3 Night Nile Cruise Luxor to Aswan with Balloon Ride

Luxor

A representative collects you at 11am by car and takes you to the cruise ship in a private air-conditioned van. The cabin is yours from 11:30am. The handover is not rushed either. He stays on board until you have seen the room and confirmed you are satisfied with it.

The Karnak Temple

Lunch on board first. At around 2:00 pm your Egyptologist guide collects you for Karnak, the largest temple in the world, and the operator says it selects its guides carefully. The complex was dedicated to Amun, his wife Mut and their son Khonsu, the three gods of the Theban triad. Karnak repays a little preparation, so read up before you go: the guide can handle detailed questions, and you get more out of the afternoon if you arrive with some. Entrance is charged separately.

Costo extra

Luxor

A felucca ride on the Nile at sunset comes next. These are the traditional Egyptian sailboats, and after a hot afternoon on land the wind on the water is the whole point. Luxor looks different from mid-river, the banks low and the light going. Good company for family or friends. Watch this sunset from the deck, because the next thing on the schedule is sunrise seen from a balloon basket.

Luxor Temple

Luxor Temple after that. Amenhotep III began it in the 18th Dynasty and Ramses II finished the work. The guide returns you to the ship at about 6:30 pm. Dinner is on board that night, followed by an Egyptian folkloric show. Entrance to the temple is charged separately.

Costo extra

Luxor

An early start for the balloon. The delegate collects you before first light for the flight over Luxor, and you watch the sun come up from the air rather than from the ground. The river and the west bank take shape below as the light arrives.

Valley of the Kings

After landing, the guide meets you and heads for the west bank of Luxor and the Valley of the Kings. You walk the complex and go into the tombs cut for kings including Merneptah, Ramesses III and Ramesses VI. Tomb tickets are charged separately.

Costo extra

Temple of Hatshepsut

Then the mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh and the only woman to rule Egypt, with 20 peaceful years in power. Entrance is charged separately.

Costo extra

Colossi of Memnon

Next, the Colossi of Memnon, and the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III that stood behind the statues.

Luxor

Then back to the cruise ship for dinner and another night on board on the Nile.

Edfu Temple

Breakfast on board, then a horse-drawn carriage into Edfu and a guided visit to the Temple of Horus. It is the best preserved religious building in Egypt, heavy sandstone standing much as it was raised. Entrance is charged separately.

Costo extra

Kom Ombo Temple

Lunch back on board while the boat sails on. The afternoon goes to Kom Ombo, an unusual temple in that it was built for two gods rather than one, and the guide takes you through how it was laid out and constructed. Dinner and free time back on the boat. Entrance is charged separately.

Costo extra

Abu Simbel Temple

Another pre-dawn start, this one for Abu Simbel. The twin temples of Ramesses II and Nefertari were cut into the mountainside in the 13th century BC, under the dynasty of Ramesses II. Entrance is charged separately, and this is the last major stop before Aswan.

Costo extra