Luxor to Luxor

Day 1: Luxor

Arrive on your 5-star deluxe Nile cruise boat, where you will be welcomed by the reception staff. Your Egyptologist will guide you around the East Bank of Luxor including the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor, dedicated to the god Amun. Lunch and afternoon tea will be served on board. In the evening, you will be greeted by your Boat Manager for a cocktail reception, who will review your cruise program for the upcoming days. Enjoy local Egyptian wine and beer, as well as a selection of canapés, followed by a gourmet dinner.

Day 2: Temple of Karnak & Temple of Khnum

A delicious breakfast buffet is served on board. After breakfast, visit to the Temple of Karnak, built over more than a thousand years by generations of Pharaohs. The great “Hypostyle Hall” is an incredible forest of giant pillars, covering an area larger than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral. After lunch and a cruise to Esna, your Egyptologist will guide you around the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum at Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius; it was excavated from the silt that had accumulated through centuries of annual Nile floods and is about nine meters below present-day street level. Afternoon tea will be served on board during the cruise to Edfu. In the evening, a gourmet dinner will be served on board.

Day 3: Temple of Kom Ombo

Following breakfast, spend the morning at leisure and enjoy the facilities on board, including the pool, games room and gymnasium. This afternoon you will also have the chance to take part in an Egyptian cooking demonstration, as you continue cruising to Kom Ombo. Following afternoon tea, visit the Temple of Kom Ombo - dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. The temple stands at a bend in the Nile where, in ancient times, sacred crocodiles basked in the sun on the riverbank. Return to your boat and enjoy a cruise to Aswan. Tonight’s entertainment will be an “Egyptian Night” costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyyas”. Dinner will be a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialties.

Day 4: Aswan

A breakfast buffet will be served on board, after which you will have the morning at your leisure. Enjoy lunch on board followed by an afternoon at leisure where you can enjoy the facilities on board, including the pool, games room and gymnasium. Tonight’s dinner will be a gala dinner, with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine. Enjoy a Folkloric Show and a Dervish Show after dinner.

Day 5: Felucca Sailing

A breakfast buffet will be served on board. This morning, enjoy the facilities on board, including the pool, games room and gymnasium. After lunch on board, take a ride on a felucca (a typical Egyptian sail boat) around Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener’s Botanical Gardens, and the Agha Khan Mausoleum (weather permitting, life jackets will be provided). Afternoon tea will be served in the lounge. Enjoy local Egyptian wine and beer, as well as a selection of canapés, followed by a gourmet dinner. Enjoy a Folkloric Show and Dervish Show after dinner.

Day 6: Philae Temple & Unfinished Obelisk

A breakfast buffet will be served on board, followed by a short motorboat ride to visit the romantic and majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika.
This will be followed by a visit to the Granite Quarries, which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still holds a huge unfinished obelisk. Enjoy lunch, while you cruise to Kom Ombo. Spend the afternoon at leisure and enjoy the facilities on board, including the pool, games room and gymnasium. Afternoon tea will be served while you cruise to Edfu. Enjoy an Egyptian buffet menu for tonight’s dinner with the chance for guests to dress up in traditional Egyptian “galabeyya”.

Day 7: Temple of Horus

A breakfast buffet will be served on board. This morning, explore the extraordinary Temple of Horus. Return to your boat and enjoy sailing to Esna. Lunch will be served while sailing. Use this afternoon to enjoy all the facilities on board. Continue sailing to Luxor, while having your afternoon tea. Tonight, a delicious dinner is served on board.

Day 8: Valley of the Kings

Enjoy breakfast on board. Spend this morning at leisure. Lunch will be served on board followed by a morning visit to West Bank of Luxor to explore the Valley of the Kings. You will have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens and visit the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. On the way back to the Nile River, you will pass by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn. Return to your cruise where afternoon tea will be served. Tonight’s farewell dinner will be on board the ship in Luxor.

Day 9: Luxor

A buffet breakfast will be served on board before check out at 8:00.

• Accommodation
• Full board meal plan - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner with mineral water, tea and coffee served during meal times
• All sightseeing, guiding and entrance fees as per itinerary
• Taxes and service charges

• Any items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls and purchases from the gift shop
• Gratuity to staff
• Drink packages
• Medical services, travel insurance or visas
• All transfers to/from the boat from airports

**Please note that some departures are on Sanctuary Sun Boat IV.