7 Days Egypt Solar Eclipse Nile Cruise
Overview
Arriving in Luxor by river rather than by road is the calmest way to reach eclipse morning. This seven day tour sails the stretch of Nile between Aswan and Luxor, stopping at Kom Ombo and Edfu, so that you reach Thebes rested and already in the right frame of mind.
On 2 August 2027 the path of totality passes almost directly over Luxor and the city gets just over six minutes of darkness, the longest on easily reachable land for the rest of the century. You watch it from a reserved site outside town with an open horizon, and the rest of that day is left free.
Included
- Meet and assist service at the airport on arrival and departure
- All transfers and tours by private air-conditioned vehicle
- Private licensed Egyptologist guide throughout the tour
- Entrance fees to all the sites named in the itinerary
- 2 nights accommodation in a Cairo hotel with daily breakfast
- 3 nights aboard a 5-star Nile cruise on a full board basis
- 1 night accommodation in a Luxor hotel with daily breakfast
- Domestic flights Cairo to Aswan and Luxor to Cairo
- Reserved eclipse viewing site outside Luxor with an open horizon, shade and seating
- Certified solar viewing glasses for every guest
- Bottled water during all tours and transfers
- All service charges and local taxes
Excluded
- International airfare to and from Egypt
- Egypt entry visa
- Travel insurance
- Gratuities
- Optional excursions not listed in the itinerary
- Specialist astrophotography or telescope equipment
- Personal expenses
Itinerary:
-
Day 1
Day 1: Arrival in Cairo
Your guide meets you inside Cairo International Airport, handles the arrival formalities and takes you to your hotel by private air-conditioned vehicle. The rest of the day is free to rest. Before leaving, your guide walks you through the week and confirms the plan for eclipse morning. Overnight in Cairo.
-
Day 2
Day 2: The Great Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum
You start on the Giza plateau in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza, built for Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinos, then visit the Sphinx Statue and the Valley Temple. In the afternoon you continue to the Grand Egyptian Museum, where your Egyptologist takes you through the Tutankhamun galleries and the pieces worth slowing down for. Overnight in Cairo.
-
Day 3
Day 3: Fly to Aswan and Board the Nile Cruise
A morning flight takes you south to Aswan. You visit the High Dam of Egypt and cross by motorboat to the island temple of Philae, rebuilt stone by stone on higher ground after the water rose. In the afternoon you board your five-star Nile cruise ship. Lunch and dinner are served on board. Overnight aboard in Aswan.
-
Day 4
Day 4: Kom Ombo and Edfu Temples
The ship sails north while you have breakfast on the sun deck. You stop at the Kom Ombo Temple, the double temple shared between Sobek the crocodile god and Haroeris, then continue to the Edfu Temple, the best preserved temple in Egypt. Both visits are timed around the afternoon heat. Overnight aboard.
-
Day 5
Day 5: Luxor East Bank - Karnak and Luxor Temples
You explore the East Bank of Luxor: the enormous Karnak Temple with its Great Hypostyle Hall, and the Luxor Temple, best seen late in the day when the colonnade throws long shadows. Your guide confirms the timings and the meeting point for eclipse morning. Overnight in Luxor.
-
Day 6
Day 6: Eclipse Day - The Total Solar Eclipse Over Luxor
This is the day the itinerary exists for. On 2 August 2027 the path of totality crosses Egypt and passes almost directly over Luxor, giving the city just over six minutes of total darkness - the longest totality available on easily reachable land for the rest of the century.
You leave early for a prepared viewing site outside the city with an open horizon, away from street lighting and crowds. Shade, seating, water and certified solar viewing glasses are provided, and your guide talks you through each stage, from first contact to the moment the sun disappears and the temperature drops. The rest of the day is deliberately left free. Overnight in Luxor.
-
Day 7
Day 7: Luxor West Bank and Return to Cairo
You cross to the West Bank for The Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut, stopping at the Colossi of Memnon on the way back. In the evening you fly to Cairo. Overnight in Cairo.
Notes:
8 Days Egypt Solar Eclipse Tour
This eight day tour is timed for one thing: putting you in Luxor on 2 August 2027, when the path of a total solar eclipse crosses Egypt and passes almost directly over the ancient city of Thebes. Luxor sits close to the centre line and receives just over six minutes of totality, the longest stretch available on easily reachable land for the rest of the century.
Around that morning we have built a proper Egypt trip rather than a rushed dash to the viewing site. You start in Cairo with the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, fly south to Aswan, then sail the Nile through Kom Ombo and Edfu so that you arrive in Luxor rested and already in the right frame of mind. Eclipse morning is spent at a prepared site outside the city with an open horizon, and the rest of that day is left deliberately empty.
The tour is private throughout, guided by a licensed Egyptologist, and the eclipse-day arrangements are handled by our own team rather than subcontracted to a coach operator. Because hotel and cruise space in Luxor for that week is finite, this is a fixed departure and we recommend booking well ahead.
5 Days Luxor Solar Eclipse Tour
The shortest way to be standing in the right place on 2 August 2027. This five day tour stays in Luxor throughout, which is the city the path of totality passes almost directly over and the one that gets just over six minutes of darkness - the longest available on easily reachable land for the rest of the century.
Around eclipse morning you see the sites that made Thebes the religious capital of Egypt: Karnak and Luxor Temple on the east bank, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut on the west. No internal flights, no long transfers, and eclipse day left deliberately free after totality.
6 Days Egypt Solar Eclipse Tour
Six days is enough to see the two things most people come to Egypt for and still be in Luxor on the morning of 2 August 2027, when the path of totality crosses the city and delivers just over six minutes of darkness.
You open in Cairo with the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Grand Egyptian Museum, fly south to Luxor for Karnak and Luxor Temple, and keep eclipse morning clear for a reserved viewing site outside the city. The following day covers the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut before you fly back to Cairo. Private throughout, with a licensed Egyptologist.
9 Days Egypt Solar Eclipse and Red Sea Tour
Eclipse chasing is intense and it is over in six minutes. This nine day tour puts a proper holiday on the other side of it. You see Cairo and Giza first, move to Luxor for Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatshepsut, and spend the morning of 2 August 2027 at a reserved viewing site under the longest totality available on easily reachable land this century.
Then you cross the eastern desert to Hurghada and stop. Two nights on the Red Sea, with the option of snorkelling or diving on some of the most biodiverse reefs in the world, before flying home from Cairo.
10 Days Egypt Solar Eclipse Grand Tour
The fullest version of the 2027 eclipse trip. Ten days covering Cairo and Giza, the older quarters of the capital, Abu Simbel on the shore of Lake Nasser, and the whole Nile stretch from Aswan down to Luxor through Kom Ombo and Edfu.
It is timed so that you are in Luxor on 2 August 2027, when the path of totality crosses the city and gives it just over six minutes of darkness - the longest available on easily reachable land for the rest of the century. Eclipse morning is spent at a reserved site outside town and the rest of that day is left deliberately empty.