Tour Overview
This 4-day package takes you from Cairo to the south by air and back up the Nile by boat. You fly to Aswan, see the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk and Philae, then sail three nights on a 5-star cruise north past Kom Ombo and Edfu to Luxor. The last day covers the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple, the Colossi of Memnon and Karnak before your flight back to Cairo.
Tour Highlights
- Two domestic flights are included, Cairo to Aswan on day one and Luxor to Cairo on day four, so you skip the long overland journey south.
- Visit Philae, the island temple of Isis that was moved stone by stone to Agilkia Island when the Aswan dams raised the river.
- Spend three nights on a 5-star Nile cruise with meals on board, sailing downstream from Aswan to Luxor with the current.
- See Kom Ombo, the double temple shared by the crocodile god Sobek and Horus the Elder, and Edfu, one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt.
- Finish in Luxor with the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut's terraced temple and the Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak.
Tour Route
Is a 4-day Nile cruise from Cairo enough time?
It is enough for the main temples between Aswan and Luxor, if you accept a full first and last day. The flights save the two days that the road or train would take, and the three nights on board cover Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, the Valley of the Kings and Karnak in one loop.
What you give up is Luxor Temple and time to wander in Aswan. If you want those, the 5-day version adds a fourth night and runs the route the other way, from Luxor to Aswan.
Why does this cruise sail from Aswan to Luxor?
Because the Nile flows north, sailing from Aswan to Luxor goes with the current, so the 3-night route is the shorter one. Starting in Aswan also puts Philae and the High Dam on day one, and leaves the largest sites, Karnak and the Valley of the Kings, for your last day.
The trade-off is fewer hours in each town: sailing downstream leaves less free time between visits than the longer upstream route from Luxor.
What is the Unfinished Obelisk in Aswan?
It is a giant obelisk that ancient workers began cutting straight from the granite bedrock and then left where it lies after it cracked. Had it been finished it would have stood about 42 meters tall, larger than any obelisk ever raised. The tool marks still visible show how Egyptian quarrymen worked hard stone.
It is often linked to Queen Hatshepsut, whose builders raised her obelisks at Karnak, so on day four you see the finished work that the Aswan quarry supplied.
How is this different from our other Nile cruise packages?
Of our two cruises from Cairo, this is the one that flies you into Aswan and out of Luxor. The 5-day cruise from Cairo to Luxor flies the other way, adds a night and Luxor Temple, and sails south to Aswan. Both start and end at your hotel in Cairo.
If you are already in Upper Egypt, the 4-day Aswan to Luxor cruise covers the same stretch of river without the Cairo flights. And if you only have a day or two, our Cairo day tours include short trips to Luxor by plane.
Tour Itinerary
Days one and four are full sightseeing days with a flight at each end; days two and three move at the slower pace of the boat, with one temple each.
In the morning we drive you from your hotel in Cairo to the airport for your flight to Aswan, where your Egyptologist guide meets you. You visit the Aswan High Dam and the Unfinished Obelisk, still lying cracked in its granite quarry, then check in on the cruise for lunch. In the afternoon you visit Philae Temple and return on board for dinner and the night.
After breakfast the morning is free on board while the boat sails north toward Kom Ombo. On arrival at Kom Ombo your guide takes you through the double temple, built under the Ptolemies with two matching halves for Sobek and for Horus the Elder. Back on board, lunch and dinner are served as the cruise sails on to Edfu.
After breakfast you visit Edfu, the temple of the falcon god Horus begun under Ptolemy III and finished under Ptolemy XII. Sand covered it for centuries, which is why its roof, walls and carvings survive so well. The rest of the day is spent sailing north to Luxor, with lunch, dinner and the night on board.
You check out after breakfast and cross to the West Bank for the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. Lunch is at a local Egyptian restaurant. In the afternoon you visit Karnak Temple, then we take you to Luxor Airport for your flight to Cairo and drive you to your hotel.
What's Included
What the tour price covers, and what to plan for separately.
Paid
★
Your
Own
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers about this tour. For anything else, message us on WhatsApp — we reply fast.
It starts at your hotel in Cairo, Downtown or the Giza area, where we pick you up on the morning of day one for the airport. Pickup from other parts of Cairo can be arranged for an extra charge. The trip ends with a drop-off at your Cairo hotel after the flight back from Luxor.
The price covers the two domestic flights, three nights on a 5-star Nile cruise, an Egyptologist guide, air-conditioned transfers, all cruise excursions and entrance fees to every site in the itinerary, plus taxes. Meals follow the itinerary: lunch and dinner on day one, full board on days two and three, breakfast and lunch on day four.
Your transfers and sightseeing are arranged for you and your companions. The per-person price falls as your group grows, because transfer and guiding costs are shared, and it changes by season, with the highest rates over Christmas and New Year and the lowest from May to September. The cruise ship itself carries other guests.
It departs on Wednesdays and Fridays, so plan your Cairo days around one of those two mornings. Book early for the October to April season, when the boats fill first. Carry your passport for the domestic flights and pack light clothing, a hat and comfortable shoes for the temple visits.
Yes. Avicon Travel is a Class "A" travel agency licensed by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism under License No. 1962 and registered since 2010. Our office and team are in Karnak, Luxor, so the guides, drivers and cars on this tour are our own local team, not a booking desk abroad.
