Overview
4-Day Nile Cruise – Aswan to Luxor with optionaly Incl. Abu Simbel And Hot Air Balloon Adventure.
Enjoy a relaxing cruise from Aswan to Luxor and imagine yourself a character in an Agatha Christie novel. Marvel at the ancient temples and tombs of Upper Egypt.
Sign up for this luxury break in your vacation to visit the famous ancient temples and tombs of Upper Egypt by boarding a Nile Cruise.
Sail from Aswan to Luxor and visit the highlights along the way, such as the Aswan High Dam, the Isis Temple on Philae Island, Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples, maneuver through the lock of Esna and marvel at Luxor and Karnak temples, Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon.
Climaxes of this tour are the Nubian Monuments of Abu Simbel and a Hot Air Balloon adventure over the West Bank of Luxor.
Itinerary
Pick up from Aswan Railway Station or Aswan accommodation and transfer to the Nile Cruise for check-in.
After lunch on board, you visit the Aswan Highlights. Our first stop will be a modern wonder of technology. Built in the 1950s, the Aswan High Dam brought the Nile's devastating floods to an end, reclaimed more than 100,000 acres of desert land for agriculture and made further crops possible on an additional 800,000 acres.
To continue, we board a motorboat to Philae Island. After the construction of the Aswan Low Dam, it was completely submerged in the Nile, but with the help of UNESCO, it found a new home on the Island Agilkia.
The first structure that greets visitors is the iconic Trajan's Kiosk, built in the 2nd Century AD by the Roman Emperor Trajan. The main structure on the island is the Temple of Isis, the goddess of health, marriage, motherhood, and wisdom. You will visit the temples and the ancient Nilometer.
At the end of the tour, you will be brought back to your Nile Cruise for the night.
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Meals = Lunch - Dinner only / Drinks is Extra
An early rise (around 03:00 AM) and a 3 to 4-hour desert trip bring you to the southernmost archaeological site, the Nubian Monuments of Abu Simbel, where you visit the temples commissioned by Ramses II for himself and his most beloved wife, Queen Nefertari.
Like the Nubian population, the temples were relocated in the 1960s due to the construction of the High Dam and the creation of the reservoir, Lake Nasser. You visit both temples and have time to explore the wall decorations, monumental statues and innermost holy sanctuaries.
Drive back north to Aswan, in time for lunch on board while the Nile Cruise is ready to commence.
Enjoy the tranquility of the Nile whilst cruising towards Kom Ombo where the famous double temple of Sobek and Horus the Elder awaits you. There are some remarkable scenes on the temple walls which will be explained to you like the portrayal of a set of surgical instruments that look extraordinarily like the ones we use today. Furthermore there is a beautiful depiction of an ancient calendar, showing the hieroglyph figures for the days of the month and the seasons.
At the temple exit you visit the picturesque Museum with its huge mummified crocodiles.
The cruise continues to Edfu. You visit the Edfu Temple, dedicated to the God Horus. The temple has a pillared hall, two diagonal halls and a sanctuary surrounded by chapels, containing a beautiful replica of the Holy Bark.
The walls provide details of the construction, the religious myths and the family history of Horus. The temple is nearly intact and a very good example of an Egyptian/Ptolemaic temple.
Back on board, the cruise commences until you reach the Esna Lock, an interesting feature to see how the cruise ships navigate the lock to be able to sail through to Luxor (nighttime arrival).
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Meals = Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner only / Drinks is Extra
After breakfast, you visit the Karnak Temple; a vast network of temples, hypostyle halls, holy lakes, shrines, statues and obelisks.
The Karnak Temple is the second largest religious construction in exsistance and you have time to wander around before continuing the morning excursion.
Next is the Luxor Temple, elegantly decorating the shores of the Nile. The temple is dedicated to the Rejuvenation of Kingship, and many Pharaohs were crowned here and participated in the yearly Opet-feast.
The Karnak and Luxor temples are connected by the recently re-opened Sphinx Alley where excavations are still ongoing.
Drop-off at the cruiser for lunch. You spend the rest of the day at your leisure.
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Meals = Breakfast - Lunch - Dinner only / Drinks is Extra
An early morning check out from the cruise takes you to the West Bank of Luxor to board a different means of transportation. On a Hot Air Balloon you imagine yourself on a magic carpet ride over the Theban Mountains, the villages and archaeological sites.
With your feet back on the ground, you drive to the ancient Theban Necropolis, starting at the Valley of the Kings, where you descend into 3 Royal Tombs and gaze at the beautiful colours, magnificent paintings and hieroglyphs.
The next stop is the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, the famous rock-cut tomb at Deir El-Bahari. You enter the temple, where your guide translates the exciting stories on the walls about Hatshepsut's divine birth and her trade expedition to the Land of Punt while you admire the fantastic wall decorations.
Last is a photo-stop at the Colossi of Memnon, frozen in time and guarding the ongoing excavations of the Temple of Amenhotep III.
Drop off at Luxor Railway Station or Luxor Accommodation.
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Meals = Breakfast only / Drinks is Extra cost
Tour Inclusions
Includes
- 4 Days/3 nights full board Nile Cruise
- Full Board (Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner)
- Modern Air-conditioned transportation
- Meet and greet service
- Arrival and Departure transfers
- Embarkation and disembarkation assistance
- Wi-Fi in the Reception area only
- Nightly Entertainment
- Teatime
- All taxes and fees
Excludes
- Tipping, beverages, extra activities, and Personal spending
- Sightseeing Package
- Wi-Fi (Extra charge on the cruise) except the reception area
* You should avoid drinking large amounts of alcohol especially if you have equilibrium problems. You are not just putting yourself at peril, but also the other guests and staff too.
* People with equilibrium problems should not spend too much time on deck at night, on a fast moving ship; it is dangerous in case you fall over.
* Smoking in bed is dangerous; the mattresses are very flammable!
* People who tend to sleep walk should never take a cabin with a balcony, an inside cabin with a window would be far safer.
* Make sure that you know where the muster stations are, in case you have to abandon ship.
* If you get sick whilst on board, some cruise boats have a resident doctor on board. If not, they have doctors assigned in each town that can be called on in case of emergency.
* If you need some more heath and safety tips, please feel free to contact us to know more about health and safety on board a Nile cruise.
* For practical reasons on the Nile, the cruise may be subject to slight alterations at short notice while you are in Egypt.
* Most sailing is done during the day, but during some periods some sailing may be required after dark
* At busy periods the boat may be required to wait for a short time to get through the lock on the Nile at Esna
* When moored, several cruise boats may be required to moor alongside each other. This can restrict views and require clients to cross several boats to reach the shore. Assistance will be provided if required.
* When first checking in on the cruise boat, it is advisable to leave your valuables in a safe deposit box. This will be available either in the reception, or a private safe in your cabin.
* If you wish to buy any items from the shops on board, the opportunity for shopping is generally limited due to the small size of these shops. But on the other hand you will get plenty of time to check what you are buying, and haggle over the price!
* To call home, most of the cruise boats offer telephone facilities on board, but the quality is not as good as onshore.
