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Nile cruise itinerary: Aswan to Luxor, day by day plan

Last checked: October 2026

Feluccas moored on the Nile at Luxor with cruise boats behind
Feluccas moored on the Nile at Luxor with cruise boats behind

Aswan to Luxor on board

The plan, day by day

Leaves Aswan every Wednesday1

A plan built from public sources: the cruise operator's published itinerary, and opening hours from Google Maps. A sailing time is shown only where a source gives one. Not a trip report.

It follows this published itinerary:

  • The Sonesta Star Goddess runs a 3-night Aswan–Luxor cruise every Wednesday.1
  • On Sonesta Star Goddess's 3-night Aswan–Luxor cruise, guests board in Aswan at 11:00, before lunch.3

Day 1

  1. Aswan

    Port of call

Night on board

Day 2

  1. Aswan

    Port of call

  2. By boat to Kom Ombo. The Sonesta cruise sails from Aswan to Kom Ombo at 13:30 on day 2.3

  3. Kom Ombo

    Port of call

  4. By boat to Edfu. The Sonesta cruise visits the Kom Ombo temple of Sobek and Haroeris at 17:30 and sails on to Edfu at 19:00.3

  5. Edfu

    Port of call

Night on board

Day 3

  1. Edfu

    Port of call

    What you see here:

    • Edfu Temple Opening hours: Mon–Tue 07:00–17:00; Wed 06:00–17:00; Thu–Sat 07:00–17:00; Sun 06:00–17:0011 Time to spend: Wikivoyage notes that cruise boats may give 2-2½ hours ashore at Edfu and warns against caleche drivers who will only wait an hour at the temple.6On Luxor and Aswan Travel's day tour from Luxor, the drive along the Nile to Edfu takes about 2 hours.31Luxor and Aswan Travel's Edfu and Kom Ombo day tour from Luxor lasts 12 hours.31 Open in Google Maps
  2. By boat to Luxor. The Sonesta cruise visits the Horus Temple in Edfu at 06:30 on day 3 and sails for Luxor at 08:15.3

  3. Luxor

    Port of call

Night on board

Day 4

  1. Luxor

    Port of call

    Guests leave the Sonesta cruise in Luxor at 08:00 on day 4.3

  2. By road to Valley of the Kings: About 25 min by car, 16 km4

  3. Valley of the Kings

    Land visit by road

    On day 4 at 08:00, the Sonesta cruise visits the West Bank: the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut's temple.3

    What you see here:

  4. By road to Valley of the Queens: About 15 min by car, 8 km4

  5. Valley of the Queens

    Land visit by road

    What you see here:

  6. By road to Karnak (East Bank): About 20 min by car, 14 km4

  7. Karnak (East Bank)

    Land visit by road

    On day 4 at 14:30, the Sonesta cruise visits Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple on the East Bank.3

    What you see here:

  8. By road to Luxor: About 2 min by car, 1 km4

  9. Luxor

    Land visit by road

    What you see here:

Map of this plan: the stops in visit order, numbered as in the day-by-day plan.

Drawn to scale from the stops' map locations. Dashed lines join the ports in a straight line, not along the river or the road.

Too close together on the map for their names, so shown by number:

  • Day 3: Luxor
  • Day 4: Valley of the Kings
  • Day 4: Valley of the Queens
  • Day 4: Karnak (East Bank)

How the days fit

Why the route runs in this order

Aswan lies about 220 km2 south of Luxor, so the boat works its way north and calls at each temple town in turn. The sailing times come from Sonesta’s own itinerary:

Aswan to Luxor: about 220 km2

  • Aswan: you board at 11:003, before lunch, and spend the first night on board.
  • Kom Ombo: the boat leaves Aswan at 13:30 on day 2, visits the temple at 17:30 and sails on to Edfu at 19:003.
  • Edfu: the Temple of Horus visit is at 06:30 on day 3, and the boat leaves for Luxor at 08:153.
  • Luxor: you leave the boat at 08:00 on day 43. The West Bank tour starts at 08:00 and the East Bank visit at 14:303.

The last day moves by road instead of by river, and the stops sit close together. Luxor to the Valley of the Kings is about 25 min by car, 16 km, and on to the Valley of the Queens is about 15 min by car, 8 km4. The drive back to Karnak on the East Bank is about 20 min by car, 14 km4.

Nile cruise ships moored by a palm-lined bank
Nile cruise ships moored by a palm-lined bank

Temple stops on the river

Kom Ombo, Edfu and the Esna lock

Kom Ombo is the easiest stop of the trip. Its double temple of Sobek and Haroeris stands right beside the cruise boat dock5, so you walk straight off the boat and in.

Edfu: 2–2½ hours ashore6

Edfu takes a little more effort. Boats tie up at a river wharf on the west bank, where caleche drivers wait6 for passengers. Wikivoyage calls the Temple of Horus the best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt6.

Visitors seen from behind on the paved approach to the pylon of Edfu temple
Visitors seen from behind on the paved approach to the pylon of Edfu temple

After Edfu, boats heading for Luxor pass the Esna lock, between the town’s two bridges7. The Oberoi Philae, on the same Aswan–Luxor run, schedules its crossing at 2:00 pm on Day 38.

Both banks of Luxor

The last day: West Bank tombs and Karnak

The final morning covers the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut’s temple3. The Temple of Hatshepsut, built for the queen who became pharaoh, stands at Deir al-Bahari9.

West Bank tour from 08:003

Before the day, read up on Valley of the Kings tickets and the guide to the Hatshepsut mortuary temple, so you know which tombs and terraces you want to see.

The afternoon moves to the East Bank. Egypt’s official tourism site calls Luxor and Karnak Temples10 the most revered sites in Luxor. Google Maps lists Karnak as open Mon–Sun 06:00–17:00 and Luxor Temple Mon–Sun 06:00–20:0011, so leave Luxor Temple for last if the afternoon runs long.

If you stay on in Luxor after the boat, a few add-ons fit around the plan:

  • Colossi of Memnon: two huge stone statues of Amenhotep III, free12 to see from the roadside, so ask your guide to pull over.
  • More West Bank temples: the boat’s tour leaves out sites such as the Ramesseum temple.
  • A fuller West Bank day: a private West Bank tour with an Egyptologist adds Medinet Habu and Deir el-Medina.
Painted relief of a long marching procession on a colonnade wall at Hatshepsut's temple
Painted relief of a long marching procession on a colonnade wall at Hatshepsut's temple

Arriving early

Before you board in Aswan

The plan has no sightseeing stops in Aswan itself, so arrive early if you want to see the town’s sights before the boat sails.

Boarding at 11:003

The UK’s FCDO also leaves Luxor, Qina, Aswan, Abu Simbel and the Valley of the Kings14 out of its Western Desert travel warning. With time in Aswan, these are the usual picks:

  • Temple of Philae: built to honour Isis, and the last ancient temple in the classical Egyptian style15. A one-hour15 visit is generally enough; foreigners pay EGP 55016 (about US$10).
  • Unfinished Obelisk: the largest known ancient obelisk, carved directly out of bedrock15. Tickets cost EGP 22018 (about US$4).
  • Aswan High Dam: Wikivoyage calls it a bit of a letdown, even for dam lovers15.
  • Abu Simbel: cruise lines offer it as an optional trip from Aswan19. Jules Verne’s tour takes 4 hours20 each way by road, so it’s a long day.

To get around Aswan, the inDrive app works well but takes cash only15.

After the boat

Getting home from Luxor

Once you leave the boat, Luxor has good links back to Cairo and beyond. The getting there guide covers the details:

Airport taxi: EGP 300 at most21

  • Fly: Egyptair and other airlines fly direct between Cairo and Luxor often, in about 1 hour21.
  • Train: Luxor is on the main line, about 10 hours21 from Cairo.
  • To the airport: no public buses run between the airport and the city centre; a taxi should cost no more than EGP 30021 (about US$5) (checked October 2026).
  • Apps: Uber doesn’t work in Luxor, but its sister app Careem does21.

Can you book just part of the cruise?

Usually not: Nile cruise boats calling at Luxor sell package itineraries, not point-to-point trips21. To ask about a spare cabin anyway, Wikivoyage says most cruise ships in Luxor have a reception at the entrance21 you can walk into.

Longer and slower options

Other cruise lengths and dahabiyas

The same stretch of river runs in longer versions, and in both directions. These are the published options from the operators:

Dahabiya break: June to August22

Published cruise lengths on the Aswan–Luxor stretch
BoatRouteLengthDepartsSource
Sonesta Star Goddess
Aswan to Luxor
3 nights / 4 days
Every Wednesday
Sonesta (operator)
Sonesta Star Goddess
Luxor to Aswan
4 nights / 5 days
Every Saturday
Sonesta (operator)
Sonesta Star Goddess
Luxor round trip
7 nights / 8 days
Every Saturday
Sonesta (operator)
The Oberoi Philae
Aswan to Luxor
4 nights (5 days) or 6 nights (7 days)
Tuesdays and Saturdays
Oberoi Hotels (operator)
Nour El Nil dahabiya
Esna to Aswan
5 nights, 6 days
No sailings June to August
Nour El Nil (operator)

Sonesta (operator); Oberoi Hotels (operator); Nour El Nil (operator)

A dahabiya is the slower, smaller-boat way to sail it. Nour El Nil’s cruise starts at Esna, about 33 miles22 south of Luxor, and includes transfers from your Luxor hotel to the boat and from the boat to your Aswan hotel23. Compare the boats on the page of dahabiya boat stays on the Nile.

When to sail between Aswan and Luxor
  • Cool winter sailing November to February
  • Warmer shoulder months March to May, September to October
  • Peak heat, some dahabiyas stop June to August

Season matters on any boat. The best time to visit is November to the beginning of March21, while summer highs in June, July and August average above 40 °C2.

Budgeting the trip

What a cruise like this costs

Package prices vary widely. AAA, a booking agent, lists a 4-night Luxor–Aswan package from $615, though one ticket option on the same page shows $31024. At the top end, Viking’s Pharaohs & Pyramids cruisetour, which visits Luxor and Aswan, starts from AU$10,99525.

If your package leaves out entry tickets, budget for these foreign-visitor prices at the stops:

Entry tickets at the cruise stops (foreign visitors)
StopAdultStudentSource
Kom Ombo Temple
EGP 450
EGP 225
egymonuments.gov.eg (official)
Edfu Temple
EGP 550
EGP 275
egymonuments.gov.eg (official)
Valley of the Kings
EGP 750
EGP 375
egymonuments.gov.eg (official)
Karnak Temple
EGP 600
EGP 300
Wikivoyage
Luxor Temple
EGP 500
EGP 250
egymonuments.gov.eg (official)

egymonuments.gov.eg (official); Wikivoyage

Both bookable cruises below run the route the other way, south from Luxor to Aswan, and add Abu Simbel.

Felucca masts and furled sails silhouetted at dusk on the Nile Multi-day tour

4 daysPickup includedFree cancellation

Egyptology Travel CO

Luxor: 4 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel

4.6 (132 reviews) on GetYourGuide, checked October 2026

fromUS$690

See dates on GetYourGuide
Old brickworks chimney and houses on the Nile bank Multi-day tour

5 daysPickup includedFree cancellation

Mody Egypt Tours

4 nights Luxor to Aswan Nile Cruise with Abu Simbel & Air Balloon

4.4 (107 reviews) on Viator, checked October 2026

fromUS$950

See dates on Viator

Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits

Checked against 31 sources · last checked October 2026
  1. Sonesta (operator) · checked October 2026
  2. Wikipedia · checked October 2026
  3. Sonesta (operator) · checked October 2026
  4. OpenRouteService (route data © OpenStreetMap contributors) · checked October 2026
  5. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  6. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  7. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  8. Oberoi Hotels (operator) · checked October 2026
  9. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  10. Experience Egypt (official) · checked October 2026
  11. Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
  12. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  13. Ireland.ie (official) · checked October 2026
  14. GOV.UK (official) · checked October 2026
  15. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  16. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  17. Central Bank of Egypt (official, via Frankfurter) · checked October 2026
  18. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  19. Mövenpick (operator) · checked October 2026
  20. vjv.com (tour company) · checked October 2026
  21. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  22. Nour El Nil (operator) · checked October 2026
  23. Nour El Nil (operator) · checked October 2026
  24. AAA (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  25. Viking River Cruises Australia (operator) · checked October 2026
  26. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  27. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  28. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  29. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  30. egymonuments.gov.eg (official) · checked October 2026
  31. luxorandaswan.com (tour company) · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 23 October 2026
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