Nile Cruise Holidays

Egypt’s ancient wonders sit scattered along a single river, and a Nile cruise holiday is simply the most natural way to see them. Rather than flying between cities or driving for hours between sites, you sail past them instead, spending a week aboard a 5-star cruise between Luxor and Aswan, waking up each morning beside whatever the day’s temple or tomb happens to be.

That structure shapes the whole holiday. The stretch of river between Luxor and Aswan carries a concentration of temples and tombs found nowhere else in Egypt, and every visit is guided by a PhD-qualified, English-speaking Egyptologist who can tell you what you are actually looking at, which, on a wall of hieroglyphs, is the difference between a photograph and an afternoon you remember.

We have specialised in Egypt for over 30 years, and the Nile cruise sits at the heart of everything we sell, with prices starting from £1,895 per person. Classic Holidays, when selling travel arrangements, is a trading name of Co-op Travel Services Ltd and an Accredited Body Member of the Co-operative Travel Consortium. Our UK team answers the phone 7 days a week and will talk through dates, boats, and board basis before you commit to anything.

You can now combine your cruise with a visit to Cairo’s spectacular Grand Egyptian Museum, recently opened beside the Pyramids and home to the complete Tutankhamun collection.

What Is Included in Your Nile Cruise Holiday?

Every Classic Holidays Nile cruise includes return flights from the UK with airport tax, fuel supplement, and baggage fees; all transfers in Egypt; your cruise on a full-board basis; and 11 guided excursions with entrance fees covered. Every cabin on both ships sits on the upper or middle deck and has a French balcony at no extra charge, which is worth saying plainly, as on many Nile itineraries a balcony is priced as an upgrade.

Your Egyptologist-guide accompanies the excursions from start to finish, and our teams in the UK and Egypt are contactable 24 hours a day while you are travelling.

Looking ahead: our special Egypt Solar Eclipse 2027 tour pairs a Nile cruise aboard the MS Royal Princess with the total solar eclipse over Luxor on 2 August 2027. Full details and online booking are now available.

Our Nile cruises sail between Luxor and Aswan, and the 7-night itinerary covers the full route in both directions with all 11 excursions included. Luxor gives you Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple, then the west bank for the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, the Temple of Hatshepsut, the Temple of Medinet Habu, and the Colossi of Memnon. As the boat moves south, you stop at Kom Ombo, which sits directly on the riverbank and is best seen in the late afternoon light. Aswan brings the High Dam, the Unfinished Obelisk, a boat trip around Elephantine Island, and the Temple of Philae on its island.

The rhythm of the week settles quickly. Mornings are for excursions. The boat sails through the middle of the day, which is when the Nile does the thing people come for: villages, palm groves, egrets, farmers tending fields that have been worked the same way for generations. Afternoons are yours, on the sundeck or by the pool, and evenings bring dinner and often a galabeya night or a Nubian show.

A shorter option exists if you have less time. The Essence of Egypt Tour runs a 4-night cruise with 7 guided excursions, paired with 3 nights in Cairo. It covers the highlights rather than the full route, and it suits travellers who want the Pyramids and the Nile inside a single week.

Nile Cruise and Stay Holidays

A Nile cruise and stay pairs the 7-night cruise with a hotel stay elsewhere in Egypt, most often in Cairo for the Pyramids or on the Red Sea for the beach. It is the most popular way our guests book, because it solves the one genuine limitation of a cruise-only trip: the Pyramids are not on the river.

Cairo is the usual choice. Staying there gives you Giza, the Sphinx, Saqqara, Memphis, and the Grand Egyptian Museum beside the Pyramids, now home to the complete Tutankhamun collection. Our Classic Egypt Tour pairs the cruise with 3 nights in Cairo; a 2-night version is also available, and you can browse the properties we use on our Cairo hotels page.

The alternatives are worth knowing. A stay in Luxor keeps you among the temples and lets you go back to the West Bank at your own pace. A Red Sea stay in Hurghada, El Gouna, or Sharm El Sheikh gives you a week of beach and diving after the cruise, usually all-inclusive. Which one suits you is a conversation, not a form, and it is the kind of thing our team sorts out in a 5-minute phone call.

What 5-Star Means on a Luxury Nile Cruise

A luxury Nile cruise should be judged on the things you actually use: where your cabin sits, whether it has a balcony, what the food is like, and who is guiding you. Our vessels are 5-star and hold an Intertek Cristal food hygiene certificate, which is independent reassurance that counts for more on a river boat than almost anywhere else; every cabin comes with a French balcony at no extra charge, and every excursion is led by a PhD-qualified Egyptologist rather than a general tour representative.

The all-inclusive question comes up constantly, so here is the plain version. Every cruise is full board as standard, meaning all meals on board are included. All-inclusive is an upgrade that adds local drinks, and on our Treasures of Egypt, Jewels of Egypt, and Magical Egypt tours it extends to an all-inclusive Red Sea resort stay as well. Neither option changes the excursions or the guiding, which are included either way.

Our 5-Star Luxury Nile Cruise Ships

We sail on 2 ships, each suited to a different taste. The MS Royal Princess is a traditional 5-star cruiser with Italian-inspired interiors, a grand staircase and 59 cabins and suites, including 2 Royal Suites. The MS Classic Blue Shadow IV is contemporary, with 62 cabins and suites, including 2 Junior Suites and 2 Royal Suites, a bathtub and shower in its standard cabins, and a large lounge bar with panoramic river views. Both have a sun deck with a swimming pool and bar, and every cabin on both ships sits on the middle or upper deck. Our guide to Nile cruise ships compared sets out the differences in more detail.

A 5-Star Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan

Every 7-night cruise sails from Luxor to Aswan and back, stopping at Kom Ombo on the way. Mornings are spent at the temples and tombs with your Egyptologist guide, before the heat of the day builds, and afternoons on the sun deck as the riverbanks pass. The 11 guided excursions, from the Valley of the Kings and Karnak to the Temple of Philae in Aswan, are all included, with entrance fees paid. Our Nile cruise itinerary sets out each day of the route.

Luxury Nile Cruise and Stay Holidays

Many guests pair the cruise with time elsewhere in Egypt, and the hotels are chosen to the same 5-star standard as the ships. The Classic Egypt Tour adds 3 nights at a 5-star hotel by the Pyramids in Cairo, with a Pyramid view room available as an upgrade. Enchanting Egypt and Mystical Egypt add a 5-star Luxor stay, while Jewels of Egypt and Magical Egypt pair the cruise with an all-inclusive 5-star resort on the Red Sea.

Choosing the Best Luxury Nile Cruise

The best luxury Nile cruise is the one that gets the everyday details right. Before you book any cruise, it is worth asking 4 questions: will your cabin be on the middle or upper deck, does it have a balcony, are the excursions and entrance fees included, and who is guiding you? On our cruises, the answer to each is already in the price: a middle or upper deck cabin with a French balcony, 11 guided excursions with entrance fees, and a PhD-qualified Egyptologist throughout. Every holiday is ABTA and ATOL protected.