14 day Nile cruise from Aswan to Cairo

14 day Nile cruise from Aswan to Cairo via all Egypt to discover historical sites of Upper and Lower Egypt, the river Nile and famous pyramids of Giza.

Arrival in Aswan.

If you arrive in Luxor on your own then transfer to your floating boat in Aswan can be arranged upon request. Check in the boat and free time at leisure. Optionally you can visit Botanical garden or Elephantine island by felucca. Lunch & dinner on board, overnight on your floating hotel, evening entertainment program is available.

Aswan city tour

In the morning after breakfast let’s explore the city. Visit to Aswan High Dam, then Nubian temple of Kalabsha (optionally) and a beautiful Philae island excursion by a small motor boat are in our focus on this day. Lunch on board and we will start sailing towards Kom Ombo.

Kom Ombo visit

In the morning visit Double temple of Sobek & Horus at Kom Ombo. It is built on a traditional plan & there is an evidence that construction and building continued for some four hundred years, the latest Roman emperor featured being Macrinus (AD 217). In addition to the main temple there is a Birth house & Shrine to Hathor, both of which date to the Roman period. Do not miss a small but very informative Crocodile Museum while touring the site.

Edfu temple visit

Lunch and afternoon tea will be served on board as we continue sailing to Edfu. We will visit Edfu temple of Horus, but to reach the temple we should catch a cab. Edfu is situated between Esna & Aswan and is a site with a long-standing tradition. The temple of Horus is entirely Ptolemaic. Texts on the outer face of the girdle wall indicate that it was begun in 237 BC & completed in 57 BC. Edfu temple contains some of the finest art & architecture of the Ptolemaic period. It is dedicated to Horus, Hathor and their son ,“Horus the younger".

Back to the boat and afternoon sailing, via Esna Lock to Luxor. Dinner & overnight on board, evening entertainment program is available.

Luxor West bank tour

After a breakfast on board in Luxor let's visit the West Bank necropolis. Its monuments include a series of mortuary temples built by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom, Royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, and hundreds of tombs of noblemen that extend from the Dra Abu el Naga in the north to the Asasif in the south.

Although it is known as “city of the dead”, the necropolis was once a populated & busy community. Beside each mortuary temple there were dwellings for the different orders of priests, stalls for sacrificial animals, guard-houses & store-houses, each with its superintendent. Surrounding, or in front of each temple there were lakes, groves & beautifully laid out gardens.

We will 1st visit Memnon Colossi – these 2 somewhat weathered seated statues greet visitors to the necropolis. They are all that remain of what was once the largest mortuary temple in the necropolis, that of Amenhotep III.

Next stop at the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el Bahari– this is the most beautiful temple in the necropolis and the queen herself is one of the most colourful figures in ancient Egyptian history. The terraces sanctuary was designed by Hatshipsut’s architect Senmut who was granted a privilege of constructing his tomb below the mortuary temple of his queen.

Valley of the Kings is a remote valley deep in the limestone hills to the north-west of Deir el Bahri. Here are the pharaohs of the 18th, 19th & 20th Dynasties chose their eternal resting place. Here the most famous tomb of King Tutankhamen is situated. His tomb was found completely intact in 1922 by Howard Carter. The Valley of the Kings holds 63 registered tombs and recently 2 more tombs have been found. Your visit includes entry into 3 tombs, however if you wish to see either the tomb of Tutankhamen or Tomb of Ramses VI, there is an additional ticket cost.

In the afternoon we will be back on our boat to have lunch and some rest and then Karnak Temple excursion. This great national monument of Egypt has no equal. It is not a single temple, but temple within temple, shrine within shrine, where almost all the pharaohs, particularly of the new Kingdom, wished to record their names & deeds for posterity. A new addition to the temple Karnak Open Air Museum is not to be missed (additional ticket is required).

Dinner & overnight on board, evening entertainment program will be available. Optionally in the evening Sound & Light show at Karnak Temple can be arranged.

Hot-Air balloon ride over Luxor

In the early morning you can do an optional activity Hot Air Balloon Luxor ride. Our wonderful day will start with early 5.00 am pick up from the hotel and sailing by boat to the west bank of Luxor. Let’s have an amazing ride of hot air balloon over Luxor, let’s watch spectacular sunrise as you have never seen before, let’s enjoy with the tranquility and peace while having a unique viewpoint which can only be provided by a hot air balloon, let’s see all sightseeing of Luxor from up. The tour takes around 2 hours. Hot-Air balloon ride itself takes around 45 minutes.

Back to the boat to have breakfast & then visit our last spot Luxor Temple. This beautiful temple was built on the east bank of the Nile by Amenhotep 3, “the Magnificent.” The temple was dedicated to the Theban triad: the great god Amon-Ra, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu. Lunch and dinner will be served on board while sailing towards Abydos. Overnight and evening entertainment program is available.

Abydos and Dendera temples

After breakfast on board we will visit Abydos and Dendera Temples by bus and will catch our boat at Naga Hamadi to continue sailing to Sohag.

Abydos (the Greek version of the ancient Egyptian name Abdu) is situated on the western bank of Nile about 7 km west of the modern town Bolyana. It made its debut on the stage of Egypt’s ancient history even before the dynastic period & retained its aura of sanctity longer than any other site in Egypt. This was because Abydos was the cult centre of Osiris, Egypt’s most beloved hero and the central figure of the country’s most popular myth.

We will visit the New Kingdom temples of Seti I & Ramses II. The Temple of Seti I is decorated with some of the finest reliefs sculpture of any age to be found in the Nile valley. And the reliefs of the nearby temple of Ramses II are so finely carved that they lead us to suspect that the temple was constructed at the beginning of his reign and decorated by the very artists who worked under his father, Seti I.

After lunch let’s continue our exploration and move to Dendera where we will discover Late Egyptian temple of Hathor. Dendera (Tentyra in Greek) is situated on the western bank of the Nile, south of Abydos, where the river makes a great curve to the east. Hathor is the sacred cow, who was popular deity in ancient Egypt.

Sailing toward Sohag

We will sail all the day towards Sohag, pass the bridge and continue sailing again towards El Balyana. Lunch, dinner and overnight on board while still sailing.

Tel El Amarna sites excursion

After Breakfast let’s visit Tel El Amarna, but to reach it we will take a feluca boat at Malawy. El-Amarna is the site of the short-lived city of Akhetaten (“Horizon of the Aten”), founded by the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Akhenaten as his new capital. Since excavations began here in the late 19th century, the remains of houses, palaces, temples and tombs have been uncovered. Unfortunately, many of the buildings are badly eroded and the stone used in temples and palaces was removed immediately after the city was abandoned. Consequently, only parts of the once grand city can be seen by visitors today. Most notable are the North Tombs, the North Palace, the Royal Tombs, the Small Aten Temple and the South Tombs.

Back to the floating hotel for lunch and we will continue sailing toward Assiut. Lunch and dinner on board, overnight.

Sailing to Bani Hassan

After breakfast free day at leisure while sailing to Bani Hassan. Lunch and dinner on board. Overnight on board while still sailing.

The rock-cut tombs of Bani Hassan, Tuna el-Gabal & Ashmunein

After breakfast it is time to visit the rock-cut tombs of Bani Hassan. It is an ancient Egyptian necropolis located approximately 20 kilometers to the south of Minya. It includes 39 rock-hewn tombs, some of which belong to the Old Kingdom, but the majority are dated to the Middle Kingdom. Only 12 tombs are decorated and most were left unfinished. The best examples belong to the local "nomarchs" (governors) from the Middle Kingdom.

Back to the floating hotel and continue sailing to Abu Korkas to visit Tuna el Gabal & Ashmunein.

Tuna el Gabal was the necropolis of the city of Hermopolis, sacred to the Greek god Hermes and his Egyptian counterpart Thoth. It is best known for the sprawling catacombs at the foot of the western cliffs, where thousands of ibises (dedicated to Thoth) and other sacred animals were buried from the New Kingdom through Roman times.

Another major attraction of the site is the early Ptolemaic tomb of a high priest of Thoth named Petosiris, decorated with reliefs in a blend of Greek and Egyptian styles.

El-Ashmunein is a town known as Khmunw in Pharaonic times. During the Old Kingdom the town was of great importance as a cult centre of Thoth, god of wisdom, healing and writing. Now the place is turned into an open-air museum containing blocks, statues and stelae from excavations at el-Ashmunein. At the entrance to the museum are two huge reconstructed baboon statues, their bodies over 4.5m high, representing the god Thoth.

Back to the boat for dinner, rest and evening entertainment program.

Cruising towards Cairo

Full day at leisure while sailing to Cairo via Beni Suief. Lunch, dinner and evening overnight program are available on board. Overnight on board.

Cairo and the pyramids tour

In the morning after breakfast full day Cairo city tour including Egyptian Museum of Antiquities visit. Lunch on board continue to Giza to explore The Pyramids and Sphinx, valley temple and workers tombs. At night optional activities like Sound & Light show at the Pyramids (25£ p/p) or Nile cruise with dinner and Oriental show (45£ p/p) are available. Dinner on board and overnight.

Departure

After breakfast check out and transfer to Cairo International airport to catch your flight back to your destination.