The Aswan to Luxor dahabiya, 3 nights, is our downstream Nile program: you board a 5-star sailing boat in Aswan on a Friday and step ashore in Luxor, with Philae, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon included. It runs on all three of our dahabiyas, full board and with a fully private program. Prices start from US$1,639 per person in a Double Deluxe cabin on the Akhenaton in regular season.
Most Nile itineraries ask you for a week. This one asks for a long weekend on the water. Because the boat travels with the current, heading north from Aswan toward Luxor, it covers the great temple stretch of Upper Egypt in three nights, and all eight headline sites of the valley are part of the program.
A dahabiya is not a floating hotel. It is a traditional Nile sailing boat, long and low, with tall sails and decks that sit close to the river. On a 3 night dahabiya cruise you feel that closeness all the time: palm groves on the banks, fields running down to the water, a call to prayer drifting over from a village, the canvas filling as the afternoon wind picks up.
What sets this route apart from our longer departures is its shape. It begins in Aswan, the southern gateway, where the Nile runs between granite boulders and green islands, and it ends in Luxor, the richest archaeological city in Egypt. You finish at the climax instead of starting there, and for many travelers that is simply the better story to live.
Every program is private. You travel with your own English-speaking guide, a private air-conditioned vehicle for each visit and each transfer, and every entrance ticket already arranged. The boat, the cabin category and the Friday you sail are the only decisions left to you.
The upper deck of the Iris, one of the three boats on this route, is laid out with open-air lounge areas on a wooden floor, a good place to watch Aswan slip away behind you.
The Nile flows north, so sailing from Aswan to Luxor means going downstream. The sites fall along the river in a clear geographic sequence, and knowing it helps you picture the journey before you arrive. What follows is the order of the places, not a clock. The team confirms the detailed program, day by day, with your quote.
Aswan is where the program opens. The temple of Isis at Philae stands on an island in the reservoir between the two Aswan dams, and you reach it with a short crossing by motorboat. The whole temple was moved stone by stone to its present island when the High Dam was built, and the setting, with water on every side, is one of the loveliest in Egypt. Our guide to the Philae temple tells its story.
Abu Simbel belongs to Aswan's orbit too, although it lies far to the south on the shore of Lake Nasser, close to the border with Sudan. The two rock temples carved for Ramses II and Queen Nefertari are reached by road from Aswan as a separate excursion, included in the program with your private vehicle and guide. Our page on how to visit Abu Simbel explains the site in depth.
Heading north, the first temple on the riverbank is Kom Ombo. It sits right above the water on a bend of the Nile, and it is unusual because it is a double temple, divided symmetrically between the crocodile god Sobek and Horus the Elder. Arriving by river is the classic way to see it, with the columns rising above the bank. See our page on the Kom Ombo temple.
Farther downstream comes Edfu and its temple of Horus, one of the most complete temples to survive from ancient Egypt. The great pylon, the roofed halls and the dim sanctuary give a rare sense of how a temple felt while it was still in use. Read more in our guide to the Edfu temple.
Between the temples, the river does the work. These are the stretches where a dahabiya shows its character: sails up, decks quiet, sugarcane and date palms sliding past on either bank, children waving from the shore.
The route ends in Luxor, ancient Thebes, where the visits are split across the river. On the east bank stands Karnak Temple, the vast sanctuary of Amun with its forest of columns in the Hypostyle Hall. On the west bank lie the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in painted tombs, the terraced temple of Hatshepsut set against the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari, and the two seated giants known as the Colossi of Memnon.
If you would like more time in the city once you leave the boat, our guide on what to see in Luxor and our selection of Luxor excursions are good places to start.
| Stretch of river | Sites covered | Where they sit |
|---|---|---|
| Aswan and its surroundings | Philae; Abu Simbel (excursion by road) | Philae on an island between the Aswan dams; Abu Simbel far south on Lake Nasser |
| Aswan to Kom Ombo | Kom Ombo | East bank, on a bend of the Nile |
| Kom Ombo to Edfu | Edfu | West bank, a short way inland from the river |
| Edfu to Luxor | Sailing stretch toward Luxor | Riverbank villages, fields and palm groves |
| Luxor, east bank | Karnak | North of the modern city center |
| Luxor, west bank | Valley of the Kings; temple of Hatshepsut; Colossi of Memnon | The Theban necropolis, facing the city across the Nile |
Prices are per person, by boat and by cabin category, with one column for the regular Friday departures and one for the festive Friday departure at Easter. They cover the full private program described on this page for the 3-night route.
| Boat | Cabin category | Regular departures | Festive departure (Easter) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iris | Double Deluxe cabin | from US$1,849 per person | from US$2,829 per person |
| Iris | Junior, main deck | from US$2,209 per person | from US$3,229 per person |
| Iris | Junior, upper deck with veranda | from US$2,569 per person | from US$3,609 per person |
| Iris | Royal, upper deck with veranda | from US$2,999 per person | from US$4,369 per person |
| Akhenaton | Double Deluxe cabin | from US$1,639 per person | from US$1,889 per person |
| Akhenaton | Double with veranda | from US$1,719 per person | from US$1,979 per person |
| Per-ba | Double Deluxe cabin | from US$2,059 per person | from US$2,739 per person |
| Per-ba | Junior with veranda | from US$2,459 per person | from US$3,479 per person |
The Akhenaton has the lowest prices on this route, from US$1,639 per person in a Double Deluxe cabin in regular season. The Iris offers the widest choice, with four categories that go up to the Royal on the upper deck with veranda, from US$2,999 per person in regular season. The Per-ba sits between the two, from US$2,059 per person in a Double Deluxe cabin.
The price you see is the starting point for your cabin and season. Booking conditions are agreed by our team with each traveler, and your quote spells out exactly what applies to your date.
The route and the included visits are the same on every boat. What changes is the style of the boat, the cabin categories and the price. All three are 5-star dahabiyas, and all three sail the 3-night program from Aswan every Friday.
The Iris dahabiya gives you the most cabin choice: Double Deluxe, Junior on the main deck, Junior on the upper deck with veranda, and Royal on the upper deck with veranda. It has a wooden hull and sails, an upper deck set with loungers and a shaded dining area, and an indoor lounge.
The Akhenaton dahabiya is the most accessible of the three, with two categories, Double Deluxe and Double with veranda. Two white sails, covered deck terraces and a long dining table beside windows onto the river give it a relaxed, easygoing feel, and the rail brings the riverbank remarkably close.
The Per-ba dahabiya has a white hull and bright interiors with wooden floors, right down to door handles shaped like the ankh, the ancient sign of life. It offers two categories, Double Deluxe and Junior with veranda.
For the full picture of the three boats and both routes side by side, start from our Nile dahabiya cruise guide.
International flights are not part of any Explora Egipto program, because we do not sell them. Your trip with us starts in Aswan, and a section further down explains the easiest ways to get there.
With full board, meals are part of the rhythm of the river rather than something to organize. On the Per-ba, the dining room is a bright space with a polished wooden floor and natural light pouring in.
For a sense of what life on board feels like between visits, read our page on the dahabiya experience. For your suitcase, our checklist of what to pack for a Nile cruise covers the essentials.
This is the route for travelers who want the Nile without handing it a full week. Three nights is enough to see the eight great sites of Upper Egypt and to settle into the pace of a sailing boat, and it leaves room in your trip for other parts of the country.
If you would rather have everything in one plan, our Egypt tour packages and custom Egypt tours can build the dahabiya into a longer itinerary. Travelers flying in from the United States can also see our page on Egypt tours from the USA.
If you have more time, the Luxor to Aswan dahabiya, 4 or 7 nights sails the opposite way on Mondays and gives the river more room to breathe.
The Aswan to Luxor dahabiya leaves Aswan every Friday within the regular departure windows of the season:
One Friday on this route is a festive departure: Easter, Friday 26 March 2027, priced with the festive column of the table above. The other festive dates of the season, Christmas on Monday 21 December 2026, New Year on Monday 28 December 2026 and Easter Monday 29 March 2027, are Monday departures and belong to the Luxor to Aswan route.
October through April brings the mildest days in Upper Egypt, which is why these months are the classic season on the Nile. May is warmer, so light clothing, a wide hat and plenty of water matter more on the temple visits, and the evenings on deck become the best part of the day.
The winter months and the Easter Friday are popular times to travel in Egypt. If you have a specific date in mind, it is worth writing to the team early so your preferred boat and cabin are still open.
Explora Egipto does not sell international flights. Your program starts in Aswan, so you arrange your own flight into Egypt, most often into Cairo, and then continue south along the Nile valley.
The quickest way down is a domestic flight from Cairo to Aswan. Our guide to domestic flights in Egypt explains how the internal connections work and how to fit them around your arrival.
The railway follows the river south from Cairo to Aswan. It is a long ride, with overnight services on the line, and many travelers enjoy it as a slow, scenic prologue to the cruise.
Reaching Aswan a day or two before the Friday gives you time for the city itself: the Nubian villages, the botanical garden on Kitchener's Island, a felucca ride on the Nile among the granite islands. Our pages on what to see in Aswan and Aswan excursions have the details. Before you fly, check the Egypt visa requirements for your passport.
Once you are in Aswan, everything runs privately. Share your arrival details with the team and your transfers are arranged around them, in an air-conditioned vehicle, with your guide.
The same river can be sailed both ways, and the choice changes the trip. Downstream from Aswan, the program is shorter, departs on a Friday and ends in Luxor. Upstream from Luxor, the dahabiya leaves on a Monday, lasts 4 or 7 nights and ends in Aswan.
| Route | Nights | Departure day | Regular season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aswan to Luxor | 3 | Friday | from US$1,639 per person (Akhenaton, Double Deluxe cabin) |
| Luxor to Aswan | 4 | Monday | from US$1,749 per person (Akhenaton, Double Deluxe cabin) |
| Luxor to Aswan | 7 | Monday | from US$2,099 per person (Akhenaton, Double Deluxe cabin) |
If you are still weighing the two directions for any kind of river trip, our guide on how to choose between Luxor to Aswan and Aswan to Luxor compares them. For a dahabiya, the deciding factor is usually time: three nights from Aswan, or four to seven from Luxor. If you are also comparing dahabiyas with larger ships, our Nile cruise page sets out the options.
If you are not sure which boat to pick, say so. Tell us what matters most to you, a veranda, the lowest price or the widest choice of cabins, and the team will suggest the right match for your Friday.
Three nights. The boat departs from Aswan every Friday within the season and the program ends in Luxor.
Philae and Abu Simbel around Aswan, then Kom Ombo and Edfu along the river, and in Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. Entrance tickets to all of them are included.
In regular season, prices start from US$1,639 per person in a Double Deluxe cabin on the Akhenaton and go up to the Royal on the upper deck with veranda on the Iris, from US$2,999 per person. On the Easter festive departure, prices start from US$1,889 per person on the Akhenaton.
The Akhenaton suits travelers watching their budget, the Iris suits those who want the most cabin options, including the Royal with veranda, and the Per-ba suits those drawn to bright, wood-floored interiors. The route and the included visits are the same on all three.
No. Every program is private, with your own English-speaking guide, a private air-conditioned vehicle for each visit and transfer, and all entrance tickets arranged in advance.
Yes. Abu Simbel is visited as an excursion by road from Aswan, with your private vehicle and guide. Your quote shows where it fits in the program.
No. Explora Egipto does not sell international flights. The trip starts in Aswan, which you can reach from Cairo by domestic flight or by train.
Yes, one: Easter, Friday 26 March 2027, priced at the festive rates in the table on this page. The Christmas and New Year festive dates are Monday departures on the Luxor to Aswan route.
Yes. The Luxor to Aswan dahabiya departs every Monday and lasts 4 or 7 nights, on the same three boats.
Yes, and the short length of this route makes it easy. Many travelers spend a few days in Cairo before flying down to Aswan, and some continue from Luxor to the Red Sea coast. Our team can shape the whole trip around your Friday departure.
Send a message to our team on WhatsApp with your preferred date, the number of travelers and the boat you like. You receive a quote with your cabin and program, and the booking conditions are agreed with you directly.
Tell our team which Friday suits you, which boat catches your eye and how many of you are traveling. We will come back with your quote for the Aswan to Luxor dahabiya, 3 nights, private from the first transfer to the last temple on the west bank.
Keep exploring
