Departs every Friday, from Aswan
A compact, wind-powered break on the Nile: three nights, full board, sailing north from Aswan towards Luxor. Whichever of our three boats you pick, the Iris, the Akhenaton or the Per-ba, you get a private guide and an air-conditioned car laid on for every stop along the way.
From £1,220 per person
Think of this as the short-haul entry point into our Nile dahabiya cruise collection: a privately chartered sailing boat leaving Aswan every Friday, for three nights of full board on the way to Luxor. Three boats cover it, the Iris, the Akhenaton and the Per-ba, each with a private guide and a private air-conditioned car for every stop and every transfer.
It sits at the shorter end of what we offer, built to bolt onto a wider Egypt trip rather than stand alone: a few days in Cairo beforehand, say, or heading further south once you disembark in Aswan. If you would rather stretch the sailing out and have more time on the water between temples, the Luxor to Aswan cruise in 4 or 7 nights runs the opposite direction every Monday.
It works well for a honeymoon squeezed into a single week away, or for travellers who have already ticked off Luxor's temples on an earlier trip and now just want the sailing itself, between Aswan and Kom Ombo. Our honeymoon in Egypt page covers other ways to shape that sort of trip, and our guide to departing from Aswan walks through how the route usually plays out.
The 3-night booking covers the same eight sites as the longer cruise, at the same five-star, full-board standard. The difference is pace: more visits fit into three days rather than spread over four or seven. Our guide to dahabiya cruising versus a Nile cruise ship covers more broadly what sets this style of holiday apart from a large cruise liner.
Every boat in the fleet works this Friday route. The visits and the full-board standard stay identical across all three; what changes is the cabin line-up.
The widest cabin choice of the three, four tiers running from Double Deluxe to a Royal cabin with its own veranda.
Just two cabin tiers, Double Deluxe or Double with veranda, which keeps her the best-value entry point into the fleet.
A short list too, Double Deluxe or a Junior cabin built around a private veranda.
Starting from Aswan lands this booking within easy reach of Abu Simbel, whose two temples most people visit by road, on a day trip, either before boarding or right at the start of the sailing. That is one of the real advantages of choosing Aswan over Luxor as your starting point: the drive is only around three hours, short enough to bolt onto the front or back of a 3-night cruise without much trouble.
Our complete guide to Abu Simbel goes into the history of the site and how it came to be moved in the 1960s.
Because Aswan sits so close to Abu Simbel, this 3-night booking tends to get built around that fact: rather than tacking on a whole extra night purely for one excursion, most travellers fit it in before they board, or on day one, depending on what the timings allow.
The SEV team in Cairo works out the exact running order with you at the quote stage, based on your chosen departure date and when you land in Aswan.
The Iris runs four tiers: Double Deluxe as the entry point, Junior cabins split between the main deck and an upper deck with veranda, and a Royal cabin at the top, also on the upper deck with veranda. The Akhenaton and the Per-ba each keep it simpler, Double Deluxe against a single veranda category.
Over just three nights, a private veranda is worth weighing up if you want that view from your own cabin from the very first morning. If you are torn between two boats, the SEV team in Cairo will talk you through budget and dates.
October through to April is generally reckoned the more comfortable stretch for sailing the Nile, with gentler daytime heat than the summer months bring. June to August turns very hot right across the valley, which makes the crossing harder going for most people. Friday sailings run year-round within the windows set out below, though festive dates get booked up months in advance.
Regardless of season, mornings tend to be the best time for visits, ahead of the midday heat on the open sites, while the softer light of late afternoon is best enjoyed from the deck itself.
The fares below show the price per person for each dahabiya and cabin category on this 3-night route departing from Aswan every Friday. All prices are in pounds sterling.
Large figures: 2026-2027 season departures. “Festive”: Christmas, New Year and Easter departures.
From £1,380 per person
Per person, full board, visits, entry tickets and private guide included
From £1,220 per person
Per person, full board, visits, entry tickets and private guide included
From £1,530 per person
Per person, full board, visits, entry tickets and private guide included
Runs four times a year: 1 Oct to 21 Dec 2026, all of Jan 2027, 1 Feb to 30 Apr 2027, and all of May 2027.
Three fixed dates only: Christmas (Mon 21 Dec 2026), New Year (Mon 28 Dec 2026), Easter (Fri 26 Mar 2027 southbound, Mon 29 Mar 2027 northbound).
Prices converted from euros at the European Central Bank reference rate of 2 October 2026; your quote confirms the final amount.
The eight sites below are included on this 3-night cruise. The exact order of visits is confirmed at the time of booking, according to the timings of your particular departure.
For a fuller account of the route, our guide to the Luxor Aswan itinerary covers both directions of travel, and our pages on Aswan and Luxor introduce each city more broadly.
Most of our travellers fly out from Heathrow, Gatwick or Manchester, generally into Cairo, with a short connecting flight or a road transfer on to Aswan for this itinerary. Timings vary by airline and by season, so the SEV team maps out a realistic arrival window against your Friday departure once you request a quote, allowing enough of a buffer for a delayed connection.
Before travelling, it is worth checking the FCDO's current travel advice at gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, which is updated regularly and covers entry requirements as well as safety guidance for the areas you will visit.
Because this cruise runs a fixed 3-night pattern with a Friday start, most travellers either arrive in Egypt a day or two early to allow for any flight disruption, or combine the cruise with a few nights in Cairo either side. The SEV team can build either version into your itinerary, alongside the road transfer or the short domestic flight down to Aswan, depending on what suits your dates and your budget.
A few images of the Iris under sail, and of daily life aboard a dahabiya on the Nile.
This cruise departs every Friday, sailing from Aswan towards Luxor.
Three five-star dahabiyas: the Iris, the Akhenaton and the Per-ba, all full board.
Visits to Philae, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, Edfu, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon, with all site entrance tickets, a private guide and a private air-conditioned vehicle.
Abu Simbel is generally visited by road, on a day excursion from Aswan, roughly three hours' drive each way.
It mainly depends on the deck and on whether the cabin has a private veranda. The SEV team in Cairo can advise according to your budget and your dates.
A Friday departure is offered over Easter, on Friday 26 March 2027, at the festive fare.
Contact the SEV team in Cairo by WhatsApp or through our contact page, naming the dahabiya and cabin category you want. We confirm availability and the detailed programme with your quote.
