Nile River Cruise - tips by travel authority Howard Hillman

Nile River Cruise

travel wonder in Egypt

Why a

Nile River Cruise

is special

A Nile River Cruise takes you up close through 5,000 years of ancient Egyptian history. And, as your boat smoothly glides by the palm-tree dotted river banks, you view timeless farming scenes and drifting sand dunes.

Nile River Cruise

tips & insights

There are several Nile River Cruise itineraries. By far the most popular is the 4-day journey between Luxor and Aswan (see red line on map).

The 4-day trip offers you a choice of either sailing upriver or downriver. If you choose the first, you fly from Cairo to Luxor and fly back to Cairo from Aswan. If your boat travels downriver, you do the opposite.

A few Nile River Cruises start and end in Cairo and usually take 10 to 12 days. Some tourists enjoy their leisurely pace.

Most travelers, however, save time and money by choosing the 4-day journey between Luxor and Aswan, with stops in between. That's by far the most interesting stretch for sightseeing.

Below are the top three Nile River Cruise attractions of the Luxor-Aswan itinerary. Click their blue buttons to view my web pages on them.

Four great statues of Rameses II guard his temple's entrance. You fly from Aswan city to Abu Simbel (45 minutes). Or, you can take a bus (several hours).

It is by far the largest of its kind in the world. The Great Hypostyle Hall is particularly impressive. It is situated in Luxor city.

The carved underground tombs of 60 pharaohs are here, including that of Tutankhamun (King Tut). It is near Luxor.

These four temples are also major Nile River Cruise attractions:

Esna - A Ptolomaic-era sanctuary surrounded by a modern era city.

Hapshepsut - She was Egypt's greatest female pharaoh.

Kom Ombo Edfu- Well preserved. Dedicated to Horus.

Luxor - Sits next to Karnak Temple and is almost as grand.

Other must-see sites include Valley of the Queens, Philae Temple, and Aswan High Dam.

A Nile River Cruise is more than exploring ancient ruins. As you cruise, you see many rural scenes such as tiny minaretted villages living at a traditional pace. You also view white-galabiya-dressed farmers working their small fields with animal-pulled wooden plows, as their distant ancestors did. And, you frequently see gently moving felucca sailboats (see photo above).

A thin strip of cultivated land is all that separates the adjoining desert from reaching the Nile River (sometimes the relentless desert wins).

Nile River Cruise

boat & cabin

selection tips

Click the button below for my candid pointers:

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