Nile River Cruise: The Complete Luxor to Aswan Guide

How Far and Which Way

Modern Nile cruises mostly start at Luxor and run south to Aswan. Sources disagree on the exact distance. Wikipedia puts Luxor and Aswan about 220 km apart, while Rome2Rio measures the road distance at 213.8 km. The river distance is not stated in an official source, so treat any precise figure with care. Both figures tell the same story: this is a short, slow stretch of water, not an ocean crossing.

A short cruise runs 3 to 4 nights, and a 14-day Egypt trip allows a 7-night cruise. The classic stops sit between the two cities: the Temple of Esna and its lock about 55 km south of Luxor, the Temple of Edfu, and Kom Ombo about 50 km north of Aswan. Cruises sail in both directions. Modern cruises mostly start in Luxor, though the 4-Day Luxury Dahabiya Cruise at $1,100 per person runs the reverse way, from Aswan to Luxor.

Historically, this is a shortened route. Thomas Cook hired two steamboats in 1869 and cut the Cairo to Aswan trip to about three weeks. Historic cruises ran 20 to 21 days from Cairo to Aswan, where today's boats board you at Luxor.

The Esna Lock and the Lock Season

The Esna barrage sits about 55 km south of Luxor, and its locks regularly delay cruise ships.

There is a bigger seasonal issue. The Nile locks close from April to mid-October for water management. When the lock is shut, cruise boats cannot pass Esna, so passengers transfer between vessels. If a through-sailing matters to you, cruise outside April to mid-October. The preferred season overall is October to February, when Luxor's average high sits at 22.8 C in January against 41.3 C in June.

Some listings price Christmas, New Year and Easter as separate options, with amounts not stated. The cruise-only listings run from $690 to $2,500 per person. Check the lock dates against your travel dates before you pay a deposit.

The Daily Rhythm

A cruise day bends around temple opening hours. Edfu opens at 7:00 and closes at 17:00, Kom Ombo stays open from 7:00 to 21:00, and Philae takes visitors from 7:00 to 16:00. Ships moor at each town. Edfu has had night lighting since late 2006, so evening visits are possible there.

Between stops, the boat sails. Sailing days are the point: the riverbank moves past with villages, palm fields and donkeys on both sides. On board, meals anchor the day. Every cruise-only listing here is full board. The 5-Day Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise at $2,500 per person includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the 5-Day Dahabiya Nile Cruise at $1,750 per person does the same. Cruise entry fees are included on most listings, but not all: the 5-Day Luxury Nile Cruise Luxor-Aswan at $1,900 per person does not state whether entrance fees are covered, so ask before booking.

Optional extras exist outside the cruise. The Luxor hot air balloon is the best known, with pickups from about 3:15 to 4:45 in the morning and flights of 45 to 60 minutes. Balloons are not included in any cruise-only listing here.

Cabins and What to Pack

The 5-Day Luxury Nile Cruise Luxor-Aswan offers a choice of single, double or triple cabin. The ultra deluxe listing at $2,500 per person sells itself as a 5-star ultra deluxe ship, while the dahabiya listings put you on a sailing boat instead. The 4-Day Luxury Dahabiya Cruise at $1,100 per person includes all meals from lunch on day 1 to breakfast on day 4, with water and hot drinks.

Pack for two climates in one day. Winter mornings on deck and at 7:00 temple openings are cool, while Luxor's afternoons reach the high 30s Celsius even in spring. For any mosque visit on shore, cover shoulders and legs and carry a scarf, since women may be asked to cover their hair. Shoes come off in prayer areas.

Tipping starts before you leave the ship. Baksheesh is the Egyptian custom of tipping to show appreciation for service, and cruise crew expect it. The figures conflict between guides: one advises crew tips of about EGP 150 to 200 a day shared among the staff, while other guides use US dollar ranges. Bring small US dollar bills or Egyptian pounds in small notes, since coins cannot be exchanged locally.

The Cruise-Only Listings

The table gathers the cruise-only trips, 5-Day Ultra Deluxe Nile Cruise to 4-Day Nile Cruise with Abu Simbel, in one place. Prices are the US dollar card prices per person taken from each listing. Nights mean nights on board. Boats differ: two sail on 5-star ships, one does not state its ship, and two are dahabiyas. The $2,500 and $1,900 prices are the lowest of the options each of those listings offers. Ratings come from the reviews each listing shows.

The spread runs from $690 to $2,500 per person. The cheapest, the 4-day Nile cruise with Abu Simbel, is a small-group trip of up to 18 people. The priciest, the 5-day ultra deluxe Nile cruise, is private and full board with entry fees.

What the Price Includes and Leaves Out

Read the inclusion lines before you book, because they differ. The 5-day ultra deluxe cruise includes breakfast, lunch and dinner, a private Egyptologist and entry fees to the historical sites. The 5-day dahabiya cruise also covers full board and all entrance fees. The 5-day luxury cruise lists meals but does not state entrance fees, and its ship and night count are not stated either. Sales there are final with no refund.

None of the cruise-only listings includes domestic flights, a Cairo hotel, the Luxor balloon or transfers from Cairo. Those belong to the longer combined tours: the 8-day private Egypt Nile cruise tour adds flights and a 4-night cruise, and the 7-day private Egyptologist tour leaves its flights and hotel out, so its $1,500 price is a base with extras booked separately.

Cancellation also varies. Several listings allow free cancellation up to 24 hours before, the 5-day ultra deluxe cruise needs 6 days, and the 5-day luxury cruise and the 8-day package are all sales final, though the 8-day package's booking notes also carry a fee schedule, so confirm its terms.

Tipping on Board

Tipping, called baksheesh, is the Egyptian custom of showing appreciation for service, and cruise crews expect it. The advice on how much does not agree across sources.

One cruise tipping guide puts crew tips at $5 to 10 per person per night. Another guide lists $10 to 15, a third $10 to 12, and one Egyptian source suggests about EGP 30. Wikivoyage instead describes a pooled system of about LE150 to LE200 a day shared among the whole staff. All five figures cannot be right at once, so treat any of them as a range, not a rule.

For the Egyptologist who guides your temple visits, sources give EGP 250 to 500 a day for a private guide, or $30 to 50 a day, or $10 to 15 per person per day. Again the conflict is real.

Practical points do agree. Coins cannot be exchanged locally, so small US dollar bills suit crew and guides. If your tour already charges a service amount, check the listing: drinks and tips are explicitly excluded from the 9-day private Egypt cruise tour.

Lake Nasser

The High Dam, begun in 1960 and finished in 1970, created Lake Nasser behind it. The lake runs 550 km, stretches up to 35 km wide, averages 25.2 m deep with a maximum of 130 m and covers 5,250 km2. About 83 percent of it lies in Egypt and the Sudanese part is called Lake Nubia. Sources disagree on the length, with one Wikipedia article giving 500 km for the dam and lake pair and the Lake Nasser article giving 550 km.

Lake Nasser cruises sail to Abu Simbel, and longer Nile cruises sometimes continue onto the lake for that reason. The temples of Kalabsha, Wadi es-Sebua and Amada were moved to higher ground during the Nubia campaign, while the fortress of Buhen now lies underwater. None of the cruise-only listings in this catalog sails Lake Nasser, so Abu Simbel is reached as a road excursion on the one listing that includes it, the 4-day Nile cruise with Abu Simbel.

Longer Cruises and How the History Fits

A short Luxor to Aswan Nile cruise runs three to four nights, and a 14-day Egypt trip allows a seven-night cruise. The 4 and 5-day listings here sit inside that range. Longer combined tours such as the 12-day luxury Egypt Nile tour and the 10-day ultimate Egypt Nile cruise pair the cruise with Cairo and Abu Simbel, and the 12-day tour adds Alexandria, with domestic flights included in both.

The pattern is old. Thomas Cook pioneered Nile steamboat tourism in 1869, hired two steamboats that year to cut the Cairo to Aswan trip to about three weeks, and became the appointed agent for all Nile passenger traffic in 1870. Historic cruises ran 20 to 21 days from Cairo. Modern cruises start at Luxor instead, and more than 300 cruise ships now sail the river.

The Nile season matters with the length. Cruises run mainly between Luxor and Aswan and the preferred season is October to February, which matches the milder months: Luxor's average high is 22.8 C in January against 41.3 C in June.

Ship or Dahabiya

A 5-star cruise ship is the type used on the 5-Day Ultra Deluxe and 4-Day Abu Simbel listings. A dahabiya is a shallow-bottomed, barge-like river boat with two or more sails. It was the standard Nile tourist boat until the 1870s, and today's versions lack a propeller, so they are towed by diesel tugboats and carry a generator.

The result is a slower, smaller trip that can stop at quiet places such as Gebel el-Silsila, 65 km north of Aswan, where more than 120 ancient quarries supplied sandstone to Karnak and other temples. The dahabiya listings price at $1,750 and $1,100 per person. For the full story see the guide to the dahabiya Nile cruise.