| Duration |
8 Days / 7 Nights |
|---|---|
| Tour Location |
Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan |
| Tour Type |
Daily Tour |
| Pickup |
Your Hotel in Luxor |
This 8 day Nile cruise covers the full Luxor to Aswan river corridor in 7 nights, stopping at Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, Edfu Temple, Kom Ombo, the Aswan High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, Philae Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, and the Colossi of Memnon. Ideal for travelers seeking Egypt Sightseeing Tours, it is the only sail only 8 day Nile cruise with no Cairo leg, a pure river experience featuring 6 temple stops, full board accommodation, and an expert Egyptologist on every sailing.
Day 1 starts on Luxor's East Bank with Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple before boarding the cruise. Day 2 is a full sailing day south through the Nile Valley. Day 3 brings Edfu Temple, reached by horse-drawn carriage from the dock. Day 4 covers Aswan's three landmarks: the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, and Philae Temple on Agilkia Island. Day 5 is a leisure day on the water as the cruise turns north, sailing back through the river landscape between Aswan and Kom Ombo. Day 6 visits Kom Ombo's dual temple of Horus the Elder and Sobek on the return sail. Day 7 completes the West Bank of Luxor: Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, and the Colossi of Memnon. Day 8 is disembarkation in Luxor.
Only on this route
Most 8-day Nile packages spend two or three days in Cairo before passengers ever reach the river the cruise becomes the second act, not the whole story. This itinerary boards in Luxor on Day 1 and stays on the water for all 7 nights, covering the full Luxor to Aswan corridor without a single city hotel night breaking the sequence.
Arc I · Luxor to Edfu
Karnak to Edfu Temple — the cruise departs south into Ptolemaic Egypt
Your Egyptologist guide meets you at your Luxor hotel in the morning and transfers you directly to Karnak Temple before the midday heat sets in. After Luxor Temple, you board your cruise for the night.
You'll enter through the Avenue of Sphinxes and find yourself standing inside the legendary Karnak Temple, 134 columns so dense and tall that the space between them feels like a canyon cut from stone. This is the largest religious complex ever built, expanded by successive pharaohs across 1,900 years, and the scale only makes sense once you're inside it.
Your guide walks you in at dusk, when floodlights turn the sandstone columns the colour of warm amber against a darkening sky. Built by Amenhotep III and extended by Ramses II, this temple once hosted the Opet Festival, a 27-day procession along the Nile that renewed the pharaoh's divine authority each year.
Lunch, Dinner
The cruise departs Luxor in the early morning and continues south through the heart of the Nile Valley. With no scheduled excursions or transfers, the day is dedicated entirely to the journey itself. Relax on the sun deck as traditional riverside villages, palm-fringed farmland, and dramatic desert cliffs unfold along the riverbanks. Watch local feluccas glide past and experience a side of Egypt rarely seen from the road. Travelers who enjoy these slower river days often choose a dahabiya boutique Nile cruise from Luxor, where smaller vessels, fewer passengers, and flexible sailing schedules create an even more intimate Nile experience.
Breakfast, Lunch. Dinner
The cruise docks at Edfu before breakfast. After eating on board, your guide takes you by horse-drawn carriage from the riverbank to the temple entrance, a ten-minute ride through the town. After the visit, the carriage returns you to the dock, and the cruise continues south toward Aswan.
From the outside, it looks like an unbroken fortress. Step through the Edfu Temple pylon, and you're inside one of the best preserved sanctuaries in Egypt, dedicated to Horus and built entirely during the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC. Your guide will point out the carved panels on the inner walls that record the mythological battle between Horus and Set in sequence, almost like reading a story room by room.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Arc II · Aswan Landmarks
High Dam, Philae, and the Unfinished Obelisk in one Aswan sequence
The cruise arrives in Aswan in the morning. Your guide meets you on the dock for a full day covering three distinct sites across the city and the Nile islands.
Stand on the viewing platform and look north. The reservoir behind you, Lake Nasser, is one of the largest man-made lakes on earth, stretching 550 kilometres into Nubia. Completed in 1970, the Aswan High Dam ended the annual Nile flooding that had defined Egyptian agriculture for 5,000 years.
Next, visit the Unfinished Obelisk, ordered by Queen Hatshepsut. Had it not cracked, it would have been the largest obelisk ever built, almost 42 meters long. The site offers a rare view into ancient stone cutting methods.
Finally, reach the enchanting Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis. Rescued by UNESCO from rising waters, the complex was moved stone by stone to nearby Agilkia Island and still feels like a living legend of ancient devotion, beauty, and resurrection. Visitors wanting to continue beyond Aswan's classic monuments often upgrade to a Cairo Abu Simbel Nile cruise all inclusive itinerary, combining the Great Pyramids, Abu Simbel, and a luxury Nile sailing experience within a single journey.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The cruise departs from Aswan and sails north through the Nile Valley. With no scheduled excursions or transfers, the day is devoted entirely to relaxing on board and enjoying the scenery. From the sun deck, watch granite hills, desert cliffs, palm groves, and traditional Nubian villages drift past as the ship retraces its route toward Kom Ombo. The northbound journey offers a fresh perspective on the Nile, making it one of the most enjoyable sailing days of the cruise.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Arc III · Kom Ombo to Luxor
The return sail north closes at Kom Ombo, the West Bank, and Luxor departure
The cruise docks at Kom Ombo mid-morning after sailing through the night from Aswan. The temple sits on a promontory directly above the river, visible from the deck before you disembark. After the visit, the cruise continues north toward Luxor overnight.
Visit the extraordinary dual temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated equally to Horus the Elder and Sobek, the crocodile god. Built between 205 and 180 BC, the temple’s perfectly balanced design and detailed carvings reveal ancient knowledge of astronomy, medicine, and Nile worship.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
The cruise arrives back in Luxor overnight. Your guide meets you on the dock after breakfast for a full morning on the West Bank, the ancient necropolis of Thebes, directly across the river from where you boarded seven days ago.
Enter the mythical Valley of the Kings, home to the eternal tombs of Egypt’s most powerful pharaohs, including Ramses II, Seti I, and Tutankhamun. Many of these tombs still glow with vibrant hieroglyphs telling stories of death, rebirth, and the journey into the afterlife.
Look up before you enter: the three colonnaded terraces are carved directly into the limestone cliff behind them, and the cliffs continue straight up for another hundred metres above the roofline. Hatshepsut ruled Egypt for roughly 21 years as pharaoh, not regent, and commissioned this temple as her eternal monument to Amun. It remains the most architecturally distinctive structure in Upper Egypt.
Conclude with the two towering statues of Amenhotep III, known as the Colossi of Memnon, 18 meters of ancient stone standing proudly since 1350 BC.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Final breakfast is served on board before check-out. Your guide transfers you to Luxor Airport, the train station, or your onward hotel, closing the Nile cruise itinerary that sailed you through 6 temple sites across 7 nights on the river. Many travelers extend their holiday after the cruise with a Nile cruise, and a Hurghada beach combo, combining Upper Egypt's ancient temples with several days of relaxation on the Red Sea coast.
Breakfast
* You can let us know if you'd like to customize your tour itinerary to meet your needs. We value your input and aim to accommodate your requirements.
This tour includes 7 nights full board on a Nile cruise ship sailing from Luxor to Aswan and return, a private Egyptologist guide on all excursion days, entrance fees to all ten sites in the itinerary, all transfers by private air-conditioned vehicle, and all taxes and charges. No international flights, visa, or tips are included.
This is the only sail only 8 day Nile cruise with no Cairo leg. The entire itinerary runs from Luxor to Aswan and back by river, covering 6 temple stops without a single airport transfer or city hotel night, breaking the rhythm.
The Luxor to Aswan stretch of the Nile passes six temple complexes within roughly 215 kilometres, a concentration of ancient monuments found nowhere else on earth. Every excursion on this cruise is approached directly from the water, the same way travellers have arrived at these sites for three thousand years.
The cruise departs Luxor south on Day 1 after the East Bank temples, sails through Day 2 as a full river day, reaches Edfu on Day 3, arrives in Aswan on Day 4, turns north on Day 5 with a full sailing day back through the river valley, docks at Kom Ombo on Day 6, and returns to Luxor for the West Bank on Day 7. The itinerary is structured so that every excursion day is followed by a sailing day, giving travelers time to absorb each site before the next one arrives.
No. This itinerary begins and ends in Luxor; there are no domestic flights, no inter-city transfers, and no Cairo leg. All movement between sites is by river or private vehicle from the cruise dock.
Prices shown include your hotel stay by default. Switch off to see tour-only pricing if you're arranging your own accommodation.
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
Xmas window: 21 Dec – 7 Jan / Easter window: 29 Mar – 11 Apr
8 Days / 7 Nights
Cairo Airport or Your Hotel
Cairo / Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan / Abu Simbel
8 Days / 7 Nights
Cairo Airport
Cairo / Giza / Luxor / Edfu / Kom Ombo / Aswan
5 Days / 4 Nights
Aswan Airport or Your Hotel
Aswan / Kalabsha / Wadi El Seboua / Amada / Derr / Tomb of Pennut / Kasr Ibrim / Abu Simbel
10 Days / 9 Nights
Cairo Airport or Your Hotel
Cairo / Luxor / Aswan / Abu Simbel
All things you should know before visiting Egypt & Beyond
Tripidays Egypt Tours has been offering an exceptional range of Egypt tours, vacation packages, Nile cruises, day trips, and shore excursions tailored to meet the diverse interests of travelers worldwide for over 45 years.
