Mayfair Nile Cruise — 4 and 5 Days between Luxor and Aswan
Overview
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.
Cruise Facilities
- Swimming pool and jacuzzi
- Spa with steam room and aromatherapy sauna; massage available
- Pool bar on the panoramic solarium
- “Nile Avenue” restaurant and “Bel Air” lounge bar
- Library, board games and a business corner
- Boutique, gift shop and hairdresser
- First-aid clinic with a doctor on call
- Egyptologist on board
- Laundry and dry cleaning
- Satellite LCD television, film programme and music system in every cabin
- Tea and coffee maker, safe and minibar in every cabin
- Individual air conditioning
- Internet on board and telephones with international dialling
- Bathtub and hairdryer in every bathroom
- French balcony in every cabin
- 220V electricity; connecting cabins available
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.
- 3 nights aboard the Mayfair Nile Cruise 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:
4 Days - Aswan / Luxor Every Friday
Arrival in Aswan, embarkation and the city tour
You are met on arrival in Aswan and taken to the Mayfair, where lunch is served on board. The afternoon covers the three sites the city is known for: the High Dam, which ended the annual flood and created Lake Nasser; the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying in the granite quarry where it cracked; and the temple of Philae, rebuilt on the island of Agilkia after the water rose over its original site.
Meals: lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Aswan.
Kom Ombo and Edfu
The ship sails north to Kom Ombo, where the temple stands almost in the water and is divided between Sobek and Horus, each with a matching half of the building.
Sailing on to Edfu, you take a horse-drawn carriage through the town to the Temple of Horus — the most complete temple in Egypt. Dinner is served on board, followed by a folklore show.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: aboard, sailing to Luxor.
The West Bank of Luxor
A full morning on the West Bank: the Valley of the Kings and its painted rock-cut tombs, the terraced temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, and the Colossi of Memnon, the two seated statues left standing when their temple was carried away by the flood.
Lunch is on board and the ship stays in Luxor overnight.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Luxor.
The East Bank of Luxor and disembarkation
After a final breakfast you visit Karnak, the vast precinct that pharaohs kept adding to for two thousand years, and Luxor Temple in the heart of the modern town. You then disembark and are transferred onward.
Meals: breakfast.
End of services.
5 Days - Luxor / Aswan Every Monday
Embarkation at Luxor and the East Bank
You board the Mayfair at Luxor and have lunch on board before going ashore. The afternoon covers Karnak, with its avenue of ram-headed sphinxes and the Great Hypostyle Hall, and Luxor Temple, which stands in the middle of the modern city and is at its best in the last hour of light.
Meals: lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Luxor.
The West Bank of Luxor and sailing to Esna
Cross to the West Bank after breakfast for the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. You return to the ship for lunch and the Mayfair casts off, sailing south towards Esna and its lock.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: aboard, sailing to Edfu.
Edfu and Kom Ombo
A carriage ride through Edfu brings you to the Temple of Horus, the best-preserved temple in the country. Back aboard for lunch as the ship sails on to Kom Ombo and its double sanctuary to Sobek and Haroeris, with the crocodile museum alongside.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: aboard at Kom Ombo.
Aswan: the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae
The ship reaches Aswan. You visit the High Dam and look out over Lake Nasser, see the Unfinished Obelisk lying in the quarry where it was abandoned, and cross by motorboat to the temple of Philae on the island of Agilkia.
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: moored at Aswan.
Disembarkation at Aswan
Breakfast on board, then disembarkation at Aswan and a private transfer to the airport, the railway station or your hotel. An optional excursion to Abu Simbel can be added before you travel on.
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.
5-Day Steigenberger Senator Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan
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.