24°05′N 32°54′E · Independent guide to Aswan, Nubia & the Southern NileENالعربية
Aswan101
Plan my trip
← Upstream · south · towards Nubia and SudanDownstream · north · towards Luxor and the sea →
Aswan → Luxor · the whole reachReading order, not scale · distances by road
Nile cruises · Dahabiyas · Feluccas · Private boats · Lake Nasser

Don’t just see the Nile. Travel with it.

Five ways to travel the two hundred kilometres between Aswan and Luxor. They are not five price points for the same holiday: they differ in how many people are aboard, where the boat is physically allowed to moor, how much of the day you control, and whether there is a bathroom. Pick on those four, not on the photographs.

FIG. 2 — DRAWN FOR ASWAN101

The boat changes the journey.

ILLUSTRATED EXPLANATION · NOT TO SCALETHE SETTING, THEN THE DETAIL
SOUTH TO NORTH · DOWNSTREAM
  1. Aswan0 km
  2. Kom Ombo~45 km
  3. Silsila~65 km
  4. Edfu~105 km
  5. Esna lock~155 km
  6. Luxor~215 km

Cruise ship

  1. AswanTypical stop
  2. Kom OmboTypical stop
  3. SilsilaNo stop shown
  4. EdfuTypical stop
  5. Esna lockLock passage
  6. LuxorTypical stop

Main temple stops and passage through the Esna lock. Check the actual itinerary and moorings.

Dahabiya

  1. AswanTypical stop
  2. Kom OmboTypical stop
  3. SilsilaTypical stop
  4. EdfuTypical stop
  5. Esna lockLock passage
  6. LuxorTypical stop

Smaller moorings can bring Silsila and riverbank stops into the journey. Stops and sailing depend on the vessel and conditions.

Felucca

  1. AswanTypical stop
  2. Kom OmboTypical stop
  3. SilsilaItinerary dependent
  4. EdfuItinerary dependent
  5. Esna lockNo stop shown
  6. LuxorNo stop shown

Longer outings cover part of the southern reach. Confirm the end point and onward road transfer before booking.

Lake Nasser: the other direction

South of the High Dam, towards Abu Simbel. A different journey on a different boat.

A schematic comparison, not a sailing schedule. Stops, permissions, lock waits and weather vary by departure. Lake Nasser is a separate journey south of the High Dam; boats on this reach do not sail through the dam.
01 — THE FIVE

Five journeys, side by side.

The full table
Floating hotelNile cruiseA Nile cruise is a floating hotel with a fixed itinerary, usually three or four nights between Aswan and Luxor. You get a cabin with a bathroom, buffet meals, a sun deck, a guide and a daily programme3–4 nights · 7 for the full circuit60–150 peopleMost asked aboutDahabiyaA dahabiya is a traditional two-masted sailing houseboat, usually six to twelve cabins, that can moor where the big ships cannot. It is slower, quieter and more expensive per night than a cruise — and it is frequently towed or engine-assisted when the wind drops, which few operators publish.4–7 nights10–24 peopleOpen sailing boatFeluccaA felucca is an open boat with a single lateen sail and no engine. An hour at sunset is the best cheap thing to do in Aswan1 hr – 3 nights2–10 peopleMotorboat, by the hourPrivate boatA private motorboat hired by the hour or the day, with its owner steering. It is not a journey — it is how you get around Aswan’s islands when you are on a clock or the wind has not turned up.1–8 hoursYour groupUpstream, southboundLake Nasser cruiseA Lake Nasser cruise goes the other way — south from the High Dam across the reservoir, calling at rescued temples almost nobody else reaches, and ending at Abu Simbel. Three or four nights, very few vessels, and empty in a way the Aswan–Luxor stretch has not been for decades.3–4 nights30–80 people