5-Day Steigenberger Senator Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan
Overview
The Steigenberger Senator is the small end of the luxury fleet: sixteen suites in total, which keeps the passenger count low and the service personal. Every suite is fitted to the same standard, and the public rooms are sized for the number of people actually on board rather than for a full-size ship.
The kitchen works to a proper menu rather than a buffet queue, there is a Lounge Bar inside and a Sundeck Pool Bar above, and treatments including massage and a charcoal sauna can be booked on board. The route is the classic five-day run from Luxor to Aswan, guided privately at every site.
Cruise Facilities
- 16 suites
- Gourmet restaurant with menu service
- Lounge Bar
- Sundeck Pool Bar
- Massage treatments and charcoal sauna on request
Included
- Meet and assist on arrival at the airport or railway station by a Best Egypt Tour representative.
- Transfers by private, modern, air-conditioned vehicle.
- 4 nights aboard the Steigenberger Senator on a full-board basis.
- All the sightseeing listed in the itinerary, as private excursions.
- A qualified English-speaking Egyptologist throughout.
- Entrance fees to every site named in the itinerary.
- Bottled water during the excursions.
- All service charges and taxes.
Excluded
- International and domestic flights.
- Your Egyptian entry visa.
- Optional excursions not named in the itinerary, including Abu Simbel.
- Personal expenses.
- Tipping for the guide, driver and crew.
Itinerary:
5 Days - Luxor / Aswan
Embarkation at Luxor and the East Bank
You board the Steigenberger Senator before lunch. Once you have settled into your cabin and eaten, the afternoon is given to the East Bank of Luxor.
Karnak first — not one temple but a walled precinct that successive pharaohs added to for roughly two thousand years, ending in the Great Hypostyle Hall and its one hundred and thirty-four columns. Then Luxor Temple, joined to Karnak by the avenue of sphinxes and best seen as the light goes.
Meals: lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Luxor.
The West Bank of Luxor and sailing south to Esna
After breakfast you cross the river to the West Bank. The Valley of the Kings holds the rock-cut tombs of the New Kingdom pharaohs, their painted chambers still carrying colour after three thousand years. You continue to the temple of Hatshepsut, built in three terraces against the cliff at Deir el-Bahari, and stop at the Colossi of Memnon on the way back.
The ship sails south in the afternoon and passes through the lock at Esna.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: aboard, sailing to Edfu.
Edfu and Kom Ombo — the two temples of the middle Nile
The morning starts with a horse-drawn carriage ride through Edfu to the Temple of Horus, the most complete ancient temple in Egypt: pylon, courtyard, hypostyle hall and sanctuary all still standing, with the reliefs telling the long story of Horus and Seth along the walls.
Back on board for lunch as the ship sails to Kom Ombo, where the temple sits on a bend of the river and is divided between Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris the falcon.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: aboard at Kom Ombo.
Aswan: the High Dam, Philae and the granite quarry
The day starts in Aswan with the High Dam, then the Unfinished Obelisk lying in its granite quarry — had it been raised it would have been the largest single piece of stone ever cut in Egypt. There is time afterwards for the gardens and the Nubian colour the city is known for.
You cross by motorboat to the island of Agilkia and the temple of Philae, raised for Isis and moved here block by block when the dam raised the water over its original island.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Aswan.
Disembarkation at Aswan
A last breakfast on board before you disembark at Aswan. Our representative transfers you to the airport, the station or your hotel. If you have the time, the rock-cut temples of Abu Simbel can be added as an optional excursion by road or by air.
Meals: breakfast.
End of services.
Notes:
5-Day Steigenberger Legacy Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan
The Steigenberger Legacy is a five-star ship built for people who want the Nile without giving up hotel comforts. She carries 72 double cabins, two singles and two suites, all with panoramic windows; the suites add private balconies and a sitting area facing the river.
The main restaurant serves both international and Egyptian cooking, there is a pool on the sun deck, bars inside and out, and a spa and fitness area. The five-day route runs Luxor to Aswan and covers the full set of temples between them — Karnak, Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Philae — with a private guide at every stop.
5-Day Steigenberger Royale Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan
The Steigenberger Royale is a five-star ship with 50 double cabins of 19.5 square metres and two suites of 35, all with full-width panoramic windows, satellite television, individual air conditioning, private bathroom with hairdryer, safe and minibar.
On board there is a main restaurant, a lounge bar, a bar on the terrace, a jacuzzi, a swimming pool, a fitness area, massage on request, free Wi-Fi and a reception desk that stays open around the clock. The five-day route runs Luxor to Aswan with private guiding at Karnak, Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Philae.
Mayfair Nile Cruise — 4 and 5 Days between Luxor and Aswan
The Mayfair is a five-deck ship with a panoramic solarium, a pool and generous public rooms — a comfortable way to do the classic stretch of river without booking a whole boat to yourself.
She runs two routes. Four days from Aswan down to Luxor, departing every Friday, and five days from Luxor up to Aswan, departing every Monday. Either way you see the same sites — Karnak and Luxor Temple, the Valley of the Kings and Hatshepsut, Edfu, Kom Ombo, the High Dam and Philae — with a private guide at each one. Both itineraries are set out below.