7-night Nile cruise: the Luxor–Aswan round trip and who sells it

A 7-night Nile cruise is a round trip between Luxor and Aswan. Most ships run a weekly loop of 4 nights upstream and 3 nights back down, and a 7-night booking simply stays on board for both legs. Sonesta's timetable is explicit about what happens on the second leg. The ship repeats its stops, but where the 3-night guests visit temples you have already seen, your programme says "free time at leisure". You don't see anything twice, and on a standard ship you see nothing new.

So the 7-night trip is a choice about pace: long sun-deck afternoons, quiet days in Aswan, no packing. For more temples, pick a programme that adds Dendera.

How long is a Nile cruise, and where 7 nights fits

The standard Luxor–Aswan cruise is 3 nights downstream or 4 nights upstream (see the 4-day and 5-day pages). Seven nights joins the two. Beyond that, the only regular longer sailing is Mövenpick's Darakum between Cairo and Aswan: 14 nights south, 12 north, with a dozen or so departures a year.

Mind the numbers in platform titles. They count days, so an "8-Day" cruise is 7 nights. A "7-Day" listing is only 6 nights, and a "6-Day" is 5. Our guide to how many nights you need sets out every length side by side.

Two "night cruises" are different products: an "overnight Nile cruise" is a single night from Aswan to Luxor (from $550, the worst value per night on the river), and a night cruise in Cairo is a two-hour dinner sailing.

8-day Nile cruise itinerary: the round trip from Luxor

This is how Sonesta's published Monday departure works when you stay for both legs (Sonesta St George).

The free days are where a 7-night cruise earns its price, so plan them. Abu Simbel is 3.5–4 hours by road from Aswan, and day 5 gives you the time without cutting into the cruise. In Luxor, day 7 is the moment for the extra-ticket tombs you skipped on day 2: Tutankhamun (EGP 700) or Seti I (EGP 2,000).

Ships and packages built around 7 nights

Sonesta and Historia also sell 7-night round trips from Luxor on Monday or from Aswan on Friday, and JAZ runs Crown Prince "Super Saver" round trips from Luxor every Monday. The luxury Oberoi Zahra sells 7 nights one way, with Dendera and an optional Abu Simbel day. Viking's 12-day package spends 8 nights on board, with Dendera and Esna. See our TUI review and luxury Nile cruise guide.

7 night Nile cruise from the UK

The simplest option is TUI. Its own Nile ships sail 7-night round trips from Luxor all winter, with non-stop TUI flights from Gatwick and Manchester, also sold as "cruise & stay" with a hotel stay in Luxor or Hurghada. Read the inclusions carefully. At launch, only the Edfu and Kom Ombo excursions were in the price, and Karnak, the Valley of the Kings and Philae were paid extras. TUI River Cruises is an adults-only brand, so check before booking with children. Prices for the coming winter are on tui.co.uk.

Classic Collection Holidays packages the Royal Princess, Semiramis II and Blue Shadow ships with UK flights. On its Semiramis II trip, Abu Simbel costs £120 by road or £280 by air, a Luxor balloon £110, and the suggested tip is £10 per person per night. Otherwise, easyJet flies Gatwick to Luxor in season and you book the cruise separately. There is no Jet2 service to Luxor, and no direct UK flight to Aswan. Egypt is two hours ahead of the UK most of the year.

7 night Nile cruise prices on the platforms

Platform 7-night cruises have very few reviews, at most 18 per listing. Treat them as unproven and read the "includes" list closely.

7-night and longer listings

1

Best rated 7-night

4.6 from 8 reviews, from $1,400: 7 nights from Luxor with guided tours, Abu Simbel and a balloon flight.

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide7 nightsFrom Luxor

Luxor: 8 Days Nile Cruise, Balloon, Guided Tours, Abu Simbel

4.6 (8)

from $1,400Check dates

2

Cheapest 7-night

From $1,258: 7 nights from Aswan with a guide, Abu Simbel and a balloon flight. Only 2 reviews.

⛵ Aswan

GetYourGuide7 nightsFrom Aswan

From Aswan: 8-Day Nile River Cruise to Luxor with Guide

4.5 (2)

from $1,258Check dates

3

Most reviewed long listing

5 nights from Luxor with a balloon flight, 4.2 from 18 reviews, from $1,500.

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide5 nightsFrom Luxor

From Luxor: 6-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Hot Air Balloon

4.2 (18)

from $1,500Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide6 nightsFrom Luxor

From Luxor: 7-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Hot Air Balloon

4.7 (10)

from $1,772Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide5 nightsFrom Luxor

From Luxor: 6-Day Nile Cruise to Aswan with Hot Air Balloon

4.2 (18)

from $1,500Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide7 nightsFrom Luxor

Luxor: 8 Days Nile Cruise, Balloon, Guided Tours, Abu Simbel

4.6 (8)

from $1,400Check dates

⛵ Luxor

GetYourGuide5 nightsFrom Luxor

Luxor to Aswan: 6-Day Dahabiya Nile Cruise with Ancient Tour

4.1 (9)

from $1,400Check dates

⛵ Aswan

GetYourGuide7 nightsFrom Aswan

From Aswan: 8-Day Nile River Cruise to Luxor with Guide

4.5 (2)

from $1,258Check dates

⛵ Aswan

GetYourGuide6 nightsFrom Aswan

Aswan: 7-Day Nile River Cruise to Luxor with Hot Air Balloon

4.0 (1)

from $1,800Check dates

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

At $1,400 for 7 nights, the best-rated round trip works out at $200 a night, against $150 for the plain 3-night cruise. Booking the 3-night plain cruise ($450) and the 4-night Luxor listing ($840) separately would cost $1,290, probably on two different ships. The 7-night saves you a change of ship, not money. With reviews this thin, a 7-night sold directly by a ship operator or a UK tour operator is the safer buy.

Is a 7 night Nile cruise worth it?

On a standard ship, it is the same sightseeing as 4 nights, so the extra three nights buy rest, not temples. We would book 7 nights in three cases:

• You want the river, not a schedule. The free days are real, and you never pack mid-week.
• The programme adds sites. Dendera on JAZ Elite Senator, Oberoi Zahra, Uniworld, AmaWaterways and Viking. Oberoi Philae's 6-night trip and the SS Sudan steamer's 5 nights add Abydos as well.
• You fly in and out of the same city. A round trip from Luxor avoids a one-way flight from Aswan.

Otherwise, spend the extra nights elsewhere. A 4-night cruise plus Cairo makes the classic "8 days Cairo and Nile cruise". Other options with new scenery: a 5-night dahabiya from Esna to Aswan, or a Lake Nasser cruise to Abu Simbel, which also runs as a 7-night round trip from Aswan.

8-day Cairo and Nile cruise packages

Many "8 day" trips combine Cairo with a shorter cruise. The best-known platform version is From Cairo: 8-Day Tour of Cairo, Luxor and Aswan with Cruise, 4.3 from 227 reviews, from $2,077. The highest rated is the 6-day All-Inclusive Egypt Highlights & Nile Cruise, 4.8 from 56 reviews, from $1,700. Flights from Cairo take about an hour to Luxor; see Nile cruises from Cairo.

Entry fees and tips over seven nights

Unless the package includes them, budget EGP 4,060 per adult for the eight core sites (students half):

Over seven nights, tips add up. Agencies suggest roughly US$5–10 per person per night for the crew, so US$35–70 each, plus US$10–15 per person per day for the guide on touring days; the ship usually announces its own figure. Uniworld is the exception: all tips are included. If you travel at New Year, expect a compulsory gala supplement on many ships (agencies quote roughly US$50–180 per person). The full price list is on the ministry's ticket shop.

Questions about the 7-night Nile cruise