Middle East and Red Sea · Egypt
The Nile, five nights, Luxor to Aswan
Egypt for us is the Nile: five nights from Luxor to Aswan on ARAX, Kazazian Cruises' 66-metre river boat, sailing at dawn so you are at the Valley of the Kings, Edfu and Kom Ombo when they open and before the coach parties arrive, with a long lunch under way each day and one day given to a beach on an island in the river. The season runs October to April; we rate November and March highest, with December to February cooler and busiest. Add Cairo and the pyramids at either end, or Abu Simbel by air from Aswan.
Season
October to April. Our pick: November, and March
Fly into
Luxor, via Cairo. About 5 hours London to Cairo, then an hour south
Board at
Luxor, 15:00 on day one. Disembark Aswan, 08:00 on day six
The river
About 200 kilometres, sailed south against the current, mostly at dawn
Ashore
Valley of the Kings and Queens, Hatshepsut, Edfu, Kom Ombo, the unfinished obelisk
The boat
ARAX, 66m, run by Kazazian Cruises with a boat manager on board for every site
Most people see the Nile from a floating hotel with three hundred other passengers, queuing off the gangway into the same temple at the same time. The week we send people on is the opposite of that. Kazazian's boat is small, the whole boat is yours, and it moves when the big ships do not: lines off at five in the morning, so you wake already sailing and are standing in Edfu or Kom Ombo an hour before anyone else.
The honest advice is to give it the full five nights and not to over-plan the days. The temples are the reason to come, but the part people talk about afterwards is the river itself: the long lunch as the banks slide past, tea on deck as the cliffs at Gabal el Silsila close in, and the day in the middle when the crew set a beach on an island and nothing at all is scheduled.
Where we actually go
Not a directory. Every entry is on the week we send people on.
Eat
Dinner under the stars on Al Baloli island
Between Kom Ombo and Aswan
The crew set a table on the bank of the island where the boat anchors on day four, and serve dinner as the last light goes off the water. Optional, and the one thing we would not skip.
Eat
Lunch under way
Every day from day two
The boat sails as you sit down and the banks go by for the whole meal. Egyptian food, done properly. Ask the boat manager for the koshari and the stuffed pigeon at least once.
Eat
The farewell dinner and Nubian show
Aswan, the last night
The music of the south to close the week, after a farewell dinner on board alongside in Aswan. Tell the boat manager early if there is a birthday in the group.
Swim and anchor
Al Baloli island
The river between Kom Ombo and Aswan
A beach set up on the bank, shade and loungers, a snack lunch, and the whole afternoon with nothing scheduled. The boat anchors off the island for the night.
Swim and anchor
Gabal el Silsila from the deck
Between Edfu and Kom Ombo
The Nile narrows between sandstone cliffs quarried for the temples you have just seen. Tea is served on deck as the boat passes through. Do not be below.
Swim and anchor
Dawn on the river
Days three and five
The boat slips its lines at five, twice in the week. Be on deck with a coffee for the first hour. The river is empty, the light is flat and gold, and this is what you came for.
Activities ashore
The Valley of the Kings
Luxor West Bank, day two
Across the river by nine with the boat manager: the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut's temple cut into the cliff. Five hours does it properly.
Activities ashore
Edfu, the temple of Horus
Day three, after noon
The most complete temple in Egypt, roof still on, inner rooms still dark. Reached from the boat after the morning crowds have gone.
Activities ashore
Kom Ombo at eight
Day four
The double temple to Sobek the crocodile god and Horus, right on the bank above the boat, an hour before anyone else arrives.
Activities ashore
Luxor Temple after dark
Day one, a short walk from the quay
Floodlit and almost empty in the evening. Walk over after the boat brief and before dinner.
Activities ashore
The unfinished obelisk
Aswan, day five
Forty metres of granite still lying where it cracked in the quarry, and the clearest explanation of how the temples were built.
How we'd plan it
Six days, one boat, no coaches
The week as Kazazian run it. Sail at dawn while you sleep, be at each temple when it opens, a long lunch under way, and one day in the middle given to the river.
Day 1 · Luxor
Board, brief, Luxor Temple after dark
Board at three, lunch on board, the temple floodlit five minutes from the quay, then dinner and a belly dance and Tanoura show. Overnight in Luxor.
Day 2 · West Bank and Esna
The Valley of the Kings, then sail
Across the river by nine for the Kings, the Queens and Hatshepsut. Sail at half past two with lunch under way. Overnight at Esna.
Day 3 · Edfu and Kom Ombo
Dawn sail, Edfu, tea in the gorge
Lines off at five. Edfu's temple of Horus after noon, then Gabal el Silsila from the deck with afternoon tea. Overnight at Kom Ombo.
Day 4 · Kom Ombo and Al Baloli
The crocodile temple, then the island
Kom Ombo at eight, then a beach on the bank of Al Baloli island, snack lunch, and dinner under the stars if you want it. Overnight at anchor.
Day 5 · Aswan
The obelisk and the farewell dinner
Dawn sail into Aswan, the unfinished obelisk in the granite quarry, lunch on board, then the farewell dinner and a Nubian show. Overnight in Aswan.
Day 6 · Aswan
Breakfast, then Abu Simbel or Cairo
Disembark at eight. Fly south to Abu Simbel and be back for lunch, or on to Cairo and the pyramids. We build either onto the week.
Add Cairo and the pyramids at either end, or Abu Simbel by air from Aswan. We build both onto the week.
Prefer the sea?
Egypt's other water: the Red Sea
The same months, a different Egypt. Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are the most accessible warm-water diving on earth, and the motor yachts below are live from our charter list. Ask us if you want a Nile week and a reef week in one trip.
CORAL OCEAN
Lürssen · 73m · 1994, refit 2026
12 guests | 6 cabins | 28 crew
€650k – 790k
IMLADRIS
Lagoon · 25m · 2025
8 guests | 4 cabins | 4 crew
€75k – 85k
SALUZI
Austal · 69m · 2003, refit 2014
32 guests | 16 cabins | 37 crew
€480k
DARK HORSE
Riva · 30m · 2018
10 guests | 5 cabins | 5 crew
€95k – 110k
PIXIE
Fountaine Pajot · 20m · 2022
9 guests | 4 cabins | 3 crew
€32k – 43k
PANAKEIA
Astondoa · 46m · 2008, refit 2025
11 guests | 5 cabins | 12 crew
€160k
Arax
Kazazian Cruises · 66m · 2022
18 guests | 9 cabins
Price on request
7 yachts in rotation. The order changes with every visit so no boat is always last.
Questions we get asked
The Nile by private boat, answered
Common questions
When is the best time for a Nile cruise from Luxor to Aswan?
October to April. November and March are our picks: warm days in the high twenties, cool evenings and fewer people at the temples. December to February is the peak and the coolest; summer is too hot to recommend.
Which boat does Ahoy Club use on the Nile?
ARAX, a 66-metre Nile boat run by Kazazian Cruises, a family-run operator based in Cairo. She carries its own manager who briefs you on board and accompanies every site visit, the whole boat is yours, and the evenings are Egyptian: a belly dance and Tanoura show on the first night, a Nubian show on the last.
How long is the Luxor to Aswan cruise?
Five nights and six days. Board in Luxor at three in the afternoon on day one, sail south through Esna, Edfu and Kom Ombo with a beach day on Al Baloli island, and disembark in Aswan at eight on the morning of day six.
Which temples are visited?
On the West Bank at Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens and Hatshepsut's temple. Then the temple of Horus at Edfu, the double temple at Kom Ombo, and the unfinished obelisk in the granite quarry at Aswan. Luxor Temple is a short walk from the boat on the first evening.
Can we add Cairo, the pyramids or Abu Simbel?
Yes. Cairo and the pyramids fit at either end, with a one-hour flight to Luxor to board. Abu Simbel is a morning by air from Aswan after you disembark, back for lunch. We build both onto the week.
Does Ahoy Club also charter in the Egyptian Red Sea?
Yes. Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh share the October to May season, the motor yachts there are live on our charter list, and a Nile week followed by a Red Sea week is a natural pairing. The Red Sea section on this page shows what is available now.
Want this shaped around you?
Tell us the dates, who is coming and whether Cairo or Abu Simbel is on the list. We come back with the boat's availability, the rate and the week.