5-day Nile cruise: the 4-night trip from Luxor to Aswan

A 5-day Nile cruise is the classic way to sail from Luxor to Aswan: four nights on board, five calendar days, about 200 km against the current. It visits the same temples as the shorter downstream trip, but at a pace that leaves room for an evening at Kom Ombo and an afternoon on the water in Aswan. If you have the extra day, this is the version we would book.

5 days, 4 nights: the upstream half of the loop

Platform titles count days, not nights: a "5-Day" cruise is 4 nights, a "4-Day" cruise is 3. Most Nile ships run a weekly loop, 4 nights upstream from Luxor and 3 nights back down from Aswan. The extra night upstream is not padding: the timetable spreads the same sightseeing over four days instead of three.

As with every platform cruise, the listing promises "a 5-star Nile cruise" and the operator assigns the ship. After booking, ask for the ship's name, your cabin deck and the list of entry fees included. Our guide to how many nights you need compares every length.

4 nights Nile cruise itinerary, Luxor to Aswan

This is the published Monday programme of Sonesta St George. Other ships on the route follow the same order with slightly different times.

Mövenpick's Monday programme runs in the same order with a few changes. It sails through the Esna lock on the afternoon of day 2 and spends that night at Edfu. Kom Ombo comes at 15:30 on day 3, and day 4 adds the Unfinished Obelisk, then a felucca (a traditional sailing boat) round Kitchener's Island at 15:00. Sonesta's full timetable is on its itinerary page.

What the fourth night buys

• Kom Ombo at dusk. Upstream ships reach the temple in the late afternoon or evening; it admits visitors until 20:00. Downstream ships come at 07:00–09:00. Seen lit up after dark, it is the best-timed temple visit of the trip.
• A daylight river. Most of the route's daylight sailing is the stretch from Edfu to Kom Ombo and Aswan, and upstream you see it on day 3. Depending on the ship, you pass the Esna lock in daylight or in the evening rather than at 03:30.
• An easy Aswan afternoon. The 3-night trip has no time for the Botanical Garden or a sail between the granite islands. Here it is in the programme.
• No sightseeing after check-out. Everything is done by day 4. On day 5 you leave at 08:00, free for a flight, the Abu Simbel trip or more time in Aswan.

The trade-off: you arrive in Luxor by noon on day 1. If you are coming from Cairo, the Abela sleeper train 86 leaves Giza at 20:15 and reaches Luxor at 06:10, in time for boarding. A single cabin from Giza to Aswan costs US$157.50, or US$115.50 per person in a double (abelatrains.com). Flights take about an hour.

Which day the 4-night cruise leaves Luxor

Each ship keeps a fixed weekday, so the day you pick decides the ship you can get.

The luxury Oberoi Zahra mostly leaves Luxor on Tuesday. Some ships stop in summer: Mayfair's fleet and Mövenpick's Royal Lily and Sun Ray don't sail June to August, and the Oberoi ships skip June. See when to go.

5-day Nile cruise prices: listings and named ships

The best-reviewed 4-night listing costs from $840, against $450 for a 3-night. Per night that is $210 against $150, partly because the 4-night listings bundle Abu Simbel.

Our picks for a 5-day Nile cruise

1

Best all-round

4.4 from 69 reviews, from $840: guided temple visits from Luxor to Aswan on "a 5-star Nile cruise", with Abu Simbel included.

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

Luxor: 5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel

4.4 (69)

from $840Check dates

2

Most reviewed, with a balloon

4.2 from 185 reviews, from $1,343: adds a balloon flight over Luxor to Abu Simbel and the temples.

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

From Luxor: 5-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Balloon Ride

4.2 (185)

from $1,343Check dates

3

You know the ship

From $975: one of only two 4-night listings that names its ship (Princess Sarah). Only 2 reviews so far.

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

Princess Sarah Cruise 5 days 4 nights from Luxor to Aswan

4.8 (2)

from $975Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

From Luxor: 5-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Balloon Ride

4.2 (185)

from $1,343Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

Luxor: 5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel

4.4 (69)

from $840Check dates

⛵ Hurghada

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Hurghada

Hurghada: 5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel

4.2 (24)

from $1,020Check dates

⛵ Cairo

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Cairo

From Cairo by Plane: 5 Days & 4 Nights Nile Cruise to Luxor

3.6 (40)

from $1,800Check dates

⛵ Cairo

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Cairo

From Cairo: 5-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan & Balloon by Flights

3.8 (16)

from $1,800Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide4 nightsFrom Luxor

5 Days 4 Nights Nile Cruise from Luxor, Aswan & Abu simbel

3.8 (12)

from $750Check dates

See everything on GetYourGuide →See everything on Headout →See everything on Tiqets →Prices checked on 19 October 2026

The same "5 days from Luxor with Abu Simbel" trip appears on two platforms. Headout is cheaper today and its title adds a balloon flight, but it has no reviews yet. Ship, cabin and inclusions may differ between sellers, so compare the "includes" lists.

The other listing that names its ship is Radamis II, from $1,860 with no reviews: about double the unnamed 4-night cruise, on a ship once managed by Mövenpick (see our Radamis review).

Booked through an Egyptian agency or the operator, named ships quote per person in a double cabin for 4 nights, summer and winter:

*Summer means May to August (May to September for Salacia); prices seen with Egyptian agencies.

Mayfair publishes $230–330 per person per night including sightseeing, entry fees and airport transfers. That makes it one of the few ships whose price you can check before you ask. The full picture is in our Nile cruise prices guide.

Adding Abu Simbel and the balloon to a 4-night cruise

Abu Simbel lies about 280–300 km south of Aswan, 3.5–4 hours each way by road, with pre-dawn departures. On the 4-night cruise it falls on day 4 or after you disembark on day 5, with a 03:00–04:00 start. Short flights from Aswan take about 45 minutes. The ticket is EGP 822, or EGP 1,272 on 22 February and 22 October (official ticket page). More in our Abu Simbel guide.

The balloon flies only from Luxor's West Bank. On a Luxor start, day 2 is your only dawn in Luxor on board, so the flight comes before the West Bank tour. Pick-up is about 05:00–05:30 in winter and 04:30–05:00 in summer. If wind grounds the flights that morning, there is no second chance on the cruise. Arrive a day early and fly on your first Luxor morning if the balloon matters to you (balloon guide).

Entry fees and extras

Most GetYourGuide listings don't say whether entry fees are included. If "entrance fees" is missing from "includes", budget EGP 4,060 per adult for the eight core sites (students half):

Tutankhamun (EGP 700) and Seti I (EGP 2,000) are extra tickets inside the Valley of the Kings. At Edfu, horse carriages take you from the quay to the temple; on many packages the ride is included, so ask. Agencies suggest tips of roughly US$5–10 per person per night for the crew and US$10–15 per person per day for the guide. Drinks are extra unless the package says otherwise.

Luxury, dahabiya and other 4-night options

Luxury. The Oberoi Philae sails 4 nights either way with the tombs of Tutankhamun and Ramses VI included. The Oberoi Zahra's rates include entry fees and guide. A&K publishes its Sun Boat IV 4-night rate: $3,235 per person for October–November and January–March departures, against $1,654 for its June–August 2026 sailings, entry fees included, transfers not. No platform sells these ships; see our luxury Nile cruise guide.

Dahabiya. Most dahabiyas sail upstream from Esna to Aswan in 4–5 nights. They stop at El Kab and Gebel el-Silsila, which big ships pass by, and skip the Luxor sights. The platform option is a 6-day dahabiya from Luxor to Aswan, 4.1 from 9 reviews, from $1,400. Read our dahabiya guide first.

From Cairo or Hurghada. "5 days from Cairo" listings fly you south; both rate below 4 and cost from $1,800 (cruises from Cairo). From Hurghada, the 4-night Hurghada: 5 Days Nile Cruise with Guided Tours & Abu Simbel starts with a drive of about four hours (4.2 from 24 reviews, from $1,020).

Questions about the 5-day Nile cruise