One guide in English, written for British travellers, to all four kinds of Egyptian cruise: 5★ Nile boats, private dahabiya sailing, Lake Nasser voyages to Abu Simbel and Red Sea dive liveaboards. Every one booked direct by our own team in Cairo.
An Egypt cruise isn't just a mode of transportation - it's the experience of travel itself. From the temple of Karnak in Luxor to the temples carved into the cliff of Abu Simbel, via the Nubian stopovers of Kom Ombo and Edfu, sailing on the Nile or Lake Nasser allows you to visit the major sites without travel or intermediate hotels. The cabin becomes a mobile hotel, the upper deck becomes a lounge, and each awakening opens onto a new millennial landscape.
There are in fact four cruise formats in Egypt, and they differ in price structure, length, the kind of traveller they suit and the temples they reach. Most people have only heard of the classic 5★ boats plying between Luxor and Aswan, yet a private dahabiya, a few nights on Lake Nasser or a Red Sea diving trip are entirely different propositions, and they span a wide range of budgets.
Put together by our English-speaking team based in Cairo, this guide sets out every format, weighs them against each other frankly, and points you to the best fit for the kind of traveller you are, the money you want to spend and the time of year.
Here is a summary comparison before exploring each format in detail. The majority of competing sites only deal with Nile cruises - when in practice you have the choice between four completely different worlds.
| Format | Duration | Cabins | Price pp | Temples | Ideal audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nile 5★ classic | 3 to 7 nights | 60-130 | £620-£1,390 | Philae, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Valley of the Kings, Karnak | Families, first trip, sociable travelers |
| Private Dahabiya | 5 to 8 nights | 4-12 | £2,150-£3,460 | Same sites + off-trail stops (El Kab, Gebel Silsila) | Couples, honeymoon, small groups |
| Lake Nasser | 3-4 nights | 40-65 | £850-£1,390 | Abou Simbel, Kalabsha, Wadi El Seboua, Amada | Archeology enthusiasts, photographers |
| Red Sea (yacht/diving) | 5 to 10 nights | 10-30 | £690-£1,690 | None (seaside/diving stay) | Certified divers, warm sea all year round |
None of our competitors in France combine these four options - most subcontract to local agencies and only offer standardized 5★ boats. Book directly with SEV in Cairo gives you access to the entire country's offering, without any additional intermediaries and with 100% English-speaking monitoring.
The most popular and accessible format. The 5★ boats which sail between Luxor and Aswan (or vice versa) offer an ideal compromise between high-end comfort and an intensive cultural program. The classic descent lasts 4 nights (Luxor → Aswan) and the 3 night ascent (Aswan → Luxor) - the difference coming from the stopovers and the direction of the current.
Of the 280-plus vessels working the Nile, no more than thirty or so genuinely merit the 5★ Premium tag once you weigh up upkeep, food and crew. The boats our team turns to first are the Sonesta Star Goddess, Mövenpick MS Royal Lily, Oberoi Philae, Steigenberger Legacy and Nile Adventurer.
For an in-depth boat review, check out our ultimate guide to Nile cruise 2026 or our comparison best Nile cruise ship 2026.
Also discover our typology page dedicated to cruises on the Nile with all of our 5★ and dahabiya packages.
A dahabiya is the old Egyptian lateen-rigged sailing barge, revived by devotees over the past twenty years. The formula: no more than 4 to 12 cabins, two triangular sails, progress at the wind's pace, moorings at villages the big boats sail past. It is the mirror image of a 5★ cruiser: fewer passengers, far more quiet, near-private service.
Two ways to do it: take a cabin on a shared dahabiya (8 to 12 cabins aboard), or charter the whole boat for a group of friends or a honeymoon. Chartering pushes the cost up to £5,230-£9,230 for 5-8 nights, but nothing else on the river compares with it.
Discover our dahabiya packages: The Nile in Dahabeya (7 nights), Nebyt Dahabiya (5 nights), Dahabiyas Nuun and Nuut and combined Cairo + Dahabeya 9 days.
Few corners of Egyptian tourism are as little known as Lake Nasser. It came into being when the Aswan High Dam was filled in the 1960s, a man-made lake 550 km long lying over old Nubia and sheltering the temples that UNESCO rescued. Very few boats sail it: just 4 in 2026, the Eugenie, Kasr Ibrim, Prince Abbas and Nubian Sea, so you will share it with hardly anyone.
Cruises run for 3 nights (Aswan to Abu Simbel) or 4 nights (the round trip). Boats leave from Aswan's harbour, right beside the High Dam. Anyone with a serious interest in archaeology who would rather see Abu Simbel without the coach parties arriving from Aswan or Luxor will find this the perfect answer.
To dig deeper into this region, we have two guides for you: Cruise Lake Nasser: temples and landscapes, and our Abu Simbel complete guide.
Say "Egyptian cruise" and hardly anyone thinks of the Red Sea, yet it has plenty to offer travellers who want pharaohs first and then a spell by the sea or under it. There are two options:
Vessels of 10 to 30 cabins built around scuba diving. Routes take in the Brothers Islands (wrecks, hammerheads), Daedalus Reef, Elphinstone Reef and Saint John's Reef below Marsa Alam. Open Water certification is the minimum, Advanced better. Cost: £690-£1,690 for 7 nights, all-inclusive with unlimited diving.
Family boats that run along the coast with diving and swimming stops. Lower price (£500-£850/week), mixed public (non-divers accepted).
Consult our destination guides: Hurghada, best dive sites Red Sea, Marsa Alam beaches and diving.
Almost all travelers are not satisfied with an isolated cruise - they combine the cruise with Cairo (Pyramids + Grand Egyptian Museum) and sometimes an extension Red Sea or Abu Simbel. Here are the most popular handsets in 2026:
Most popular format. Day 1: Arrival in Cairo on your flight to Egypt, VIP welcome and transfer. 2 nights in Cairo with Pyramids and Grand Museum, then domestic flight Cairo-Luxor which we organize, boarding, descent of the Nile to Aswan. Average price 2026: £990-£1,620 pp all inclusive.
Adds an extra night in Aswan so you can set off at first light by coach (3h30) for Abu Simbel and come back that evening. Cost: £1,300-£2,000pp.
The full circuit: 3 nights in Cairo, a 7-night Nile cruise and 4 nights at a 5★ all-inclusive hotel in Hurghada. Cost: £1,760-£2,920 pp.
Three combinations, bookable through us: Nile Cruise 2026 and Cairo for the classic pairing, Cairo + Cruise + Hurghada with the sea, and our 12 days tour from Cairo to Marsa Alam.
The tourist season on the Nile extends fromOctober to April. Here are the features month by month:
| Month | Temperature Luxor | Crowd | Average cruise price |
|---|---|---|---|
| October | 20-32°C | High (recovery) | £920-£1,230 |
| November | 15-28°C | Very high | £1,000-£1,390 |
| December | 10-24°C | Very high (Christmas) | £1,150-£1,690 |
| January | 9-23°C | Average (post-holiday calm) | £690-£1,080 |
| February - March | 11-28°C | Very high | £1,000-£1,460 |
| April | 16-34°C | High (Easter) | £920-£1,390 |
| May - September | 22-42°C | Low (very hot) | £540-£920 |
The Red Sea never closes: the sea sits at 22-25°C through the winter and 26-29°C in summer. Lake Nasser keeps the same seasons as the Nile, though visitor numbers swing far less.
For a month-by-month picture of the weather, see when to go to Egypt 2026, Egypt weather 2026 (3 cities), or one of our monthly pages such as February 2026 and November 2026.
What you pay swings a great deal with format, nights, season and standard of boat. Below are realistic 2026 brackets for each option. Every package includes the domestic Egyptian flights (Cairo-Luxor, Aswan-Abu Simbel), booked for you by our team:
| Formula | Cruise alone (pp) | Combined Cairo + cruise (pp) |
|---|---|---|
| Nile 5★ - 4 nights | £620-£920 | £850-£1,230 |
| Nile 5★ - 7 nights | £920-£1,390 | £1,150-£1,770 |
| Private Dahabiya - 5 nights | £2,150-£2,920 | £2,460-£3,390 |
| Lake Nasser - 3 nights | £850-£1,230 | £1,150-£1,690 |
| Red Sea yacht diving - 7n | £690-£1,690 | £1,080-£2,150 |
These ranges generally include: cabin, full board, English-speaking guides at the temples, transfers between the airport and the boat. Are not included : visas (30 USD), tips (£50-£80/person/week), alcoholic drinks on board, options such as hot air ballooning in Luxor (£80) or Abu Simbel by plane (£250).
For a detailed comparison: Nile cruise price 2026 and Cheap Nile cruise 2026.
Honeymoon or honeymoon? Private Dahabiya or Nile balcony suite 5★. Family with children? 5★ boat with entertainment and swimming pool. Passionate about archaeology? Lake Nasser. Certified diver? Red Sea.
3-4 nights: Lake Nasser or Short Nile. 5-7 nights: Full Nile or Dahabiya. 10+ days: combined Cairo + Nile + Red Sea.
Less than £1,150: Nile 5★ or Red Sea yacht diving. £1,150-£2,310: combined Cairo + Nile 7n. £2,310+: Private Dahabiya.
Winter (Dec-Feb): Nile or Lake Nasser, gentle weather. Summer (June-August): Red Sea alone, the Nile valley being too hot.
Every SEV guide is a licensed English speaker. Crews on the boats we select speak good English, and often a little French besides, something many travellers do not think to ask about.
Sem Élégant Voyage is a local agency based in Cairo since 2020 - not a international tour operator that subcontracts to an Egyptian DMC. This changes a lot of things for you.
Read them reviews from our English-speaking travelers or discover the SEV team in Cairo.
For a more intimate alternative to the large ships, discover our Nile dahabiya cruise: three five-star sailing boats, Iris, Akhenaton and Per-ba, sailing between Aswan and Luxor.
