stone after the dam flooded its original home. Dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.
If you arrive in Aswan early in the morning, then you will do the tour first as cabins will not be ready in the morning.
Optional tour: Nubian Village tour
Meals: Lunch and dinner
Early risers can take the optional Abu Simbel excursion (by road, roughly 3 hours each way) to stand before Ramesses II’s four colossal seated statues before the ship sails. Nile Dolphin then heads north to Kom Ombo, where your guide explains the unusual double temple shared by the crocodile god Sobek and the falcon god Haroeris, and the neighbouring Crocodile Museum with its mummified crocodiles. Sail on to Edfu. Dinner, entertainment and overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
At dawn and by horse-drawn carriage from the dock to the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the most completely preserved temple in Egypt, built by the Ptolemies between 237 and 57 BC. Sail north through the Esna Lock to Luxor. In the afternoon your guide takes you to Karnak, the largest religious complex ever built at around 100 hectares, and to Luxor Temple as the lights come on. Dinner and overnight on board in Luxor.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
After breakfast and disembarkation, you cross to the West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, the 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 — and the Colossi of Memnon. Transfer to Luxor Airport, the railway station or your hotel.
Optional tour: sunrise hot-air balloon over the West Bank
Meals: Breakfast
Meet your Egyptologist guide at Luxor Airport, railway station or hotel to being your East bank tour. Karnak Temple — Hypostyle Hall, the sacred lake and the obelisks of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I — followed by Luxor Temple. Then, transfer to MS Nile Dolphin for check-in and lunch. Dinner and overnight on board in Luxor.
Meals: Lunch and dinner
Morning on the West Bank: the Valley of the Kings (three tombs included), the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon. Back on board for lunch as the ship sails south, passing through the Esna Lock in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight on board in Edfu.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Horse-drawn carriage to the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus at Edfu. Sail on to Kom Ombo for the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris and the Crocodile Museum, then continue to Aswan. Galabeya party on board this evening. Dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
The Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island. Afternoon at leisure — a felucca sail around Elephantine Island and a visit to a Nubian village are popular optional add-ons. Dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.
Optional tour: Nubian Village tour
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Early optional excursion to Abu Simbel by road, returning to the ship by early afternoon; otherwise breakfast at leisure. Disembark and transfer to Aswan Airport, the railway station or your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Upon arrival at Luxor International Airport/Railway, you will be picked up by our representative of “Egypt Best Vacations”. Transfer to MS Nile Dolphin Cruise ship. Settle into your cabin and get ready for an unforgettable adventure. Enjoy your free time onboard or explore the city of Luxor and discover the many things to do there at your leisure. Overnight in Luxor.
Meals: Lunch and dinner
Morning on the West Bank: the Valley of the Kings (three tombs included), the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon. Back on board for lunch as the ship sails south, passing through the Esna Lock in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight on board in Edfu.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Horse-drawn carriage to the Ptolemaic Temple of Horus at Edfu. Sail on to Kom Ombo for the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris and the Crocodile Museum, then continue to Aswan. Galabeya party on board this evening. Dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
The Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Isis at Philae on Agilkia Island. Afternoon at leisure — a felucca sail around Elephantine Island and a visit to a Nubian village are popular optional add-ons. Dinner and overnight on board in Aswan.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
The extra day is what the 7-night sailing is for. Take the optional excursion to Abu Simbel by road (leaving around 4 am, back by early afternoon) to see Ramesses II’s Great Temple and the smaller temple of Nefertari, or spend a slower morning in Aswan — the Nubian Museum, the souk, or a felucca sail. The ship remains in Aswan; dinner and overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Nile Dolphin leaves Aswan and sails north with the current. The second call at Kom Ombo is at leisure — a chance to see the temple in evening light, revisit the Crocodile Museum or simply stay on the sun deck. Overnight in Edfu.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Morning at leisure in Edfu, then sail north through the Esna Lock back to Luxor. In the afternoon, Karnak Temple — Hypostyle Hall, the sacred lake and the obelisks of Hatshepsut and Thutmose I — followed by Luxor Temple. Dinner and overnight on board in Luxor. Farewell dinner and overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Breakfast on board, then transfer to Luxor Airport, the railway station or your hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
