4 Nights Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan | Guided Tour with Egyptologist

Your Egyptologist guide picks you up from your Luxor hotel, train station, or airport and transfers you to your 5-star Nile cruise for check-in and a welcome lunch onboard. The afternoon is devoted to Luxor's East Bank, beginning with Karnak Temple — the largest and most impressive religious complex ever built, with its legendary hypostyle hall of 134 massive columns and a sacred lake that has stood for over 3,000 years. Continue to Luxor Temple, whose towering pylons and colonnaded courts sit dramatically on the East Bank of the Nile, illuminated beautifully as evening approaches. Return to the cruise for dinner and settle in for your first evening onboard. Overnight aboard the cruise.

Hot Air Balloon over Luxor (Optional): Start this day before sunrise with an optional hot air balloon flight over the West Bank of Luxor — one of the most spectacular experiences in Egypt. Drifting silently above the Valley of the Kings, the Colossi of Memnon, and the golden Theban cliffs as the sun rises over the Nile is an experience that stays with you long after the trip ends. This excursion is available at an additional cost.

After breakfast, cross to the West Bank of Luxor for a morning among Egypt's most extraordinary ancient sites. Visit the Valley of the Kings, where the tombs of Egypt's greatest pharaohs — including Tutankhamun — were cut deep into the limestone cliffs and decorated with intricate paintings of the afterlife. Continue to the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, the dramatic three-tiered mortuary temple of Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, set against a backdrop of sheer golden cliffs. Stop at the Colossi of Memnon for photographs of the two colossal seated statues of Amenhotep III before returning to the cruise for lunch. The ship then sets sail toward Edfu. Dinner onboard. Overnight in Edfu.

After breakfast, board a traditional horse-drawn carriage for a scenic ride through Edfu town to the magnificent Temple of Horus — one of Egypt's largest and most complete ancient temples, with soaring entrance pylons and walls covered floor to ceiling in hieroglyphic reliefs. Return to the cruise for lunch as the ship sails south toward Kom Ombo. In the afternoon, visit the extraordinary Kom Ombo Temple, uniquely divided into twin sanctuaries dedicated to Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the falcon god, perched directly above the Nile with sweeping river views. Explore the adjacent Crocodile Museum before returning to the ship for dinner. Overnight in Kom Ombo.

After breakfast, the cruise arrives in Aswan for a morning of sightseeing. Take a short motorboat ride to Philae Island to explore the exquisite Temple of Isis — one of Egypt's most atmospheric ancient monuments, with colonnaded halls and Nile views that make it utterly unlike any other temple on the cruise. Continue to the Aswan High Dam, one of the world's largest and most significant engineering projects, which controls the Nile's flow and supplies Egypt with hydroelectric power. Return to the cruise for lunch and spend the afternoon at leisure as the ship remains docked in Aswan. Enjoy dinner onboard followed by a folkloric performance. Overnight in Aswan.

Abu Simbel by Road (Optional): For those who have added the optional Abu Simbel excursion, an early departure takes you on an approximately 3.5-hour drive south through the Nubian desert to the site of Ramses II's colossal rock-cut temples — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most awe-inspiring monuments in the ancient world. Explore both the Great Temple of Ramses II and the smaller Temple of Nefertari before making the return journey to Aswan. This excursion is available at an additional cost. For guests not taking the Abu Simbel excursion, the morning is free to explore Aswan at leisure. All guests are then transferred to Aswan Airport, train station, or their Aswan hotel for departure.