Hot Air Balloon · Tour
4 Night Nile Cruise Luxor to Aswan, Balloon & Abu Simbel
Five days, four nights, Luxor down to Aswan, Abu Simbel included, 439 EUR. Comparable five-day cruises on this site ask around 838 for the same run of ports. Nothing in the listing accounts for the gap, so treat it as a question to put to the operator before you pay rather than a bargain to grab on sight. Boarding is in Luxor, check-in at noon, Karnak and Luxor Temple that first afternoon. The balloon goes up before dawn the next day over the west bank, 40 to 55 minutes in the air, with a breakfast box after it. Colossi of Memnon, the Hatshepsut terraces and the Valley of the Kings fill the rest of that morning. Then the boat moves: the Esna lock, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan. Abu Simbel is a 5am departure run as a shared small group tour, back by about 1:30 pm. The last morning goes to Philae by motorboat and the High Dam. Four nights full board on a 5-star boat, every excursion in the itinerary and an Egyptologist guide are in the price. Entrance fees are not, and neither are drinks with meals, WiFi or tips. The weather clause is unusually explicit here: if the balloon is grounded, the stated refund is 25 USD per person, and the cruise keeps sailing either way. Children under 6 cannot fly. The rating is 4.4 from 25 reviews. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure.
What's included
- Hot Air Balloon Ride Over Luxor west bank.
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Breakfast
Show 10 moreShow less
- The assistance of our personnel during your stay and excursions.
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required.
- Accommodation for 4 nights on a 5 stars cruise on full board basis.
- All Nile Cruise excursions as mentioned in the itinerary.
- Meet and greet service upon your Arrival & Departure.
- Egyptologist speaking tour guide during your excursions.
- cabin with all facilities
- All service charges and taxes.
- meals start with lunch end with breakfast last day
- Sharing a small group tour to Abu Simbel temple.
Itinerary
The map could not be loaded. Please try again in a moment.
Luxor
A Charming Tours representative collects you from your hotel in Luxor, or from the airport or the railway station, and takes you to the 5-star boat before lunch. Lunch is on board. The afternoon covers the east bank, Karnak and Luxor Temple, then dinner on board and a folkloric show. Overnight in Luxor. Meals: lunch, dinner. A note from the operator: cruise check-in is at 12:00 PM, so an early arrival is preferred and the tour starts straight from pickup rather than leaving you waiting in the lobby, which also keeps you off the sites in the worst of the heat.
The Karnak Temple
After lunch, the east bank. Karnak is less a temple than a walled precinct of sanctuaries, kiosks, pylons and obelisks raised to the Theban gods and to the glory of Egypt's pharaohs, and it was the most important site for the worship of the Theban triad, Amun, Mut and Khonsu. The guide earns his fee here: the scale of the place defeats most people working from a map. Then the short drive to Luxor Temple.
Luxor Temple
Luxor Temple comes after Karnak. Amenhotep III, of the 18th Dynasty, built most of it, and the work was completed by Tutankhamun and Ramses II. The first pylon is Ramses II's, carved with scenes from his military campaign at Kadesh. Dinner on board, a folkloric show after it, overnight in Luxor.
Hot Air Balloon over the West Bank of Luxor
The pickup is in the dark. The balloon lifts over the west bank of Luxor for 40 to 55 minutes in the air, the great temples and the mountains laid out below and the city, more open air museum than city, across the river. A breakfast box comes with it.
Colossi of Memnon
A photo stop at the Colossi of Memnon after the balloon. The twin statues are Amenhotep III, each about 60 feet tall, with smaller figures cut at his feet, his wife on one side and his mother on the other. They stand where the entrance to his mortuary temple was, in the Theban necropolis on the west bank of the Nile. The name comes from a sound one of the statues made after an earthquake.
Temple of Hatshepsut
The temple of Queen Hatshepsut next. It rises off the desert floor in terraces and runs back into the limestone cliffs on the eastern face of the Theban mountain, so the building and the rock read as one piece of work. The guide covers her reign and her story with her nephew. Then the drive to the Valley of the Kings.
Valley of the Kings
The Valley of the Kings, known in its own time as the Great Place of Truth. Pharaohs were laid here in stone sarcophagi, and you can look into the tombs of kings including Merneptah, Ramesses III and Ramesses VI. Back to the boat after that. Sailing starts in the afternoon towards Edfu, through the Esna lock, with lunch on board and afternoon tea on the sundeck while the river bank goes past. Dinner on board, overnight at Edfu.
Edfu Temple
Breakfast on board, then Edfu, the best preserved temple in Egypt, dedicated to the hawk god Horus. The Ptolemaic building stands on the site of a much earlier one and dates to the period from the reign of Ptolemy III, 237 BC. The wall scenes include the contendings of Horus and Seth, probably staged once a year as religious drama. Back to the boat and on towards Kom Ombo, with lunch on board and tea on the sundeck.
Kom Ombo Temple
Almost five hours of sailing to Kom Ombo, most of it spent on the sundeck. The temple and its settlement site sit 45 km north of Aswan, right on the bank between Edfu and Aswan, which is why nearly every cruise stops here. It was built around 180 BC under the Ptolemaic dynasty and dedicated to two gods rather than one, Sobek the crocodile god and Horus the elder. Then on to Aswan, dinner on board, and the Galabeya party. Overnight at Aswan.
Abu Simbel Temple
Abu Simbel starts at about 5 am and gets you back around 1:30 pm, run as a shared small group tour, roughly nine hours in total. The afternoon is for resting. In the evening there is a chance to see the local market at Aswan. Overnight on the boat.
Temple of Philae
The guide collects you on time for Philae. A short drive down to the Nile, then a motorboat across to the island temple, with the guide going through the detail of it. The High Dam at Aswan after that. Around five hours, and the service ends there.
Not included
- Tipping. ( Tour guide / Drivers / Nile Cruise crew )
- Entrance fees to the mentioned sightseeing.
- Water or Drinks during meals or WiFi on the Nile cruise.
Good to know
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Show 11 moreShow less
- Child rate applies only when sharing with 2 paying adults
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- If the Hot Air Balloon trip cancelled due to bad weather, you will be refunded with 25USD per person.
- Prices are quoted in U.S dollars,per person per trip and valid,except during Christmas,New Year,Easter holidays.
- We drive all our guest to Luxor east bank hotels and available to drive them to Luxor west bank hotels with extra 10 us dollars per person
- Children from 6 to 11 sharing with parents .(maximum 2 children in one room).
- A child less than 6 years is not allowed for the balloon trip.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travelers
- Up to 15 travelers per booking.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: de, zh-TW, pt, ko, ja, en, zh-CN, it, ro, es.
Reviews
Loading reviews…
Keep exploring
More experiences in Egypt
-
Free cancellation3 Night Nile Cruise Luxor to Aswan with Balloon Ride
4.7 (76) 4.7 stars out of 5, 76 reviewsThe shortest and lowest priced Nile cruise here: three nights Luxor to Aswan, full board, Egyptologist guide and a sunrise balloon over Luxor.
€ 538.72 -
Free cancellation4-day Aswan to Luxor Nile Cruise with Balloon Flight
4.7 (588) 4.7 stars out of 5, 588 reviewsFour days sailing the Nile from Aswan to Luxor, with Abu Simbel, the river temples and a sunrise balloon flight over the Theban west bank.
€ 270.24 -
Free cancellation4-day Nile Cruise: Aswan to Luxor, Abu Simbel, Balloon
4.7 (258) 4.7 stars out of 5, 258 reviewsOne 4-day package from Aswan to Luxor: transfers, boat accommodation, Abu Simbel, the Nile temples and a sunrise hot air balloon flight.
€ 261.49
Ratings collected by Viator and Tripadvisor