Trade the rush of the road for the Nile’s own steady rhythm aboard the Oberoi Philae, a boutique cruiser that turns the journey between Luxor and Aswan into the story itself. Mornings begin with sunlight spilling across mudbrick villages and feluccas leaning into the breeze; afternoons unfold at the feet of Karnak’s colossal columns, in the sunlit courts of Edfu and Kom Ombo, and on the sacred island of Philae. Back on deck, plunge pools, panoramic lounges and quietly intuitive service make each sunset feel privately choreographed while Upper Egypt drifts past. This is how the pharaohs’ river was meant to be travelled — slowly, beautifully, without a single compromise. Book your Oberoi Philae voyage with Daily Pyramids Tours and let the current do the rest.
Step aboard the Oberoi Philae and discover why she is quietly regarded as one of the most refined ships sailing the Nile. With just a handful of generously proportioned suites, a crew that knows every guest by name and a level of finish that rivals the finest riverside resorts, this five-star sailing is tailored to travellers who value quiet luxury above all else. Across 4 or 6 spellbinding nights between Luxor and Aswan, you will trace the great temples of Upper Egypt while enjoying the impeccable Oberoi standard of hospitality afloat.
Day 1: Arrival in Aswan – Aswan City Tour
Your Egyptian journey begins the moment you land at Aswan Airport (or step out of your hotel), where a Daily Pyramids representative is waiting to greet you and stay with you throughout the day. A comfortable private, air-conditioned car whisks you first to the High Dam — a colossal barrier of stone and concrete that tamed the Nile’s ancient floods and rescued a string of Nubian monuments from disappearing beneath Lake Nasser.
From there you head to the great granite quarry that once supplied pharaonic Egypt with its obelisks, where the enormous Unfinished Obelisk still lies in the bedrock — abandoned after a fracture appeared, and offering an almost tactile lesson in how the ancients shaped stone.
A short crossing by motor-launch then delivers you to Philae Temple, the island shrine of Isis painstakingly rebuilt on Agilkia after the dam’s rising waters threatened its original home. If time and weather allow, an optional sail around Elephantine Island and the First Cataract reveals a softer, greener side of Aswan’s river landscape.
Lunch is taken at a favourite local restaurant before you transfer to your Nile cruiser to check in. Dinner is served on board, and your first night unfolds moored quietly in Aswan.
Meals: Lunch – Dinner
Day 2: Kom Ombo & Sailing to Edfu
After breakfast on board, a private vehicle carries you roughly 45 km north of Aswan to the riverbank temple of Kom Ombo, a rare double sanctuary built in perfect mirror symmetry to honour Sobek, the crocodile god, alongside Haroeris, an ancient form of Horus.
You’ll explore the twin hypostyle halls, paired ritual chambers and delicate reliefs before stepping into the adjoining Crocodile Museum, where mummified crocodiles unearthed nearby are displayed with remarkable care.
Lunch is enjoyed at a local restaurant, then you rejoin the ship as she casts off toward Edfu. The afternoon slips by on deck, with sugarcane fields, whitewashed villages and warm sandstone bluffs framing the water on either side.
An onboard briefing sets the scene for tomorrow’s visit, and the vessel moors overnight at Edfu.
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 3: Edfu Temple & Arrival in Luxor
After a leisurely breakfast, you climb into a horse-drawn carriage for the short clip-clop into Edfu town and the extraordinary Temple of Horus — the most intact ancient temple to survive in Egypt.
Inside, monumental pylons, cavernous halls and finely cut inscriptions retrace the mythic duel between Horus and Seth and the elaborate Ptolemaic rituals once performed here. So little has been lost that you can climb almost every original level, right up onto the rooftop terraces.
Back on board, the ship continues north toward Luxor, with lunch served as you sail.
On arrival, you head straight to Luxor Temple on the East Bank — a monument shaped and reshaped across the centuries by Amenhotep III, Ramesses II and later hands.
Its soaring colonnades, sunlit courts and sphinx-lined processional way still speak of the ceremonial heart of ancient Thebes. The ship remains docked in Luxor overnight.
Meals: Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner
Day 4: Luxor West Bank & Departure
After breakfast and disembarkation, you cross the Nile to the West Bank — the ancient necropolis of Thebes. The morning begins in the Valley of the Kings, where three royal tombs open their painted chambers to reveal the sacred texts once written to guide pharaohs safely through the afterlife.
Next comes the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, an architectural triumph rising in ordered terraces from the cliffs and dedicated to one of only a handful of women ever to rule Egypt as pharaoh.
A last stop is made at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated giants that once flanked the entrance to a now-vanished mortuary temple. Following lunch, you are transferred to Luxor Airport or your hotel for onward departure
Meals: Breakfast
Day 1: Arrival in Luxor – East Bank Exploration
You are met at Luxor Airport or the railway station by a Daily Pyramids representative and driven in a private, air-conditioned vehicle straight to your waiting Nile cruiser.
After check-in, the sightseeing begins with a guided tour of the Karnak Temple Complex — the largest religious site ever raised by human hands, added to and enlarged by successive pharaohs over more than two thousand years.
You continue to Luxor Temple, a New Kingdom masterpiece once linked to Karnak by the ceremonial Avenue of Sphinxes.
Lunch is taken at a local restaurant during the day before you return to the ship for a first night on board in Luxor.
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Day 2: West Bank of Luxor – Sailing Toward Edfu
After breakfast, you cross the river to Luxor’s West Bank for a guided descent into the Valley of the Kings, where more than 60 royal tombs still preserve vividly painted scenes drawn from the ancient Egyptian imagination of the afterlife.
The route continues to the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari, its terraces cut dramatically into the cliffs to honour Egypt’s most formidable female pharaoh.
A short stop follows at the Colossi of Memnon, two seated giants marking all that remains of Amenhotep III’s once-vast mortuary temple.
After lunch at a local restaurant, you return to the ship as she casts off south for Edfu. The night is spent gliding along the Nile.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3: Edfu and Kom Ombo Temples
The ship arrives in Edfu and a horse-drawn carriage carries you into town for a guided visit to the Temple of Horus.
This astonishingly complete Ptolemaic sanctuary — dedicated to the falcon-headed Horus — is widely considered the best preserved ancient temple in Egypt.
Back on board, you sail on to Kom Ombo, where a distinctive twin temple stands at the water’s edge, jointly consecrated to Sobek, the crocodile god, and Haroeris, an aspect of Horus.
Its perfectly mirrored plan and dramatic riverside setting make it one of the Nile’s most singular monuments. Lunch is served on board as you sail, and the ship continues toward Aswan.
Overnight is spent on board in Aswan.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4: Aswan Highlights and Nile Sailing
The morning opens at the High Aswan Dam, a modern engineering landmark whose creation of Lake Nasser transformed Egyptian agriculture and rewrote the country’s relationship with its river.
You then walk into the ancient granite quarry to see the Unfinished Obelisk, a colossal shaft left half-carved in the bedrock and offering a rare, unfiltered look at how the pharaohs shaped stone.
A motorboat carries you across to Philae Island for a guided visit to the Temple of Isis, a Ptolemaic shrine dismantled and painstakingly relocated after the dam raised the waters around its original setting.
Lunch is served at a local restaurant, followed by a traditional felucca sail around Elephantine Island — a quiet, wind-driven glide past granite outcrops and waterside life.
You return to the ship for your final night on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5: Departure from Aswan
After a final breakfast on board, you check out of the ship and are driven by private, air-conditioned vehicle to Aswan Airport or the railway station in good time for your onward journey.
Meals: Breakfast
At Daily Pyramids Tours, all prices are quoted in US Dollars (USD) unless otherwise specified. However, we gladly accept payments in other major currencies such as Euros (EUR), British Pounds (GBP), and more, based on the official daily exchange rate on the payment date.
Our prices reflect current market conditions, seasonal fluctuations, and service availability, so they may change without prior notice. Once a deposit or full payment is received, your booking price is locked in and guaranteed.
What’s Included in Our Packages:
Please check your specific booking confirmation and itinerary for exact inclusions and exclusions.
Holiday Supplement:
A 25% surcharge applies to all Nile Cruises and tour packages booked during Christmas, New Year, and Easter holidays due to peak demand.
To ensure a smooth booking process with Daily Pyramids Tours, our payment terms vary depending on the service type:
After payment, you will receive written confirmation, a tailored itinerary, and travel documents via email. Receipts for all payments will be provided.
We understand plans can change. Our cancellation terms are:
Refunds, when applicable, are processed within 14 business days of receiving your written cancellation notice. Some cruises or hotels may have stricter cancellation policies, which will be clearly communicated in your itinerary.
At Daily Pyramids Tours, we welcome families and offer the following children’s pricing:
Discounts apply only when children share accommodation with two full-paying adults. Note that certain Nile Cruises and luxury hotels may have different policies or restrictions for young children, which will be detailed in your itinerary if relevant.
Some special experiences are optional and not included in standard packages. You may book these in advance or arrange on-site (subject to availability). Examples include:
Optional tours are payable in USD or local currency (EGP). We recommend booking in advance, especially during peak seasons.
While our packages are comprehensive, travelers should budget for:
We advise carrying small amounts of local currency (EGP) for convenience, especially for tipping and shopping at local markets.
Tipping (“baksheesh”) is a customary way to show appreciation for good service in Egypt. Though not mandatory, it is widely appreciated:
Tipping is generally not included in your package price. We recommend carrying small USD or EGP bills for tipping convenience.
What you pay for a Nile cruise depends largely on how long you sail, the standard of the ship and the services rolled into the fare. As a general guide, expect somewhere between $600 and $900 per person for a 3-4 night sailing on a mid-range to luxury vessel, with the more elaborate premium cruises and longer itineraries commanding higher rates.
The sweet spot for a Nile sailing runs from October to April, when daytime temperatures are pleasant and sightseeing feels comfortable rather than punishing. It is best to avoid the height of summer — May to September — when the heat in Upper Egypt can be genuinely extreme.
Absolutely. Few ways of exploring Egypt marry sightseeing and relaxation quite so gracefully — a Nile cruise delivers you effortlessly between the great temples and tombs while the river itself provides an ever-changing view. You gain comfort, unpacking only once, and a rich cultural rhythm you simply can’t replicate by road.
Swimming in the Nile itself is not advised. Water quality, unseen currents and the presence of local wildlife all argue against it, and reputable cruise operators do not permit guests to enter the river. If you’re keen to swim, use your ship’s pool or a hotel pool ashore instead.
By day the mood on board is relaxed — light, breathable fabrics in neutral tones work best for warm weather and long temple visits. Evenings tend toward smart casual, particularly at dinner or the captain’s welcome. When visiting temples, churches or mosques, cover shoulders and knees as a matter of respect.
