7 Night Cruise | Aswan to Luxor | Egypt | Sanctuary Retreats

Day 1

Embark Aswan

Transfer to your 5-star deluxe Nile cruise boat where you will be welcomed by the reception staff. Lunch will then be served on board. Enjoy a Felucca Ride in the afternoon (weather permitting), a typical Egyptian sail boat. You will explore Elephantine Island, Lord Kitchener's Botanical Gardens and the Agha Khan
Mausoleum (life jackets will be provided).

Enjoy your afternoon tea served in the lounge, followed by a cocktail Reception where you will be greeted by your Boat Manager, who will review your cruise program for the next few days. Complimentary cocktail and a selection of canapés will be served followed by a dinner gourmet menu on board.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 2

High Dam & Philae Temple

Breakfast buffet on board. This morning, your Egyptologist guide will escort you to visit the Aswan High Dam, followed by Philae Temple visit. Take a short motorboat ride to visit the majestic Philae Temple on the Island of Agilika and then the Unfinished Obelisk at the Granite Quarries which supplied the ancient Egyptians with most of the hard stone used in pyramids and temples, and still hold a huge unfinished obelisk.

Lunch will be served on board with the afternoon at leisure to have the chance for optional visits in Aswan. Afternoon tea will be served in the lounge followed by the dinner, gourmet menu on board.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 3

Kom Ombo & Edfu Temples

Breakfast buffet on board while sailing to Kom Ombo. Visit the Temple of Kom Ombo, dedicated to the crocodile-god Sobek. Lunch will be served on board followed by an Egyptian cooking lesson. A relaxing afternoon tea will be served in the lounge during sailing to Edfu.

This evening, explore the largest and most completely preserved Pharaonic - albeit Greek-built - temple in Egypt, the extraordinary Temple of Horus at Edfu. Then sail onto Esna. Tonight's dinner on board will be an "Egyptian Night" costume party for all guests, with a chance to dress up in traditional Egyptian "galabeyyas" with a lavish buffet of Egyptian specialities.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 4

Esna & Karnak Temples

Breakfast buffet on board. This morning your Egyptologist will guide you round the Greco-Roman Temple of Khnum at Esna. The beautifully preserved Great Hypostyle Hall was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius and is about nine meters below present-day street level.

Lunch on board, while you cruise to Luxor, followed by afternoon tea. During the afternoon visit the Temple of Karnak, built over more than a thousand years by generations of Pharaohs. The great "Hypostyle Hall" is an incredible forest of giant pillars, covering an area larger than the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral. Enjoy a gourmet dinner on board.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 5

Valley of the Kings

Breakfast buffet on board. During the morning visit the West Bank of Luxor to explore the Valley of the Kings, a vast City of the Dead where magnificent tombs were carved into the desert rocks, decorated richly, and filled with treasures for the afterlife by generations of Pharaohs. You will also have the chance to visit at least one tomb in the Valley of the Queens, followed by Hatshepsut Temple (Ancient Egypt's only female Pharaoh). On the way back to the river Nile, your road passes by the famed Colossi of Memnon, known in Ancient Greek times for their haunting voices at dawn, a great opportunity for a photo stop.

Lunch, afternoon tea and a gourmet dinner will be served in the lounge.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 6

Abydos Temple

Breakfast on board while you cruise northwards to Nagaa Hammadi passing by Qena. This part of your cruise is very much off the beaten track, and passes through some of the most beautiful scenery along the Nile, far away from the crowds or other cruise boats. Lunch will be served on board.

In the afternoon visit Abydos which was in fact the center of a holy city dedicated to Osiris, Lord of the Netherworld. It was also the burial-place for pre-dynastic kings & pharaohs dating back to the fourth millennium BC. Afternoon at leisure, enjoy the facilities on board your cruise followed by a gourmet dinner on board.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 7

Denderah & Luxor Temples

Breakfast buffet on board. During the morning visit the Ptolemaic Temple of Goddess Hathor in Denderah. This wonderfully preserved temple complex is complete with a massive stone roof, dark chambers, underground passages and columns inscribed with hieroglyphs. The main Temple of Hathor is almost intact.

Enjoy lunch on board while you cruise to Luxor. Upon arrival at Luxor, your Egyptologist will guide you to the strikingly graceful Temple of Luxor dedicated to the god Amun. Afternoon tea will be served in the lounge.

Tonight's farewell dinner will be a gala dinner (jacket required), with white-gloved waiters serving gourmet cuisine.

Overnight: Sanctuary Sun Boat III

Day 8

Disembark Luxor

Breakfast buffet on board.

Check out from the cruise.

Sanctuary Sun Boat III

7 Night Nile Cruise Aswan to Luxor