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On the NileNile cruises · overview

Nile cruises from Luxor — how many nights, which ship

Almost every Luxor Nile cruise sails the same stretch of river to Aswan, stopping at Edfu and Kom Ombo on the way. Start from Luxor and it's four nights; start from Aswan and it's three. The ship and the extras decide the price.

Luxor → Aswan
4 nights, 5 days
Aswan → Luxor
3 nights, 4 days
Round trip
7 nights from either city
Platform price
from about $450

Updated October 21, 2026

A multi-deck Nile cruise ship moored on the riverbank
A multi-deck Nile cruise ship moored on the riverbank Photo: Marc Ryckaert, CC BY-SA 4.0

The short answer

  1. Best overall4 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel4.6132 reviewsfrom $690GetYourGuide

    Four days from Luxor with Edfu, Kom Ombo and Abu Simbel in the package and the best rating among the Luxor-start cruises in the feed.

  2. Best value5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel4.469 reviewsfrom $840GetYourGuide

    Four nights with Abu Simbel included for about $840 — the lowest price per night among the reviewed Luxor departures. Headout lists a five-day balloon version for less, but it has no reviews yet.

  3. Best privateFrom Luxor: 3-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Private Guide4.2169 reviewsfrom $1,000GetYourGuide

    Your own guide for every excursion on a three-day Luxor-to-Aswan sailing. Expensive, but it is the only Luxor start in the feed with a private guide.

  4. Skip it ifYou are starting in Aswan

    The downstream sailing is a night shorter and has more choice on the platforms, from about $450.

How long is a Luxor Nile cruise?

A Luxor Nile cruise is almost always a one-way sailing between Luxor and Aswan, or a round trip of both. The length depends on where you board, because the Nile flows north: from Luxor you sail upstream to Aswan in four nights, while from Aswan you sail downstream to Luxor in three. Sonesta, Mövenpick and Steigenberger all publish that same 3/4/7-night pattern.

Cruise Route Nights Platform price What you see Best for
3 days, private guide Luxor → Aswan 2 from about $1,000 Luxor, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel Short time, own guide
4 days Luxor ↔ Aswan 3 from about $690 Edfu, Kom Ombo, Abu Simbel The classic, from Luxor
4 days from Aswan Aswan → Luxor 3 from about $450 Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Luxor Arriving via Aswan
5 days Luxor → Aswan 4 from about $590 Both Luxor banks, Edfu, Kom Ombo, Aswan Unhurried first visit
7 nights Luxor or Aswan round trip 7 ask the ship Everything twice, sometimes Dendera The boat as the holiday

The 5-day packages with a balloon flight and Abu Simbel cost noticeably more on GetYourGuide than on Headout — see the comparison below.

Nile cruises that start in Luxor

US-dollar prices come from each platform's own feed and were checked on October 21, 2026. Dates and group size change them — the booking page has the final price.

Luxor to Aswan or Aswan to Luxor?

Same temples, different order. Southbound, you board in Luxor around midday, see Karnak and Luxor Temple that afternoon, the West Bank next morning, then sail through the Esna lock to Edfu and Kom Ombo and end with Philae and a felucca in Aswan. Northbound, you do Aswan first and arrive in Luxor on the last night — which means both Luxor banks are squeezed into disembarkation day. If Luxor is the main reason for your trip, the extra night on the southbound cruise is worth it. The details are on our Aswan to Luxor page.

Same trip, different desks5 days from Luxor with balloon flight and Abu Simbel
  1. GetYourGuideFrom Luxor: 5-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Balloon Ride4.2185 reviewsfrom $1,343Check dates
  2. HeadoutFrom Luxor: 5-Day Nile Cruise with Hot-Air Balloon Ride & Abu Simbel VisitNew listingfrom $590Check dates

Balloon and Abu Simbel add-ons

The two most common extras change the timetable more than the price suggests:

  • Hot-air balloon. Flights take off at dawn over the West Bank, so the cruise has to be in Luxor that morning — on day 1 or 2 when you sail south, on the last morning when you sail north. See our balloon guide for operators and prices.
  • Abu Simbel. About 280 km south of Aswan by road, so the excursion leaves Aswan before dawn and takes most of a day. Packages that include it build it into the Aswan day; on others it's an optional extra. Our Abu Simbel from Luxor guide has the road and flight options.
Kom Ombo, the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris, is a standard stop on every Luxor–Aswan cruise
Kom Ombo, the double temple of Sobek and Haroeris, is a standard stop on every Luxor–Aswan cruise Photo: Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0

How to choose a ship class

Almost every ship on the platforms is sold as "5-star", so the label tells you little. Look at what is checkable instead: the ship's build or refurbishment year, cabin size (about 20–22 m² is the norm on the big ships), whether cabins have a balcony or only a window, and the number of cabins. Mövenpick's Royal Lily has 56 cabins of about 22 m² plus four suites; Steigenberger's Legacy has 76 cabins over four decks, with balconies on the main and upper decks. A brand name doesn't fix the itinerary, either — the same company often runs different ships on different weekdays.

Longer and slower ways to sail

The Cairo–Luxor sailing exists but is rare — see our Cairo to Luxor cruise page for the one ship that runs it regularly and the fly-and-cruise packages most people book instead. For a smaller boat with sails and a handful of cabins, read the dahabiya guide. And if you only want an hour on the river, a felucca at sunset costs a fraction of any cruise.

In this section

Questions travellers ask

How long is a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan?

The standard southbound program is four nights and five days. Sonesta's Star Goddess, for example, boards in Luxor at 11:00 on Saturday and disembarks in Aswan at 08:00 on Wednesday, with the West Bank, Esna, Edfu, Kom Ombo and Aswan's temples on the way. The reverse direction, Aswan to Luxor, is usually a night shorter.

Is there a 1-day Nile cruise in Luxor?

Not on the big ships — they sell three nights or more. For an hour or two on the water in Luxor itself, take a felucca at sunset or a motorboat to Banana Island; see our felucca guide. The shortest overnight option is a one-night Aswan-to-Luxor sailing, compared on the Aswan to Luxor page.

Is a 7-day Nile cruise from Luxor worth it?

For most visitors a 3- or 4-night one-way cruise covers the same temples. Seven-night round trips sail Luxor–Aswan–Luxor and add slack, a second pass of the river and, on some ships, extra sites — Steigenberger's Legacy adds Dendera on day 7. Worth it if you want the boat to be the holiday, not just the transport.

What does "all-inclusive" mean on a Nile cruise?

Usually full board — breakfast, lunch and dinner, mostly buffet — plus the guided visits in the program. Drinks other than water, crew tips and optional trips like Abu Simbel or a balloon flight are typically extra. Whether temple entry tickets are included varies by listing, so check that line first.

Which is better, a big cruise ship or a dahabiya?

A standard ship has 50–80 cabins, a pool and a fixed timetable shared with dozens of other boats. A dahabiya is a sailing boat with a handful of cabins that moors at quieter banks and costs roughly twice as much per night on the platforms. Our dahabiya guide compares them.

Can you see Abu Simbel on a Nile cruise from Luxor?

Yes, as a side trip from Aswan — ships moor there and Abu Simbel is about 280 km further south by road. Some packages include it; on others it's an optional early-morning excursion. Our Abu Simbel from Luxor guide covers road, flight and cruise options.

Sources and checks

  1. Sonesta Star Goddess — cruise itineraries (3, 4 and 7 nights) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  2. Sonesta Nile Goddess — cruise itineraries — checked 21 Oct 2026
  3. Mövenpick MS Royal Lily — cabins and itineraries — checked 21 Oct 2026
  4. Steigenberger Nile cruises — fleet overview — checked 21 Oct 2026
  5. Steigenberger Legacy — ship and 7-night itinerary — checked 21 Oct 2026
  6. Paliparan — Nile River Cruise Guide (updated July 2025) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  7. In Your Pocket — The Nile Cruise Guide: Routes, Ships and What to Expect — checked 21 Oct 2026
  8. Wego — Abu Simbel 2026 visitor's guide (distance from Aswan) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  9. GetYourGuide — Luxor cruises & boat tours (prices, ratings, review counts) — checked 21 Oct 2026
  10. Headout — Luxor cruises — checked 21 Oct 2026

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