Nile cruise plus Cairo

How a Cairo and Nile cruise trip is put together

Egypt's best-known sights sit at two ends of the country. Cairo and Giza hold the pyramids, the Sphinx and the great museums. Upper Egypt, between Luxor and Aswan, holds the temples and royal tombs. The Nile cruise is the link that makes the south easy: the boat is your hotel for three or four nights, and it moves you from one temple town to the next while you eat, rest, or sit on deck.

So most trips have the same shape. You spend a few nights in Cairo, travel south to Luxor or Aswan, sail the Nile between the two, and then either fly home, return to Cairo, or continue to the coast. What changes from one trip to another is the order, the length of the cruise, and what you add around it.

Choosing the cruise: 3, 4, or 7 nights

Three cruise programs are offered on our site, and each fits a different plan.

• Luxor to Aswan, 4 nights. The classic choice. Luxor comes first and is spread over two days, and the cruise ends in Aswan. It is also the route of our dahabiyas.
• Aswan to Luxor, 3 nights. The short choice. It covers the same temples in the opposite order and ends with one full day in Luxor.
• Luxor to Aswan and back, 7 nights. A full week on the river that returns to Luxor, with a free day in Aswan and an optional visit to Dendera. It suits longer trips.

On all three, the typical program shows breakfast, lunch, and dinner on board, so the cruise days need little planning on your side.

Getting between Cairo and Upper Egypt

There are two ways to make the journey, and both appear in our published tours. A domestic flight is the quick option and fits short trips; some of our tours are built around it, such as the 7-day and 8-day Cairo and Nile cruise tours by flight. The sleeper train is the slower, more traditional option: you travel overnight in a sleeping car and arrive in Upper Egypt in the morning, which saves a hotel night. Our 7-day Cairo and Nile cruise tour by sleeper train uses it.

Which one you choose affects the order of the trip more than its length. Your planner will match the transport to the boarding time of your boat, which is around midday in Luxor or Aswan in the typical program.

Sample plans by trip length

These outlines follow the shape of our published tours. Your own plan can move any piece.

One week. Cairo and the pyramids for two or three nights, a flight to Aswan, and the 3-night cruise to Luxor. See the 7-Day Cairo and Nile Cruise Tour by Flight, Aswan to Luxor.

Eight days. The same, with the 4-night cruise from Luxor to Aswan and more time on the river. See the 8-Day Cairo and Nile Cruise Tour by Flight, Luxor to Aswan.

Ten to sixteen days. Cairo and the cruise, plus Alexandria, Abu Simbel, the Red Sea at Hurghada or Sharm El Sheikh, or the oases. Our Egypt tours list these longer combinations, from 10 to 16 days.

Adding Abu Simbel

Abu Simbel lies far south of Aswan and is not part of any cruise program, but it fits neatly into a Cairo and cruise trip because the trips to it start from Aswan. With an Aswan to Luxor cruise, spend the night before boarding in Aswan and visit Abu Simbel that morning or the day before. With a Luxor to Aswan cruise, add a night in Aswan after you leave the boat. Several of our published tours include it already; for others, simply ask.

Cruise ship or dahabiya with Cairo

The Cairo part of the trip is the same whichever boat you choose. The difference is on the river. A cruise ship gives you a pool, a restaurant, and the choice of all three programs. A dahabiya gives you a small sailing boat with few guests, and the dahabiyas we list sail 4 nights from Luxor to Aswan. Our cruise ship or dahabiya page compares the two.

One quote for the whole trip

The easiest way to plan Cairo and a Nile cruise is to ask for both at once, so the flights or train, the hotel nights, and the boarding day line up. Tell us your dates, how many people are traveling, and the kind of boat you like, and request a quote. A planner replies within 24 hours with a day-by-day plan and what is included.