5 Day Merit Dahabiya Nile River Cruise Luxor to Aswan

At Luxor and Aswan Travel, we don’t want you to worry about a thing when you are on vacation, and we have done everything we can to ensure that you really don’t need to.

When you arrive in Luxor, the tour manager that was assigned to you when you booked your tour will be standing by at the airport or railway station to meet you and assist you in any way possible. One of our drivers will also be waiting outside in a clean and modern air-conditioned vehicle.
Once pleasantries have been exchanged, your tour manager and our driver will take you to the area where you will be boarding the luxurious Merit Dahabiya river yacht.

Once on board, you will check in, and then at around midday, you will be served your first onboard lunch. All meals are prepared by the boat’s resident chef who will be spoiling you with a wonderful variety of both Egyptian and international dishes throughout your cruise.

After lunch, your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary begins with a visit to Luxor’s East Bank to see two fabulous ancient monuments: Luxor Temple and Karnak Temple. Luxor Temple is by far the better preserved of the two, but the sheer size of the Karnak Temple complex makes it equally as fascinating, if not more so.

Following your tour of these two sites, you will then return to your luxury Dahabiya river yacht, with some time to spare for relaxing before a delicious dinner is served up in the early evening. Tonight you will be enjoying your first sleep inside your beautifully fitted cabin on the water at Luxor.

The 2nd day of your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary begins with a good hearty breakfast, followed by a visit to Luxor’s West Bank to see another three unforgettable ancient monuments. This time you will be visiting Valley of the Kings, a vast royal necropolis which is home to more than 60 ancient tombs, including the tomb of King Tutankhamen. You will also be visiting the indescribable rock-cut mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, and the huge Colossi of Memnon.

After a tour which you will almost certainly never forget, you will then head back to your Dahabiya in time for another artfully prepared lunch. Once lunch has been served, the boat will begin sailing towards Esna, with no other excursion scheduled for this day.

This is a perfect opportunity for you to relax, or for doing a bit of bird watching. Alternatively, go for a dip in the open-air Jacuzzi; enjoy a few drinks or some cocktail in the lounge or bar, or catch up with friends and family online.

Enjoy some afternoon tea on the boat’s sundeck at around 15h00. Dinner this evening will be served while you are sailing, and once the boat nears Esna it will change course slightly, and it will tie up alongside a small island for the night.

Day 3 of your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary gets off to an early start, so you will be able to enjoy your breakfast while your river yacht is crossing the Esna Lock, which is actually a very enjoyable and interesting experience in itself. Once you are through the Lock, you will then start sailing towards Edfu, with a good lunch being served along the way.

Depending on the wind, the boat should arrive at Edfu shortly after lunch, and then it will be time for another wonderful excursion, this time to see Edfu Temple. This is an ancient Greco-Roman temple with was later abandoned by the Romans, and subsequently became buried beneath the sand. It remained that way for more than 2,000 years before being rediscovered. As a result of this, its degree of preservation is simply remarkable. In fact, it is the best-preserved ancient temple in Egypt.

Following your visit to Edfu Temple, you will board your Dahabiya again, and it will sail to Al Ramady Island where it will be tied up for the night. As usual, dinner will be served in the evening, and you will be spend this night of you cruise on the water alongside Al Ramady Island.

The 4th day of your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary once again begins before breakfast. If you are awake at this time, then it really is a wonderful time to be out on deck. At the usual time, breakfast will be served on the water while you are sailing to Aswan via el Sheikh Fadl Island where it will tie up for a while.

Enjoy another good onboard lunch while you are sailing, and then shortly after you have finished eating, you will arrive at the island. Today, instead of having afternoon tea and dinner on the boat, you will have your tea and dinner on el Sheikh Fadl Island.

After enjoying a delicious dinner on the island, you will once again boar the river yacht, and then it will sail on to Aswan where it will tie up for the night. Enjoy the last night of your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary on the water at Aswan.

Sadly, this is the last day of your Merit Dahabiya Nile River cruise itinerary, but before you start to say goodbye, first enjoy another good breakfast and a very enjoyable excursion to see two wonderful attractions.

The first place you will visit today is the ancient Philae Temple which was moved in entirety to higher ground in order to save it from the rising waters of Lake Nasser after the Aswan High Dam was constructed.

Next, you will be taken to see the Aswan High Dam itself, a dam which quite literally changed both the face and the future of Egypt forever.

Finally, it will be time for you to return to the Merit Dahabiya to check out, and to collect your belongings. When the time is right, we will once again be escorting you to the airport or the train station, dependent on what your onward travel arrangements are.

From all of us at Luxor and Aswan Travel, we hope and believe that your cruise was everything you expected it to be and more. Have a safe and happy onward journey.