A Nile cruise holiday is a mixture of intense sightseeing and long, lazy spells on deck — watching the shifting colours of the desert as the sun moves across the sky. You’ll visit all the big sights, from Luxor’s jaw-dropping Temple of Karnak to the intricately decorated tombs, some more than 4,000 years old, at the Valley of the Kings.
There are endless other things to see, but Cairo for the Pyramids and the superb Egyptian Museum of Antiquities is a must, while a dawn flight to Abu Simbel to watch the sun rise over the vast temple built by Ramses II is an unforgettable experience.
Simply watching life along the river is a joy, too, as children run along the banks waving at the boat, kingfishers flit across the deck, and water buffalo cool off in the shallows.
When is the best time of year to do a Nile cruise?
Head between October and April to avoid too-hot temperatures and skirt the summer crowds.
13 of the most luxurious cruises on the Nile
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How long do you need for a Nile River cruise?
Most Nile cruises sail between Luxor and Aswan and range from three to seven days. Given that the pace of sightseeing is intense, and some of the loveliest moments are the actual sailing on the river, three nights may not feel long enough. You could sail all the way from Aswan to Cairo, which takes 14 days. Or take the most popular option, a hotel stay in Cairo with trips to the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Egyptian Museum before flying south to join a cruise at either Aswan or Luxor.
What kind of boat is best?
Nile cruisers range from luxurious, floating boutique hotels, with fine dining and swimming pools, to bigger vessels at the more affordable end of the spectrum. Or try a dahabiyya, an historic sailing boat, all polished wood and colonial-style grandeur, usually sleeping around 12.
Is it safe to cruise on the Nile?
Egypt has had many problems, but the security around the tourist areas is reassuring without being intimidating. Just be prepared for bag searches at most venues. Book through a reputable tour operator: they have excellent local knowledge, can offer up-to-the-minute advice, and will alter itineraries in the unlikely case of problems.
What else do I need to know?
A half-day trip by air to Abu Simbel, on the bank of Lake Nasser, 143 miles south of Aswan, is worth the punishingly early start to see the sun rise over the extraordinary rock-cut temples here. Constructed in the 13th century BC for Ramses II, the vast statues were painstakingly dismantled and moved in the 1960s to save them from the rising waters of Lake Nasser, created after the building of the Aswan High Dam.
Everywhere along the Nile, you’ll be approached by enthusiastic vendors touting everything from alabaster statues to papyrus scrolls and inlaid boxes. Haggling is essential; at temples and in markets, you shouldn’t really pay more than a third of the starting price. Take a realistic view on sorting the tat from the authentic, too.
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All the temples you visit are different – dedicated to different gods, varying in style, location and beauty. Try to see as many as possible. Karnak is arguably the most impressive on the grounds of its sheer scale. Philae perches on an island in the Nile at Aswan and is etched with fascinating graffiti from 19th century explorers. Kom Ombo is intriguing, not least thanks to hieroglyphs of surgeons’ tools from 2,000 years ago. Edfu, meanwhile, has a sound and light show that will give you goosebumps.
The ornately decorated tombs at the Valley of the Kings are extraordinary but if you have time, the Valley of the Queens is no less impressive and has fewer crowds. Archaeology fans could fit in a trip to Howard Carter’s mud brick house near the Valley of the Kings, restored as it was in 1922 when the Englishman discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb. Agatha Christie devotees, meanwhile, should nip into the opulent Old Cataract Hotel at Aswan, where there’s a small shrine to the novelist (who wrote Death on the Nile here) and a wonderfully romantic terrace for sunset cocktails.
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