The Nile Valley, Egypt
Karnak Nile Cruise
The Resort Here
Where you’ll stay.
The Ship
An elegant four-deck ship on the Nile.
Embark on an enchanting Nile adventure aboard the Karnak river cruise, sailing between Luxor and Aswan on an elegant four-deck ship. It sails 3-night and 4-night itineraries; our rate covers the full round trip, so your cabin travels with you the whole way.
Explore awe-inspiring ancient temples, indulge in Mediterranean and North African cuisine, and unwind on the sun deck as timeless landscapes drift by.
From onboard Jalabiya parties and Nubian performances to once-in-a-lifetime excursions along the world's greatest open-air museum, every moment promises discovery.
On board
- Four decks
- River-view cabins
- Sun deck and pool
- Lounge bar
- Restaurant
- Evening entertainment
Please note — the cruise is not pet-friendly.
Plan Your Nile Journey
See the complete seven-night itinerary.
Seven nights drifting between Luxor and Aswan — temple mornings, long lunches on deck and the Nile moving slowly past your window.
This is Egypt seen from the water. Your cabin travels with you, so the temples, villages and desert cliffs of the Nile Valley arrive one after another without a single transfer or hotel change.
Days follow an easy rhythm: an early temple visit before the heat, breakfast back on board, then long afternoons on the sun deck as the river turns from palm groves to sandstone escarpment. Evenings bring dinner on board and Nubian music under the stars.
The route is a round trip from Luxor — south through Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo to Aswan, then back again — with all meals and your cabin included in the rate.
The Lay Of The Land
Where everything sits.
First see where Luxor · Nile Valley sits within Egypt, then explore every place below and how long it takes to reach from Luxor. Hover or tap a point, then open the area for its film and story.
Country overview
Local area detail
Cruising times are approximate and depend on river traffic, lock queues and the sailing schedule.
In Film
The places you’ll discover.
The Rate
What's included, and what you can add on board.
Included in your £149 per couple
- ✓Seven nights aboard in a double cabin with river views
- ✓All meals throughout the cruise, from breakfast to dinner
- ✓The full round trip: Luxor — Esna — Edfu — Kom Ombo — Aswan — Luxor
- ✓On-board facilities: sun deck and pool, lounges and restaurants
- ✓Evening entertainment on board, including Nubian music nights
Optional extras, arranged locally
Temple entrance fees, guides and excursions are not included in the rate and are booked and paid for locally.
- —Guided temple tours in Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan
- —Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut's temple on the west bank
- —Sunrise hot-air balloon flight over Luxor
- —Philae Temple, the High Dam and Nubian village visits at Aswan
- —Abu Simbel as a full-day trip from Aswan
- —Flights, airport transfers, visas, drinks and gratuities
Heritage
A little history.
For thousands of years the Nile was Egypt's only highway. Temples, quarries and tombs were built along its banks precisely because everything — stone, grain, priests, pharaohs — travelled by boat.
Luxor stands on ancient Thebes, capital of Egypt at the height of the New Kingdom, with Karnak and Luxor temples on the east bank and the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings on the west.
Sailing south you pass the Ptolemaic temples of Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo — later, remarkably well preserved and still carrying traces of their original painted colour — before reaching Aswan, ancient Egypt's southern frontier and the source of the granite used across the kingdom.
Recommended Tours
The temples and tombs worth adding.
Recommended tour package pricing varies depending on cruise duration and included excursions. Recommended Packages up to US$265 per person.
Meal charges of up to US$20 per adult per day may apply on tour days. Tours are arranged and paid for locally and are not part of the £149 rate.
Valley Of The Queens
Ta-Set-Neferu, 'the place of beauty' — where the wives of the pharaohs were buried, their tombs hidden away with the treasures they would need in the afterlife.
Valley Of The Kings
The royal burial ground of the New Kingdom, cut into a dry desert valley beneath a natural pyramid-shaped peak across the river from ancient Thebes.
Colossi Of Memnon
Two 60-foot twin statues of Amenhotep III standing on the west bank, all that greets you now at the entrance to his vanished mortuary temple.
Hatshepsut Temple
A masterpiece of ancient architecture: three vast terraces rising out of the desert floor into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, built for Egypt's most famous female pharaoh.
Luxor Temple
In the heart of the modern city, once linked to Karnak by an avenue of sphinxes — at its most theatrical when floodlit after dark.
Karnak Temple
The largest religious complex of the ancient world, built and rebuilt over some two thousand years, with its great hypostyle hall of towering columns.
The Temple Of Horus
At Edfu, the best-preserved temple in Egypt — buried in sand for centuries, which is why its pylons, colonnades and falcon-god carvings survive so completely.
Temple Of Kom Ombo
A rare double temple at the water's edge, shared symmetrically between Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris, with carvings of ancient medical instruments.
Philae Temple
The temple of Isis, moved stone by stone to Agilkia Island when the High Dam raised the river, and still one of the loveliest settings on the Nile.
Unfinished Obelisk
Still lying in the granite quarry at Aswan where it cracked — the clearest surviving glimpse of how the ancient Egyptians cut their monuments.
High Dam
The great dam above Aswan that created Lake Nasser and changed the river forever, with long views south over the water.
Additional tours, available on request
Prices are per person, arranged locally and paid for directly.
Abu Simbel Temple
Ramesses II's colossal rock-cut temples on the shore of Lake Nasser, the most famous site in Egypt after the Giza pyramids.
US$110 per person
Nubian Village
A motorboat across to a Nubian village for sunset, with a visit inside a Nubian house to learn about the culture and traditions.
US$35 per person
Sound & Light Show, Karnak
The world's largest open-air museum after dark, its monuments lit as the story of ancient Thebes is told.
US$45 per person
Hot Air Balloon
Sunrise over the monuments of Luxor, drifting above Hatshepsut's temple and the west bank with a guide.
US$110 per person (sunrise) · US$90 second ride
Two Of You
Made for romantic escapes.
