Luxor · Esna · Edfu · Gebel el-Silsila · Kom Ombo · Aswan
This is the journey the dahabiya was built for. You board at Esna, above the lock, and from there the river does most of the work: four nights of slow southing, with the sail up whenever the wind allows and the temples arriving one at a time rather than all at once. Edfu in the quiet of the afternoon, Gebel el-Silsila where the sandstone for half of ancient Egypt was cut, Kom Ombo at dusk. You wake on the last morning already in Aswan.
Collected from your Luxor hotel every Saturday and driven to the boat at Esna · October to April
We collect you in Luxor — airport, station or hotel — and drive south to Esna, where the boat is waiting above the lock. Lunch is served as soon as you are aboard. The afternoon is yours to settle in while we cast off, and the first evening ends with your guide setting out what the week holds.
Edfu in the morning, before the coaches: the temple of Horus is the most completely preserved in Egypt, and it is worth the early start to have the hypostyle hall to yourselves. We sail through the middle of the day, and stop at a village in the afternoon — a working one, not a performance.
The gorge at Gebel el-Silsila is the narrowest point on the Egyptian Nile, and the quarry that supplied Karnak, Luxor and Edfu. Rock-cut shrines line the bank. We sail on through the afternoon and reach Kom Ombo for the last of the light, when the double temple is at its best.
The last stretch into Aswan, past the granite islands and the Nubian villages on the west bank. In the afternoon we cross by motorboat to Philae, the temple of Isis, moved stone by stone to higher ground when the dam was built. The final night is spent aboard, moored at Aswan.
Breakfast aboard, then we take you on to your hotel, the airport or the station. If you would like to see Abu Simbel before you go, we can arrange it for this morning.
Priced per person, double occupancy. Christmas, New Year and Easter are quoted separately.
Tell us when you would like to sail. We reply within 24 hours with availability, the cabins still open and the price for your party — nothing is charged until you confirm.
Northbound and shorter. Three nights from Aswan, finishing on the west bank at Luxor.
See the programme
The northbound sailing with Luxor given its due — a night ashore and Karnak on the final morning.
See the programme
The same southbound sailing, with Luxor given a full day of its own before you board.
See the programmeCollected from your Luxor hotel every Saturday and driven to the boat at Esna, October to April.
